ghost shrimp white? - help!

[karbomb]

my ghost shrimps have turned whitish with some yellow on their tails.
they have been like this for about a week. they are still very active and scavenging around for food.
i have done a little reading and it has suggested they are dying. anyone know if this is true? i am very worried. i feed them the same as i feed my fish. the majority of their diets being frozen or freeze dried blood worms, frozen or freeze dried brine shrimp, and sometimes tetra color tropical crisps. they also scavenge around my tank eating some algae and other things.
this makes me so sad, especially after my bamboo shrimp just died.
the levels in my tank are good, the nitrates are a little high.
ammonia: 0
nitrites:0
nitrates: 20-30.
i think i am going to do a WC because of the high nitrates.
please help.

[Nautilus291]

maybe they are molting? im not too sure but that could be a possiblility. Have you looked up the lifespan of a ghost shrimp? I read only a year or 2 so maybe its just getting old.

[karbomb]

alright i got a few photos of the male.
they are not molting right now.
the female is much more yellow, especially along the head and tail.

[Adrian]

Well Karbomb, I have noticed in keeping ghost shrimp, they do not tolerate nitrates to well.

I had to keep mine under 20ppm. I dunno, seems to stress em out.

I have also had ghost shrimp turn varies different colors. I just thought it was kewl and left em be. White, white, like the color of this page, and they are pretty much dead.

Might be the pigments in what they are eating too. Not sure. Wish I could help you further.

[karbomb]

in these images, is this close to what yours looked like before they died?
they also have little brown spots on them.

[Adrian]

I seriously think it is something in your water, or lack of something in your water. They are suppose to be clearish. I am trying to remember if they turned that color right before dying. I almost think they did. Question for you, are they heading for the top of the tank? Or are they hanging out at the bottom?

Reason for this question, is that if there is something in the water that is not right for them, they tend to head for the surface looking for a way out....

[karbomb]

I seriously think it is something in your water, or lack of something in your water. They are suppose to be clearish. I am trying to remember if they turned that color right before dying. I almost think they did. Question for you, are they heading for the top of the tank? Or are they hanging out at the bottom?

Reason for this question, is that if there is something in the water that is not right for them, they tend to head for the surface looking for a way out....
they have been white for about a week, and are still very happy and scavenging. i read one source that said iodine may be needed.
they hang out all over the tank. mostly on the bottom and on the plant leaves. when i feed my fish they come up to the top and steal fishey food. and sometimes just glide around all over the tank.

[jbeining75]

So at least they are still alive then, active, and eating. Those are three good signs.. Good luck with the ghost shrimp...

[karbomb]

So at least they are still alive then, active, and eating. Those are three good signs.. Good luck with the ghost shrimp...
yeah they are behaving totally normally with the exception of the whiteness.

[karbomb]

so after about two weeks, they are still white and still alive... i am confused. they seem to be acting normally, especially the male. comes up to the top of tank during feeding time and snags some food/tries to eat my betta.

[xoolooxunny]

They definitely need iodine to survive. They need it for healthy molting and a healthy shell.

[karbomb]

both of my ghosties are dead. they turned white about a month ago and finally the last one died on monday. but my blue algae eating shrimp is great. i think i will get some iodine.