Ghost shrimp turned pink?

[vanvran]

One of my ghost shrimp's been hiding in a cave for 2 days--I thought he was molting. Tonight I found him dead, and when I pulled him out of the cave, I couldn't believe it--he looked like he'd been a cooked shrimp! Completely pink! Anyone have any knowledge about why he turned pink? I did water check and all is good.

 

[Raechal]

What is the temp? Maybe it was a female because female can hold pink eggs.

 

[vanvran]

78 degrees

 

[SarahBravo]

I believe they do go from translucent when alive to white/pink opaque when deceased. Don't know why - it certainly isn't that the water got too hot. I had a bright blue Cameroon Armoured that turned deep red/brown when he departed. Sorry for your loss shrimp

Sarah

 

[pica_nuttalli]

yeah, every half-eaten shrimp i've ever found has turned pink in the meantime. i think it has something to do with the solidification of the body (live and freshly-killed crustaceans are generally a bit juicy on the interior).

no worries!

 

[BettaMomma]

Sorry to hear of your little shrimpy loss

 

[vanvran]

Thanks all. I know it's silly, but I had 5 ghosties and 3 turned chalky white and died pretty quickly. These last 2 were hardy and really fun to watch. They'd come to the front of the tank with the rest of the gang when it was time to eat! I love watching them swim up to the top to get a piece of food. He just went into the cave for 2 days, I thought he was molting again, and then he died. Sometimes I can really understand why people give up fishkeeping.