Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Okay I know this is probably a simple question for many of you, but I guess this is why its called a shrimp forum so I'm just going to ask anyway.

Do cherry shrimps lose their color after a moult (from what I gathered is yes but ?) and how long does it take them to color up again cause so far most of my shrimps are pale but I know they're doing great cause they're feeding and moulting a lot.

Some do and some don't. I'm thinking it is a mood thing. They seem to get red again just before they lay more eggs.

So just because they're pale they might not be males? (o it rhymes)

Right. If the water conditions or stress levels are not to their liking they lose color. I was under feeding one of my tanks and they were very pale. Once I fed them enough they colored right up. The saddle is the best way to tell a female when they are young. My femals all show saddles long before they show much color. I also have young males that show color, so color isn't they only defining term. It is difficult to describe, but the males have a sleeker body and I can usually tell by that first.

I have some RCs that are mostly clear and have not colored up for the most part since they were born. Is there anything i can do with their water, food or environment to help bring out there color or is it mostly genetic? These shrimp are 3 months old!

Thanks.

Color has a lot to do with mood, but my shrimp were phosphate challenged and did not color up until I got the phosphates down to <2 ppm.

The other issue could be genetics. I have a tank full of culls that have no color. They are algae eating ghost shrimp.

Most of my female chrerry shrimp are nice and red. A couple of them are almost super red. But I have one female with saddle that is just as clear and colorless as the males. Could this colorless female be the wild Neocaridina denticulata sinensis?

The person that I got my cherry shrimp from said that her line of cherry shrimp weren't very red. Now after doing some reading here I'm wondering if I might have gotten my shrimp from someone who has a mix of Neocaridina denticulata sinensis (wild) and Neocaridina denticulata sinensis (red).

At this point there is no clear way to no for sure unless you have the DNA analyzed. The red cherry shrimp out in the hobby today are the result of selective breeding for the red trait. There may have been a wild type shrimp that mated with the red cherry but it would be difficult to track unless there was some great record keeping. Let us know how the babies from this female turn out.

My pregnant females look great. REALLY red right now. Males aren't too magnificent though. Pretty much clear but with red blotches and specs all over them. They all seem happy enough though.

Could just be a coincidence, but that Geo Liquid stuff for inverts seems to have really helped.

The males are expected to be clear colored. What is the Geo Liquid stuff for inverts, Is it a color enhancing additive or food?

Neonshrimp wrote:The males are expected to be clear colored. What is the Geo Liquid stuff for inverts, Is it a color enhancing additive or food?

Ah, I cant post links to other sites can I?

Presuming the answer to that question is 'no', Google Geo Liquid.

The description is:

"GEO LIQUID for CORAL & INVERTEBRATES

This is the new cost effective version of the GEO LIQUID that has been specifically developed for the needs of Marine reef aquariums.

There are 2 Marine Versions of GEO LIQUID: GEO LIQUID for CORAL & INVERTEBRATES for reef systems, and tanks with large numbers of invertebrates, and GEO LIQUID for MARINE TANKS, which is a general purpose marine formula for marine tanks that are mostly stocked with only fish.

If your Marine aquarium is mostly stocked with fish, and maybe some live rock, but has very few or no corals and invertebrates, Then please use GEO LIQUID for MARINE TANKS.

If your Aquarium is stocked with substantial numbers of invertebrates or corals, then please use GEO LIQUID for Coral and Invertebrates."

Although it seems to be specifically aimed at salt water tanks, I know of a few people that have used it successfully with fresh water shrimp, like RCS and Bumble Bee.

The stuff is the colour of a cappucino and I nearly soiled myself when I first poured some into my tank. A dark cloud descended through out the water like a murky mist. But apparently it is completely harmless to the aquatic inhabitants. Depending on how much 'work' the Geo Liquid needs to do in your tank, it can take anywhere from an hour to a day or two to clear up. So don't be alarmed if your water looks VERY cloudy for a while. Then once it HAS cleared up, it leaves your water looking crystal clear.

It's all natural too, no weird chemicals and additives according to the info.

And, get this, it is great to use after a big water change to get rid of copper. Copper can hang around in your tank for quite some time and this stuff definitely aids in controlling the after effects. Like I said before, maybe it is coincidence, but since using this stuff, my shrimp have looked A LOT happier.

Interesting, I might try some in one of my tanks to start with and see how it goes from there. Anyone else have experience with Geo Liquid? Please share if you do.

From my personal experience, it depends on the amount of iron in your water that makes your fish/inverts red. Most city water tries to remove it. At my last house I had a lot of iron in my well water and my aquatic "critters" colored up with lots of red. In my new "old house" the well water is a lot more "pure" and my critters don't color up as much.

My shrimplets hatched this week, they look so cool!