Cherry Shrimp

[Questions?]

yesterday mycherry shrimp all had a dull pinkish stripe along there back, and were really pale. they have started to brighten up now, but does anyone know if this is bad?

 

[Baccus]

Did the stripe look like the stripe down this female cherry shrimps back to the right of the picture?

If so perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.

 

[Questions?]

yeah, sorry i didn't reply earlier, i have no idea how to look at topics i am watching with this new update

 

[yasinullah]

I've noticed this on some of my shrimp also, good to know its normal.

A few of them their shells(?) are quite darker and more opaque and look old, is this normal, or will they be moulting soon?

 

[HAMBONE]

I've noticed this on some of my shrimp also, good to know its normal.

A few of them their shells(?) are quite darker and more opaque and look old, is this normal, or will they be moulting soon?

the bright red ones are females, the opaque ones are males..

 

[yasinullah]

thanks,

are the opaque red ones males in addition to the smaller white/clear ones with red spots?

 

[Questions?]

i switched the substrate and now they are a little bit darker but not a deep red

 

[TheShrimpGirl]

I've had both females and males that were lighter in color. All depends on the strain of the shrimp and what they were bred for.

They get darker before a molt and have lighter shells right after moulting.

 

[Questions?]

oops i was going to say i switched the substrate from a white sand substrate to a black caribsea flora max substrate and added more plants.
it is thier natural reaction to try and blend in, and their minds don't know they are red.
so if it is a lighter substrate they become paler, if it is a darker substrate they become darker.

 

[TheShrimpGirl]

The darkest, purest red ones are bred to be that red and are often high grade shrimp. The lighter pink speckly is what the color tends to be if they are not bred to be darker.

Substrate does come into play, but I have a light substrate and very dark shrimp.

 

[Baccus]

I can testify that substrate does not seem to make cherry shrimp darker or paler. I have cherry shrimp in a tank with plenty of fish with almost pure white sand and the shrimp are a lovely dark red colour. I have also put a lot of my reject shrimp into a black poly 1000L pond which is well shaded and even in here the lower grade shrimp have not darkened up.
Generally the better the red the higher the grade, the more washed out the red the poorer the breeding.
I also give my shrimp a varied diet of both various fish foods and shrimp food as well as them having live plants to pick through.

 

[Questions?]

well iy worked for me, but i guess it nots for everyone

 

[Baccus]

Also especially female cherry shrimp will generally get darker with age, so maybe the darkening of the shrimp was an age thing rather than just a substrate change

 

[TheShrimpGirl]

Yeah, for the most part the darker color comes from breeding for darker color or lighter color. I have some high grade and some low grade shrimps, but don't really breed selectively.