I have about 8 ghost shrimp, varying in size they are all transparent and hard to see but 2 of them are turning white? Is this a sign of sickness or just something they do?
Ghost shrimp question
- Thread starter Lady G
- Start date
So maybe I will get some wee baby ones? How would I know if they are mating? I guess if they are prego I'd be able to see huh, since you can see everything inside them!?
If they are gravid you can see the eggs hanging between the swimmerettes under the tail.
Your shrimp are turning white because their shell is separating (they are preparing to molt and shed their shells). They do that once in awhile when they outgrow their old shells. They like to hide immediately after molting because their new shell takes awhile to harden, so make sure they have somewhere to go.
If you see the old empty shell leave it in the tank, the shrimp usually will eat it to recover lost calcium and aid with hardening the new shell.
Your shrimp are turning white because their shell is separating (they are preparing to molt and shed their shells). They do that once in awhile when they outgrow their old shells. They like to hide immediately after molting because their new shell takes awhile to harden, so make sure they have somewhere to go.
If you see the old empty shell leave it in the tank, the shrimp usually will eat it to recover lost calcium and aid with hardening the new shell.
Ok so I should not worry about them then I guess, they do have many hiding places, that is why I put that I had about 8 because they hide alot and I'm not sure how many I have (started with 12) they are funny though you wont see any at all then I will feed them and out of nowhere they are all over! Anyway thanks for the info!!
Iodine additive can help prevent excessive mortality during molting.
Ghost shrimp are not terribly long lived in any case, I use them as feeders.
Ghost shrimp are not terribly long lived in any case, I use them as feeders.
Veneer said:
Impending death?? opaque shells are indications that your shrimp will be molting soon. theyve grown too large for thier shells and need to shed.
not terribly long lived? they can live anywhere from 2-5 years, thats a considerable amount of time for just a feeder.graphicdesign_r said:
They're light green, toographicdesign_r said:
I've found that my females become rather aggressive when they are carrying eggs and will attack my otos and any other bottom feeder.
As an aside, I had intended possibly getting rid of them because of that and while cleaning the tank a couple of weeks ago I caught a female and put her in my son's tank with his Hammer's lobster. I assumed the blue guy would eat her.
She's still in there. The lobster is very well fed and seems to prefer lettuce, zucchini, bloodworms and brine shrimp over a big shrimp
I'll probably move the whole crew of shrimps into the lobster tank when I upgrade it to a 55g next month. There are no other bottom feeders except a Candy Striped pleco, so unless Mr. Cleaner decides he does want shrimp, they'll be safe.
Quite correct! I had four of my shrimp all moult the same day. All those moults floating on top of the water was funny
Exactly. Same goes for lobsters/crayfish. Our blue always eats his own moult. It's good for him and he probably knows it
Roan
Well I originally got them for feeders, wasn't sure if the irridesnts and balas would eat them or not but seens they were only .28 each I figured what the heck. Since then I gave away the irridesents (due to lack of space & not researching first) and the bala don't mess with them at all. I have become quite attached to the little guys they are really fun to watch and it's fun for us to try and find them, I may end up getting a few more I just didn't know anything about them and wondered why they were turning white. Thanks for the info, BTW are they easy breeders? It would be fun to have some baby ones even if most of them don't make it (getting eaten and what have you). I knew my water was fine I tested it as soon as I seen them and I wasn't sure if they were ill and I should take them out or not, thanks for the peace of mind!
Gin
Gin