Cherry shrimp

M

mroth_3

shrimp boat captain
Dec 24, 2008
270
0
0
Iowa
I recently pulled a female out of my breeding tank because she wasn't as colorful as i would have liked. Im trying to keep only the ones that are the deepest red in the tank. I put her in one of my other tanks thats pretty empty at the moment. I thought maybe she didn't make it because i didnt see her for a week, but i finally saw her today. It was like seeing a diffrent shrimp. She was so red you couldn't see the eggs unless you looked really close. Water paramaters for the two tanks are nearly identicle, temp is withing a degree or two, and they are on the same maintanance schedule. Has anyone else seen the colors change when they are seperated? The diffrence is day and night. She is a stunning deep red now instead of the light/clear colored red she was before.

The only thing diffrent is the new tank has rock substrate instead of bare bottom, and it has a small piece of driftwood.
 
hmmm. Thats interesting. How does substrate contribute to the coloring? Or I guess how are do you mean that. I agree dark substrate makes them really "pop" out. Thats not quite the color change i mean though. The underbelly of this one was nearly clear and now the shrimp is SOLID red. Its really neat how it changed in a week. Maybe I need to start putting driftwood in my shrimp tanks for visual effects.
 
I don't have scientific data to back me up, just observation. When I kept my shrimp (cherries) in a tank with light substrate or bare bottom, they were much more transparent. When I moved them to a tank rich in tanins and also with a dark substrate, their colors became much darker. Perhaps its a matter of disguise. On a light substrate, a light colored shrimp is less noticeable to prey? Regardless, once they hit full maturity and size, they all color up. It was mainly in juvies that I saw the biggest color difference.
 
mroth try it with black sand. The colors will pop and so will your eyes :)
 
the predator theory sounds valid. I would like to do black sand, but seems like such a pain to try and clean for a breeding tank. Maybe i will set up a show tank....just need to find room...:) I have two empty 40 breeders, a 55, couple 10s and 5.5s, and some 20s...im just out of room and dont want to heat them in the cold basement! I guess i dont really need a couch in my living room......
 
tannin is an oil in driftwood. It makes your water that tea color but is harmless
 
Berried females are always darker than non berried females.
Its like a hormone thing. they get dark red when they are carrying eggs.

Diet and environment will also contribute to color variances..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom