Shrimp lost color.

[trash.binh91]

I am confused and panicked right now. My two red cherry shrimp, like 10 minutes ago, were laying lifeless. Dead. Thank the lords they were not, and as I came back to realism, I saw that they have lost their color! One has its red, back, though the other one looks as if it is sort of blue near the head and has red flowing through what looks like veins. This is urgent, and I will now continue on my 100% water change. Will upload image later.

 

[trash.binh91]

Image here: https://imgur.com/a/sSIpUJ1

 

[Demeter32]

Don't do a 100% water change, that will likely stress them even more. No more than 75% should be changed at a time.

Cherry shrimp will fade in color when they are stressed, they will also look more pale when in a bright tank with pale substrate. How long have you had the shrimp? What is their tank like (size, temp, etc)?

 

[FishGuest5123]

My males go light like that. Is it a male?

 

[FishGuest5123]

What is your nitrate at?

 

[NickAu]

Is this a shrimp only tank?

Shrimp need stability, even hardy cherry shrimp can suffer from big changes, IMO 50% is too much.

As long as your tank is cycled you have good filtration some live plants and are not overfeeding 25% a week should be more than enough.

I know people who only change 10 to 15% of the water every 3 or 4 weeks and their shrimp population is exploding.

 

[Colin_T]

I am confused and panicked right now. My two red cherry shrimp, like 10 minutes ago, were laying lifeless. Dead.

What did you do to the tank during the last 24 hours?

Have you checked the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH?
If yes, what are the results in numbers?

I can't tell anything from the image.

 

[trash.binh91]

I was not allowed to get a test kit last time I asked (in May?) which is devastating. I know the PH is 7, though. The shrimp were bough December 28th, 2018. Tank is not heated but stays around 67F (will get heater soon, just need to find one). The tank is cycled (second time being cycled), I somehow lost a shrimp back in September. So, the substrate is a light, pale, sand, and is near a light, which makes sense than. The tank size is 1.5gal and I did do a 100% water change (I finished it before reading thread, sadly). I do not know the genders as I don't know how to find it out. I haven't done anything in the last 24 hours except do the dreaded water change. I currently feed them one small frozen bloodworm once per week, just in case they don't get enough nutrients from the anubias plants. What and how much should I actually feed them?

 

[Colin_T]

It's possible the water change caused this, assuming you did it before the shrimp acted funny.
Make sure you use a bucket specifically for the shrimp. Dechlorinate all new water before it is added to the tank. Add dechlorinator to the bucket, fill it with water, and aerate for 30minutes or more to let dissolved gasses stabilise in the water.

In future do a smaller water change more frequently (50-75%) every day or two.

Shrimp have a high metabolism and eat a lot. They should be fed each day. Put a few bits of food in and the shrimp should eat it all within a few minutes. Remove any uneaten food and do a water change 4 hours later.

If you had a bigger tank it would be better for them and the water quality would be more stable. You can use a 20 litre bucket or plastic storage container for them. Generally the more water they have, the easier it is to keep them alive.

 

[trash.binh91]

I did the water change because they acted funny, they have their own containers for everything, should I just continue feeding them 1 small bloodworm everyday? And also, they are back to acting normal!