Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

I've got 6 adult ghost shrimp in a newly cycled 29 gal (right now it's just them and the wood shrimp). One of them is milky in color, which I understand to denote illness. The water parameters are good- ammonia is at 0. Temp is 76 F. None of the other five has similar coloring, so I don't think it's something in the water. She was milky when I transferred her to the 29 gal. She is my largest ghost shrimp at around 1.5 inches. She moves around and eats fine, but remains milky and therefore sick. Is there anything I can do for her? Should I quarantine?

Secondly, since I moved the wood shrimp in this morning, he has been grabbing organic material along the bottom of the tank with his fans. I wouldn't worry about this too much, but he is getting some of the sand substrate in his fans as well, and though I have seen him spit some of it out, he must be eating some. Is this normal and/or healthy?

Pi

Hey Pi, what's the update on the second part of your question concerning Wood shrimp and sand? Is he/she doing okay? In a couple weeks or so, I plan on transferring my two Wood shrimp into a currently cycling larger tank of which, part of the bottom is sand and wondered about the same thing. I would suppose it's perfectly natural and they'll be fine, IMO.

Compared to my other shrimp, I don't really see my Bamboo "groom" very often. Also, the other shrimp seem much more meticulous in terms of what they pick up to eat. The Bamboo/Wood shrimp's eating style, in my eyes anyway, seems to be haphazard at best, lol. I still constantly worry if they're eating okay, but since they're pooing, I figure they must be eating...

Has your milky Ghost made any improvements?

-GunmetalBlue

Thanks for your concern

I'm sad to say that the ghost shrimp did not make it. However, the rest of them are still perfectly (un)colored and active. I suspect old age, because I could not find any water parameter reason for her to be ill, and the others are not. She was the largest (topping 1.5 inches), though I don't know how much that has to do with it. She is also the one who gave me the fry (which are now benthic and very cool).

The bamboo shrimp is doing very well He really enjoys the larger tank, I think, and has colored up beautifully. He has been eating and err...isn't constipated, so I'm going to assume for now he has some way of dealing with the sand by spitting it out or something.

Pi

Hey my dad brought home from kentucky lake bluish funky colored gravelish sand. My ghost shrimp always eat it, and thats in my breeding tank, so there all okay for over a year. Just think what kind of icky stuff they live in and eat in the wild, youd be surprised on what they can eat