Can Cherry Shrimp Lose Their Colour?

[twintanks]

When I first set my tank up last November, I included four cherry shrimp. They were then very tiny, but all of them were pinky-red. Since then, they have spent a fair bit of time in the Fluval-filter bracket, although they do come out on occasions. Just recently I spotted one of them pedalling furiously across the tank, much larger than at the start, beautiful bright red colour.....followed by another one of similar size, but very pale---almost transparent---with just a hint of pink. A third one has also been seen this week, smaller in size but similarly rather grey-looking.
Have they reverted to some previous wild-colour state?

 

[Far_King]

It would need someone with more experience than me to answer but I believe there is a disease that can cause this.  Don't panic, it may be nothing, they may be starting to shed perhaps or have just done so.

 

[twintanks]

Well, I know one of them has shed a skin, it's quite a large one, I found it floating around this morning; complete head, legs and body.

 

[RainboWBacoN420]

Usually, my experience with shrimp, when their color changes like that, they tend to end up croaking...
Sometimes, it'll just indicate that they're getting ready to shed.
 
Are you adding any fertilizer to your tank or carbon supplementation?

 

[Bubbelzzz]

This happens more often and it is not always clear what the reason for this is.
 
A part of it might be genetics. The wild form is namely pale with just a little bit of yellow, blue or red. So the cherry shrimp you've got are just bred that way. However, sometimes in less pure breeding groups the pale version will tend to reappear.
 
Food can also have something to do with this. Some foods will make your shrimp more colorful.
 
But which I have heard of more often is that shrimp will also tend to lose there color depending on the aquarium. When you move them from one tank to the other they might lose their color or become more colorful. Therefore, there must be another tank related factor which I don't know.

 

[twintanks]

I don't add plant fertiliser on a weekly basis; I have two quite sizeable plants and some small floating ones, but they seem to be growing like stink without fertiliser. I did buy something called JBL Ferropol, but noticed it has trace elements that include very small amounts of copper. I haven't added any to the tank for over three weeks now. The shrimps haven't died, however. I'm not feeding them special shrimp food, they just get what the fish get (tetra flakes, sinking pellets, catfish food; frozen-mix food etc).

 

[Bubbelzzz]

That food isn't ideal for shrimp. You might want to add some vegetables sometimes. This will be better than only carnivorous foods.
 
There are certain foods that can enhance the color of your shrimp. Examples of those are spirulina and carrot.

 

[twintanks]

Carrots? Should these be given raw, or steamed a bit? I only see spirulina in things like plec wafers, for example.

 

[Bubbelzzz]

Steamed or cooked for 2 minutes is fine. Otherwhise they will be too hard. Spirulina in plec wafers is fine as well.
 
Both have a chemical called carotene. This can enhance the color of some animals. Besides shrimp can it also be useful for other animals. Flamingos for example, they need it for their pink coloration. They get this from eating shrimp. When they have a shortage of carotene they will eventually become white. This might be similar to your shrimp. A lack of carotene might make them pale.

 

[twintanks]

I know about the carotene with flamingos....but hadn't connected the idea to shrimps in my tank. Well....there's something else for me to use up the spare Sunday lunch carrots on. Just thinking about the plec wafer....wonder if I could grind it down with a pestle and mortar? Or do I just plop it in the tank to soak; I don't own a plec.

 

[betta fish]

Do you have any pics of the shrimp? male cherry shrimp are very pale almost colourless with perhaps a few red spots as opposed to the females bright red colouration, if this is the case you will soon find you are overun with them! not to worry though they are popular shrimp and many people want them, I did have a large breeding colony at one time from originally buying two females and a male 

 

[*pete*]

I too think they may be males from your description twintanks, they're smaller and paler/pink/grey and do swim around more than the females. From watching my own colony I believe they do this when a female is ready to mate, they give out a chemical signal to attract them.
 
You might have a few more shrimps soon !

 

[twintanks]

I'd like to photo them but I'm lucky to see any of them more than once a week; they're pretty hard to find in the tank. However, from what you all say ref the colouring, I am
now suspecting that at least two of them are male....Sammy Shrimp is the bright red one, so I guess this is now Samantha. Where Number Four is, I don't know. Time will tell. If she lays eggs, I'd better learn what to look out for.

 

[Chad]

Shrimp do lose their color. This can be for a few reasons. 
 

1. Disease (including poor water parameters/quality)
2. Poor diet
3. Nearing time to molt

The last one is the most common. Shrimp get very dull in color just prior to a molt.