# is pale colour normal after moult ?



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Got a good look just now at the fan shrimp that moulted while I was away last week. It's a female, seems very active tonight, swimming up and down, which is amusing to watch with her little swimmerettes [sp?] flailing away like mad.. but she is so pale! She looks bleached next to the other two. She's been very quiet the past couple of days, this is the first time I've seen her moving around since I got home. Last night she was hanging under the mopani wood, barely moving at all. I was getting worried about her.

Is this paleness after a moult normal ? The male I have is so close in colour to the mopani wood he is quite hard to see when he's near or on it, but he has a quite bright back stripe, which sometimes shows him up. The other female is paler than he is, but still a wood brown shade, with a less distinct stripe. The newly moulted female is a rather ghastly pale beige by comparison, and her stripe is barely visible.

Since she's active and feeding I'm assuming she's ok, but she sure looks odd next to the other two.. before the moult I could not tell her from the other female in any way.


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## RevoBuda (Sep 3, 2011)

I assume you're talking about Singapore / flower shrimp? If so, I find that mine are always paler after a Molt. I also find they change color every now and again on their own... Maybe mood??? If they have a large white stripes on their back you can be sure they are healthy. Mine go from bright red to dark red/brown. The white stripes are more emphasized with darker coloration. Hope this helps!


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Yes, I meant the Singapore/flower/wood/bamboo and heaven knows what other names the critters have . Good to know the pale colour is normal and not an indication she is sick. Before the moult all 3 of mine had very distinct light colour stripes down their backs, though I don't think I'd call them white. But certainly a very pale cream or beige, and the male I have, his stripe is so bright, it makes him easy to distinguish from his lady friends when I can't see his legs. Thanks for the reply, I feel a lot better now about the shrimp.


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