Ghost Shrimp Turning Red&White.. then DYING??

[oraeanast]

I have about 10 (used to be 15) ghost shrimp in my tank. I have noticed that the food that i am feeding them (TertaCOLOR flakes) may be changing their color. This food made their antenna, legs, and tails red and some other colors.. but I have also noticed that they are slowly turning white.. and whatever this white thing is (possibly bacteria/fungus/parasites) is killing them. Each day this week i have come home from school to find another one of my largest ones dead. The corpses of the dead shrimp are white and look similar to the shrimp you eat (LOL) Most of my live shrimp are beginning to turn white and i can not seem to figure out what this is.\

My tank recently had an ICK outbreak, and i did the temp to 85* as a treatment. This is when i found my first dead shrimp that looked like a cooked shrimp that you would eat.. so i figured i literally "cooked" him in my water, but i have lowered the temp since them and this is still happening.

Can shrimp get ick?

And hopefully somebody knows what this is so i can at lease save some. Thanks!

[Ellen4God]

I'm not completely sure, but I know from experience that ghost shrimp do turn white when they die. Your larger shrimp may just have been older and it was just time for them to die. Ghost shrimp aren't really meant to last through the ages, although it'd be nice if they did because they're great fun to watch! Hope you figure something out.

[Wild Turkey]

The tank is cycled right?
Could they be molting?

[korith]

They will sometimes turn pink when they die.

There are a few different species of shrimp that just get called ghost shrimp, and they do vary a bit in color and size.

Depending on the food they eat, you can see the color of the food when they ingest it.

If a lot of your shrimp are dying I would check the water parameters and do a water change. Copper found in some fertilizers and food, can be lethal to invertebrates like shrimp. Some people say a little of copper is fine I don't really know.

It could be the ghost shrimp you bought were just feeder ghost shrimp, they are kept in poor conditions usually and sold cheap, as they aren't meant to live that long.

I have a fair number of ghost shrimp die for no reason. My red cherry shrimp tank has had less losses and the population is well over 150 from having just 20 a few months ago.

[oraeanast]

Curious....

I am 90% sure my tank has completed the cycle. When i set the tank up, i had no knowledge of "cycles".. and i have lost a few fish.. but i have mollies in there, they successfully birthed fry and the 4 survivors are heathy and eating.

My parameters are perfect, except my pH is a little high, but it has been that high since day 1 and cannot add anything to alter it (have inverts & plants).
Also do a 20-30 % change every 2-3 days. Do it this often to keep the water healthy for my fry.

These shrimp WERE being sold as feeder shrimp in horrible conditions. Freezing cold water, cloudy.. but i have had them for months, so i do not think that is it.

Another this is... i HAVE BEEN adding liq. ferts that DO have copper.

Does this mean i should stop adding my liq. ferts for my plants... or should i keep doing it and hope my shrimp dont die.

ANd yes, i understand that the shrimps food can be seen as it travels through their digestive tract.. but their bodies (starting @ the tip of the head, and going down it's whole body down to the tip of its tail) Seem to have little white spots generating what seems to be.. underneath their clear shell. Since they are crustacians, they cannot get ich, right?

[bmvbab]

Stop dosing those ferts. Those are most probably killing your ghosts. I had two of my RCS die on me the very next day I had added a fert available at my LFS. Did a big water change and stopped using that fert.

Do you have CO2 for the tank?

[Wild Turkey]

IMO beautiful plants are worth more than ghosts. I would continue adding ferts if they are helping and just dont add any more GS to the tank or move them if you can. At 3 months really its possible they are dying of old age. Who knows how long they were in the store and like everyone has been saying about conditions

[Lady Hobbs]

There you go......cooper. Not friendly to shrimp. But they do need a cycled tank, too. I'd be surprised if your Mollies were not eating the babies.

Shrimp like algae pellets, cukes, lettuce, etc.

[SusieQ]

ghost shrimp cannot get ick. my experience with ghost shrimp is that they do not live very long. are your fish picking on them? they are meant to be feeders. :19:

[oraeanast]

had co2 in my tank, and it made some crazy white film everywhere, so i stopped it.

The plants need the ferts, so i am going to keep using it.. and if the shrimp die, they die. I agree with Wild Turkey that beautiful plants are more important to me than some shrimp that i got 20 of for 1 dollar. lol.

And no, none of my fish pick on them

I have been feeding them TetraCOLOR flakes, along with the fish.. and hikari algae pellets. (fish eat that too, loil.)

[Amazon]

to tell you the truth i thought my ghost shrimps died but they were just shedding/molting. but soory about that anyway

[korith]

to tell you the truth i thought my ghost shrimps died but they were just shedding/molting. but soory about that anyway

They usually hide out once they've molted for a while. And are hard to see.