Dying Ghost Shrimp?

[Kissyboots]

My female ghost shrimp recently had the blob of growing eggs. Then it disappeared and she turned whitish/milky. This morning she was upside down so I fished her out. She's in a bowl now swimming upside down and sideways. I handfed her some flakes because it seemed she hadn't been getting much food. She ate the whole thing! And then I saw her stomach again. I tried to get her to eat more, but she keeps swimming away or is just too weak to grab it. I got her about 5 months ago. Is she getting old? Is she dying?

 

[ishar]

I don't know... that's tough. If it ate a whole flake it was likely hungry, and maybe the eggs were not getting enough nourishment either so she dropped them. It is possible she jut isn't getting enough food. May I ask what you feed for you shrimp specifically? any zucchini or sinking pellets or algae wafers or anything?

 

[Kissyboots]

They eat the betta bites that Kissyboots is too lazy to get. They also love the flakes that I feed everyday. Sometimes I throw in some "crab and lobster bites" but they are similar to the betta food. I haven't tried anything else because they were always fine with whatever they found. All of a sudden she didn't seem to be eating. Weird...

 

[iapetus]

I always get a little nervous when my ghost shrimp turn white. About a month ago one that had been white for a while turned up dead (my second casualty ).

I think that their turning white means that they're about to molt. Molting is a hard process on any invertebrate. And, sometimes they just don't make it through the process. Unfortunately, there's just not much, if anything, you can do to help them.

Just this morning I found a shrimp skin at the bottom of the tank (only it was towards the back, so I couldn't see it well and was really confused until I fished it out)! Hizzah! *celebrate One of my shrimp (the biggest and oldest, I believe) successfully molted. :whew: I'm always happy to see that's happened.

I put the skin back in the tank. I understand sometimes they'll eat the cast off skin to recover some of the nutrients in it.

I hope that your shrimp molts successfully (if I'm correct about all this), Kissyboots!

(My shrimp hang out upside down (i.e. head towards the bottom of the tank) all the time!)

 

[Kissyboots]

Hmm. I've had them molt several times and she just did it a week or so ago. Why would she do it again or is that how often they molt? Oh well, I heard they have a life span of about a year so it wouldn't surprise me if she's just old. Thanks anyway!

 

[iapetus]

OK ... maybe that's not it. I dunno. I do have some white ghost shrimp and some that are more clear. If molting isn't part of the issue, then I'm still a little .

 

[Kissyboots]

I put her back in the 5g yesterday but took her out again today because she wasn't doing well again. I fed her more food (she ate less this time) and now she's swimming sideways in circles. She can't "stand up straight" anymore and it seems she's gone blind too. Ugh, why does everything have to die?????

 

[jen0910]

That sucks kissy. I think that ghost shrimp just might not be that healthy to begin with and they don't last very long. The past few times that I have gotten ghost shrimp they have died on me very quickly. Most people just buy them as food and so they probably don't get much care. It still sucks to lose them though.

 

[Kissyboots]

It's really sad. She's laying sideways, moving her swimerets thingys but doesn't move. She won't eat either. I think she's going to die........
The male doesn't seem to be sick so I guess it's just cuz she's old. I don't think they have a very long lifespan.

 

[TabMorte]

They only live a year or two my book says. My daughter just got 4 of them. I'm hoping she has better luck then she did with the frogs!

 

[crimsontsavo]

Well, at least the ghost shrimp are cheaper to replace than the frogs lol.
Ive never had much luck with ghosties. The largest one always kills the others then it lives for a good while and croaks. Hope I have better luck with cherries.

 

[TabMorte]

Gah! I hope that's not the case. We just got 4 for my daughter and one's notably larger then the other three! I hope she doesn't eat the boys. I'm hoping for babies!

 

[jen0910]

I've never had any shrimp attack each other.

 

[iapetus]

I've never had any shrimp attack each other.

Yeah, I initially had two. One of them passed on (). I got three more that were all smaller than the one that remained from the first pair. The oldest and largest doesn't mess with the others. At least, I haven't seen it happen.

 

[Kissyboots]

She died last night...just to let you know. I don't think I'll get any more. I need "cory room."

 

[iapetus]

I just lost a ghost shrimp yesterday (i.e. Sunday) morning. It, too, had turned a milky white. It wasn't the one bearing eggs, but I'm still bummed. I must find out what that change in color means! I expected this might happen when I saw him turn that shade.

 

[Lotus]

The milky color just indicates that the shrimp is sick or dying.

 

[iapetus]

Hmm. Is there anything that can be done at that point, Lotus? Seems like they can hold on for a while even after they turn white.

 

[Lotus]

As far as I know, other than making sure the water is clean and at the correct temperature, there's not a lot you can do.

There are many species sold as ghost shrimp. Some are brackish, some need colder water. I don't personally know any way of telling one from another, and have no idea how many species there are that are commonly sold as "ghost shrimp."

 

[exhumed07]

I've had probibly about 100 ghost shrimp but usually they end up in the bellies of my cichlids within a few min lol