# Sick Cherry Shrimp?



## GeminiPrincess

I recently got 10 Cherry Shrimp- I've only ever seen 4 at one time but my tank as more hiding spots then i could name. I noticed last night that 2 were more of a clear color then red. Is something wrong with them? When I got them they were all clear, which i was told was due to stress of the move. Most of the ones I have seen have been red until last night. My parameters are normal and nothing is out of wack. The only thing that has changed in the past week is I redid my Co2. Any advice or knowledge that might help? Thanks


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## Gizmo

Males are usually lighter in color, and females are bright red (like a cooked lobster, if full grown). Also, shrimp molt, so as their shells age they will get lighter. Wait till you find your first molted husk on the floor of your tank! Freaked me out the first time. Also, make sure you cover your filter intake with a media bag or filter foam so those guys don't get sucked up! That would seriously ruin their day.:fish10:


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## GeminiPrincess

[email protected] said:


> Males are usually lighter in color, and females are bright red (like a cooked lobster, if full grown). Also, shrimp molt, so as their shells age they will get lighter. Wait till you find your first molted husk on the floor of your tank! Freaked me out the first time. Also, make sure you cover your filter intake with a media bag or filter foam so those guys don't get sucked up! That would seriously ruin their day.:fish10:


Thanks! I know what you mean years ago i had a little crab and i found its shell and couldn't find any other crab, scared the crap out of me when he later showed up. I couldn't figure out how he cloned himself until i researched it - felt like an idiot lol. i have a unused stocking over it, works really well my balloon belly molly eats off of it so it stays fairly clean.


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## James0816

Turning clear is a sign of stress. This is common place especially during shipping. Did you have them shipped or purchase locally? They can take a couple of weeks to re-adjust but normally color back up.

However, you said they were colored prior correct? If that is the case, there is something stressing in the tank. CO2 may be the cause. Are you running an airstone at night? I'll find issues like this from time to time in my shrimp tanks when I forget to turn the air on. It all goes with the balance thing.


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> Turning clear is a sign of stress. This is common place especially during shipping. Did you have them shipped or purchase locally? They can take a couple of weeks to re-adjust but normally color back up.
> 
> However, you said they were colored prior correct? If that is the case, there is something stressing in the tank. CO2 may be the cause. Are you running an airstone at night? I'll find issues like this from time to time in my shrimp tanks when I forget to turn the air on. It all goes with the balance thing.


I noticed the ones i was seeing first were red and just saw one that looked a little mroe clear yesterday. Now maybe it is one that has been hiding, not sure. I have the limewood diffuser in 24/7, should i be taking it out at night? I kept having issues with the bubble counter so i have the co2 go dirrectly into the tank. I am going to test my water here again later in the day. What should my Nitrates be at? What is the best Ph for shrimp? How would I lower Ph if needed?


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## Gizmo

Nitrates should be in the 10-20 ppm range for RCS, if I remember correctly. And pH should be close to 7 but not below. Also, RCS don't like water that is too hard (above 9 degrees) or too soft (below 5). They LOVE good ground cover.


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## James0816

You don't have to pull it out. I would just advise to run an airstone at night when you turn off the lights. Turn it off when the lights come back on.


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## Gizmo

James0816 said:


> You don't have to pull it out. I would just advise to run an airstone at night when you turn off the lights. Turn it off when the lights come back on.


+1

I use this method as I cannot afford a solenoid nor have the desire to overhaul my CO2 system to fit it, and already have the air pump. Works like a charm.


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## GeminiPrincess

I have a large airstone that runs 24/7 should that not be on with co2 durring the day?


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## Gizmo

Air bubbles introduced into a tank will actually decrease the CO2 content in the tank to a level that is normally attainable through gas exchange at the surface. If you were not using CO2 I would say having a bubbler is great because it would help introduce CO2 into the tank as the plants consume it. However, the object of a CO2 system is to raise the CO2 concentration above the level that would be normally attainable simply through gas exchange. So having bubbles in your tank actually defeats the purpose of a CO2 system. Turn it off and put it on a timer so it turns on only at night.

The reason you would want the air on at night is to lower the CO2 concentration, because when the lights are out plants actually consume oxygen and produce CO2, so CO2 from your system + CO2 from your fish + CO2 from your plants = high levels of CO2, and O2 consumption from plants + O2 consumption from fish can actually asphyxiate your fish. Air bubbles help prevent this by speeding up gas exchange at the surface by disrupting the surface water of the tank.

Note: Gas exchange is the exchange of CO2 and O2 between the surface of the water in your tank and the surrounding atmosphere. Factors that can affect this: surface area of water in your tank (tall vs. long tanks, for example), presence of machinery that agitates the surface of the water (HOB filters, air bubblers, etc.), and the presence of full, partial or no hoods over your tank.

Hope this helps!


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## GeminiPrincess

Oooook I think i got it then. I just really like the way the bubbles look lol.


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