My new blue shrimp is pregnant!

[sed03f]

so, Im really getting frustrated with this tank, I keep finding dead ones, doing water changes, adding more plants, but im loosing like two a day when they molt. Water specs are good, but I dont get it. and another one is pregnant! so, two prego shrimp, but they keep dying? I dont get it. I havnt lost not 1 bumblebee, and none of them are pregnant. I have only lost 3 zebra shrimp, and that was only the first couple of days. But they are not pregnant either, but are so fat! Im getting really depressed finding these dead shrimp in there. The "blue" shrimp are lovely, but make me sad to see them go

 

[justahannah]

They started selling these guys as "Blueberry" shrimp at my local Petco, as well as cherries. $5 each for either species! Are you using a water conditioner that removes metals? We just lost a ton of snails at work due to copper in the pipes...

 

[chazsgirl]

I love the dark ones, tried to get them once but ended up with something not even close! GL!

 

[H3D]

Congrats! Sweet shrimp!

 

[cam191919]

gah, i wish i had shrimp. i did keep some crayfish and the same death-after-molt thing happened. sadly they all eventually passed

 

[murraycod]

I grind a little rinsed shell grit, (and I do have hard water - calcium and magnesium), and haven't lost shrimp or crays during/after moult. I'm not certain that it's a contributing factor, but....
Is there calcium in your shrimp food?

 

[msjinkzd]

These shrimp have a high die-off rate. Some people say they are dyed, some say they are fed foods to get them to this color. If you get the females to live to reproduce, they do fine, but its very common for the adults to have a short longevity. I doubt that you are doing anything wrong.

 

[sed03f]

I removed the red ones and the ones that were not blue, while acclimating them into another tank, they turned blue! Some werent as strong a blue as others, but seriously they confuse me A LOT!

I had another 4 die last night, I have about 60-70 in a 30g hex, with 1wpg and plants. an UGF and a HOB with pool filter sand ontop gravel, I only seem to find dead ones in the morning.

I havent noticed any of them die during the day, I dont have a moonlight,

What kind of different foods should I try?

 

[msjinkzd]

I feed mine predominantly crab cuisine or kens catfish pellets. Occasionally some veggie or algae wafer.

 

[peter22]

Like many say, these shrimp don't have a very long lifespan but their offspring should be very hardy (probably caught from the wild like many shrimp). But once you get over that initial hump of finding dead ones, the rest should live pretty long. Take into account that their "usual" lifespan is only about a year or two so the bigger ones are probably nearing the end of their lifespan anyways. So like everyone says, its nothing to worry about.

A newbie mistake I made though was not giving them a high enough protein diet in the beginning of shrimp keeping. Keep in mind they are ominvores in the wild and need protein in their diet unlike some other shrimp. I feed mine anything from fish flakes, shrimp pellets, veggies, to algae wafers for a balanced diet. Just don't feed too much, only what they eat in a few hours or too much food can kill too... good luck with the babies hatching!