# Ghost shrimp turning WHITE?!?!



## PaintingPintos

I have my ghost shrimp Ash in a 1 gallon tank with pool sand that I boiled to remove bacteria. He has 1 large glow-in-the-dark plant that takes up most of the room, and a Marimo moss ball.
I feed him 1 TopFin Betta Bits pellet a day, which he eagerly devours. Yesterday I noticed he's getting cloudy.....is this molt or illness?
As crazy as it sounds, I'm really attached to him and would hate to lose him. I'm the kind of person that will cry their eyes out if even their inchworm dies....
Anyway, is there any way I can treat him?
I know I should give him a hiding spot. Today I'll put him in a 5 gallon bucket with clean water and put a ton more fake plants in the 1 gallon so there'll be plenty of hiding places.
Is it the sand that's hurting him? Should I switch it off to gravel or marbles?
I'm really anxious because I don't want my little guy to die.


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## SpookyTooth

To be honest with you cloudiness is usually a sign that something is seriously up. I've had ghost shrimp in the past and they always turned white before they ultimately perished, I've looked online and spent ages scouring google for info as to whether or not they can recover from "opaquing" but I've not found anything definitive. How long have you had him?

Was the tank you kept him in cycled and what is your water change schedule? Ghost shrimp are exceptionally sensitive to water parameters and ghosties are often mistreated in pet stores due to them being feeders (the ones I bought spent their trip home trying to jump out of the bag of water they were in it was so disgusting) so they can often arrive home damaged beyond repair.

I wouldn't have thought that the sand could be hurting him, especially as you took great care in ensuring it was clean. How long has the tank been set up? If it _is_ the sand I can only imagine it'd be a gas pocket that has "burped" and released something into the water - do you stir or poke your sand regularly?

Make sure you gradually acclimatize your shrimp to the new water, I've read that shrimp are especially sensitive to osmotic shock - I can't say for certain if this is true but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I hope you figure it out and he recovers, I'd suggest checking out your water (if you can test for ammonia and nitrite that would be great) and gradually acclimatizing him to the other tank.


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## PaintingPintos

SpookyTooth said:


> To be honest with you cloudiness is usually a sign that something is seriously up. I've had ghost shrimp in the past and they always turned white before they ultimately perished, I've looked online and spent ages scouring google for info as to whether or not they can recover from "opaquing" but I've not found anything definitive. How long have you had him?
> 
> Was the tank you kept him in cycled and what is your water change schedule? Ghost shrimp are exceptionally sensitive to water parameters and ghosties are often mistreated in pet stores due to them being feeders (the ones I bought spent their trip home trying to jump out of the bag of water they were in it was so disgusting) so they can often arrive home damaged beyond repair.
> 
> I wouldn't have thought that the sand could be hurting him, especially as you took great care in ensuring it was clean. How long has the tank been set up? If it _is_ the sand I can only imagine it'd be a gas pocket that has "burped" and released something into the water - do you stir or poke your sand regularly?
> 
> Make sure you gradually acclimatize your shrimp to the new water, I've read that shrimp are especially sensitive to osmotic shock - I can't say for certain if this is true but it's better to be safe than sorry.
> 
> I hope you figure it out and he recovers, I'd suggest checking out your water (if you can test for ammonia and nitrite that would be great) and gradually acclimatizing him to the other tank.


Usually every other day I use a long chopstick to poke through the sand.
This week I forgot to squeeze out the moss ball in the sink when I removed the water.... Usually every 3 days I take half the water out and replace it. Is that OK? I figured since the shrimp is so tiny he can't make TOO MUCH ammonia so I didn't clean it as much as I would a betta's tank.
OK, so I just dumped the sand....maybe there was something wrong with it. Instead of that I put in lots of large marbled rocks (no idea what they are, but they're aquarium safe from Petco) and put in 5 fake plants, 4 of them bunched together and the largest one in the open space. I think that helped a lot since the water I put in is 75% new....the tail seems a lot less cloudy, but that could be my imagination.
When i squeezed out the moss ball....well it smelled like that was my problem.
It smelled like boiled cabbage mixed with apple cider vinegar--yeeechhh. Smells exactly like the stuff that comes out of the bank of the local creek when you walk on it when the water is especially low-- or like a murky, disgusting lake with shallow water that bubbles up and stinks if you poke a stick into it.
I hope I never do that again....that must have been horrible for the poor shrimp.
And if he's just gonna kick the bucket, should I experiment with some medications to see if they'll help? I don't know what to use though, since shrimp are so sensitive, and it might just push him over the edge.
I got the shrimp in March (I think) and he's been through quite a bit since then. My betta chomped off one of his antennae, and I decided to give him a quiet retirement.
I don't have any test kits (no idea where they are. My aunt borrowed them for her new tropical fish tank and I'm pretty sure she LOST THEM!!!)

The only thing I should be worrying about for now is getting very fine gravel. Ash swam right to the bottom of the 2 inch layer of big rocks and I'm pretty sure he can get stuck if he goes the wrong way.
My mom is going shopping today and I'll ask her to pick up some bitty marbles from Dollar Tree or something.
Thanks for your help!!!


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## SpookyTooth

Your set up sounds good  I think it's great that you're taking so much time to ensure Ash has a homely and relaxing environment.

Heh. Moss ball farts. I've heard of those, larger moss balls tend to smell rather bad when squeezed if not rinsed out regularly. I don't know as though it'd affect the shrimp but it's entirely possible. I had a particularly stinky bit of mopani wood that I took out of one of my tanks and it didn't seem to affect the inhabitants, though Echo isn't a shrimp and I know how sensitive shrimp are.

I'm not sure what to recommend medications wise as it'd be difficult to diagnose anything but I can imagine the meds would only stress him. I wonder how old he was when you got him, he might be nearing the end of his life cycle as these shrimp usually live one to one and a half years, they've been known to live over two years but with how some pet shops treat them I imagine their lifespan is shortened due to neglect. If yours came from a standard pet store who treats them as "just feeders" his lifespan may have been shortened.

I think all you can do at this point is keep his water clean and keep him fed, give him as much comfort as a little ghostie shrimp can have and I'll hope with you that it's just a passing colour oddity


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## PaintingPintos

SpookyTooth said:


> Your set up sounds good  I think it's great that you're taking so much time to ensure Ash has a homely and relaxing environment.
> 
> Heh. Moss ball farts. I've heard of those, larger moss balls tend to smell rather bad when squeezed if not rinsed out regularly. I don't know as though it'd affect the shrimp but it's entirely possible. I had a particularly stinky bit of mopani wood that I took out of one of my tanks and it didn't seem to affect the inhabitants, though Echo isn't a shrimp and I know how sensitive shrimp are.
> 
> I'm not sure what to recommend medications wise as it'd be difficult to diagnose anything but I can imagine the meds would only stress him. I wonder how old he was when you got him, he might be nearing the end of his life cycle as these shrimp usually live one to one and a half years, they've been known to live over two years but with how some pet shops treat them I imagine their lifespan is shortened due to neglect. If yours came from a standard pet store who treats them as "just feeders" his lifespan may have been shortened.
> 
> I think all you can do at this point is keep his water clean and keep him fed, give him as much comfort as a little ghostie shrimp can have and I'll hope with you that it's just a passing colour oddity


I hope it's good *panicking*
I love my animals....no matter how itty bitty they are, I go nuts making their environment perfect!

I've never heard of a Marimo stinking....Actually a few months ago I stuck some toothpicks in a potato and put it in a jar of water to see how much it would grow....In a month or so I noticed fruit flies around it. When I changed the water (I forgot about it) the potato turned out to have a giant hole on the opposite side invisible to me, and there was a colony of fruit flies that had excavated the entire inside out....the stink was terrible...it was like going to a lake full of rotten potatoes and taking a stick and poking out every gas bubble trapped under there.....and having them all enclosed in a little room. The kitchen smelled TERRIBLE afterward. I had to open all the windows even though it was like 60 degrees outside :/

Yup...I kinda figured that. Lots of people online have said their shrimp turned white for various reasons. Quite scary...
But when I bought my shrimp, the Petsmart that I went to was exceptionally clean. The person who was running the fish department told me he has like 30 bettas he rescued from Petsmart....and he has around 20 shrimp and lots more animals. He loves fish and I can obviously see it in the tanks. They were spotless and there were only 3 Ghost shrimp mixed in with some Bamboo shrimp and some fish I don't remember what they were called.
I don't know....they seemed like adults, but they were crystal clear and very healthy when I got them. 
Ah, well.....

Little Ash, I pray for you! I actually did say a few prayers xD


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## SpookyTooth

I'm glad to hear he came from someone who clearly cared!!

And I personally feel that there is nothing wrong with praying for someone you care about, regardless of size or lifespan  Animals were gifted to us to keep us company and teach us all sorts of life lessons (in my opinion) and I can completely understand your way of thinking.


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## Olympia

How old is he? Ghost shrimp (or any dwarf shrimp) are not terribly long lived animals in general...


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## PaintingPintos

Olympia said:


> How old is he? Ghost shrimp (or any dwarf shrimp) are not terribly long lived animals in general...


I got him in March with 2 others... Misty and Brock, a male and a female. Ash is a male. I gave Brock to my friend because she wanted a shrimp badly and she only has 3 cats....yesterday she told me the shrimp is turning pink so she's prepared for him to pass on. I think the shrimp is in a 1/2 gallon pickling jar with lots of water lettuce with tiny glass pebbles holding down some of the plant so it makes an ongoing jungle gym.....She feeds him 1 pellet in the morning, 1 at night. I think she cleans the tank every other day.



SpookyTooth said:


> I'm glad to hear he came from someone who clearly cared!!
> 
> And I personally feel that there is nothing wrong with praying for someone you care about, regardless of size or lifespan  Animals were gifted to us to keep us company and teach us all sorts of life lessons (in my opinion) and I can completely understand your way of thinking.


Yup. I was hoping you'd say that :3 My goldfish have taught me (unintentionally) about greediness xD Take too much of what you like and you'll end up with Swim Bladder Disorder :lol:

Yup....and my horse, who is the most sensitive animal in the world :roll: taught me too much to even say....compared to my old horse, she's a freaking manic when she shows me what I'm doing wrong! It's like there are so many puzzles to figure out when I'm with her. When I get it right I'm overjoyed and Nas is happy.

I just hope Ash is ok!! He was just sitting near the bottom of the moss ball a few minutes ago. He's still the same color as from this morning. 
Come to think of it, his tail is a bit thin.
Very strange.
I hope this little guy makes it
*knocks on tank* PULL THROUGH BUDDY!!!!


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## Olympia

Well, that's about 7 months you've had him, that's a good amount of time for him to have lived...


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## PaintingPintos

Olympia said:


> Well, that's about 7 months you've had him, that's a good amount of time for him to have lived...


I suppose 
;_________;
I should get longer-lived pets. I don't know if it would make a difference though. The longer you have something the more attached you get to it, that's what I think.
I think ghost shrimp (very well cared for) live like 1 year to 1 1/2 years. But then again who knows how long those shrimp could have been in the pet store? They don't show up often around here because there is a very low demand.


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## PaintingPintos

MAYBE Ash is just molting...I have NEVER seen him molt, and if he dared molt my betta would have eaten him, because he always managed to creep into wherever Ash was hiding.
Now, I swapped out the big gravel pieces for little natural-colored gravel. VERY pretty. Burnt sienna, yellow ochre, burnt umber, etc, colors in that range are mixed into the gravel. It's like 2 pieces of gravel deep. I also took VERY tiny Terra Cotta pots (I think 2 inches across) and used tile nippers to make bitty little hideouts. 
I was trying to make a little abode that would look like a flower pot upside down but with a small hole at the rim so the shrimp could hide inside.
Instead the pots snapped in half so I had to make do and nip them down to each a little less than half....I put 2 in the tank, one on each side. 
Also in the back in the middle I put the moss ball, now slightly flattened just to switch it up a bit. That's all I put in for now since Ash had little room to swim before and I think he needs some exercise...I'm not gonna be putting him an "exercise bucket" every day xD
As I was adding the rest of the water, Ask immediately swam into one of the pots. I hope he either dies in peace there, or decides to do a molt.
I think if I had aquarium-safe sand with lots of live plants I'd make a little burrow out of maybe small PVC tubing and aquarium sealant.
I'm just happy that Ash is OK right now.


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## SpookyTooth

It sounds like a lovely home for him. I'm sure he appreciates the effort you're making for him - I know I would.

There is one downside though.

You're making me wish for ghost shrimp again! They are such charismatic little things. Hehe.

Holding out hope that he's going to moult!


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## PaintingPintos

SpookyTooth said:


> It sounds like a lovely home for him. I'm sure he appreciates the effort you're making for him - I know I would.
> 
> There is one downside though.
> 
> You're making me wish for ghost shrimp again! They are such charismatic little things. Hehe.
> 
> Holding out hope that he's going to moult!


Yes, shrimp are addictive.
When I woke up this morning at 10 (I know, I went to bed at like 2am) I showered then looked at Ash. He was sideways in the gravel, lying next to an exoskeleton.
So he DID want to molt.
I nudged him right side up using a barbecue skewer, and dropped in like 20 pellets in hopes that he would get close to one.
One fell DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIS MOUTH.
Not even a mere millimeter away.
But he was so weak all he could do was wiggle his swimmerettes feebly then he collapsed and his whiskers moved around once a minute.
He died in front of me.
Poor baby.
I want another ghost shrimp REAAAALLLYYYY badly now 
I wonder what happened though.
I guess other people's shrimp turned white and died due to failure of molting....
Poor little shrimp. I think maybe he was low on calcium.....
Also, he only molted after I supplied nothing but gravel, two 1/3 pieces of flower pots to hide in, and a moss ball.
I guess contrary to ghost shrimp knowledge they prefer open space with one or two plants.......Ash wasn't swimming around much or half as excitedly when I put lots of plants in his tank as opposed to the bare setup.
Poor, poor shrimpy.....
Today I went to a pony party with my mentor and I helped her out a TON and afterward we went to a parade so we could walk our horses in it (yaaaay) and I got paid, so I am heading to PetSmart ASAP to get a bunch of new supplies plus 1 or 2 Ghost shrimp. I was low on money (I was at the bare minimum......rolls of dimes, nickels, and pennies) so now I'll spend it all.


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## SpookyTooth

I'm so sorry :-( You did really well with him, I'm sure he lived a long, happy life with you. I know your future shrimp will thrive in your care! Good luck with them and I'd love to see some photographs of them and their home if you're able and feel up to it.


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