# Glow in the dark Cherries?



## diagnosis (Dec 14, 2011)

I have been having a strange occurrence in my tank with some of my cherry shrimp, and I thought at first my eyes may be playing tricks on me, but occasionally, one to three of my cherries are glowing in the dark.

It seems to be some sort of bio-luminescence, and happens a few times a week, only noticeable once the lights are turned out at night.

Also, it appears that any shrimp that are affected by this, seem to pass on by the following day, as the dead bodies continue to glow for quite some time.

Before you ask, I have tried to take pictures using my iPhone, as it is the only camera that I currently own, but it won't pick up such a low light. When my girlfriend has stayed the night with her point and shoot, the glowing has not happened, Murphy's law eh? I'll try to get some photos the next chance I get.

I have been searching online, and through other forums, but I have only found articles relating to bio-luminescence found in saltwater shrimp, caught for human consumption in Oregon, and there was one other case where everyone thought the guy was nuts..... hopefully that isn't what you think in this case!



This is a link to the other article: INSANE GLOW IN THE DARK SHRIMP!!!!

Has anyone here experienced this with their Cherries, or with any other inverts for that matter?

Regards, Graham.


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## Bwhiskered (Oct 2, 2008)

It could be that some form of bacteria infects them and gives them a glowing appearace before they die. It's a new one on me.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

It's most likely some kind of algae.
I've heard of similar phenomenon in San Diego and with salf water creatures.
Here's some new covering it:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2005-11-21-glowing-sea-algae_x.htm

Youtube of what they would call a red tide.





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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

It's also possible that the glow is due to something they ate, which, judging by the fact that they die soon after, can't be very healthy.


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## diagnosis (Dec 14, 2011)

Bwhiskered said:


> It could be that some form of bacteria infects them and gives them a glowing appearace before they die. It's a new one on me.


This is what I am assuming, but I wonder where it originated from? One of the main concerns is that if I am not up early enough before one passes on, I can't remove the corpse in time, and the other shrimp tend to descend on it like a group of blood red zombies. 
I am worried that this may cause the spread of the bacteria to uninfected shrimp. The numbers of glowing shrimp have been consistent for the past month, and there hasn't been an increase in deaths (that I've noticed), so hopefully this isn't the case.

@ Zebrapl3co, the article and video are amazing! It may be a sort of algae that they are consuming, but nothing else in the tank seems to be affected.... actually, I just glanced at the tank, and it seems that one of my assassin snails that was feeding on one of the shrimp, is not doing very well at all.

The glow is a very soft green light, similar to the hands on an analog watch, or a toy.

edit: The snail seems to be fine... must have just inhaled a rams horn, food coma. But one more cherry has died, and after checking him out in the dark, he is glowing.


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## diagnosis (Dec 14, 2011)

I was speaking to one of the gentleman at Aqua Inspiration today, and mentioned the glowing cherries. It was mentioned that fluctuating pH levels, or low water quality may cause this problem.

I have been doing a 20% WC every week, and been keeping an eye on the pH levels using an API quick test strip, and they seem to sit around 7.0

I am not completely sold on this being the cause, but I will definitely keep a close eye on the water parameters from here on in.

Edit: for future reference, links noting this 'luminescence'.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp-other-invertebrates/111403-luminous-red-cherry-shrimp.html

http://www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/chem/

Update: Over the past 3 days, I have lost 6 shrimp. 4 had passed, but were still glowing while at the bottom of the tank, and 2 were found while still alive, swimming around the tank. The following morning, I believe that they were the dead ones on the substrate."

Update: Jan. 1st. I haven't lost any shrimp in about 5 days, so hopefully whatever was causing the shrimp to glow has run it's course.

I'll post up a quick convo. between a friend on another forum, regarding the issue.

_*me*: "I have a minor problem with my fishtank......my cherry shrimp glow in the dark

Maybe I should have requested a Geiger counter for the house inspection.

Scientists, any input? The rest of the interwebs seems to be stumped.

*him*: "With respect to the shrimp, if it's a food based reaction then whatever impartially metabolized molecule is chemically activated to 
chemiluminesce. The buildup of that high energy metabolite in the shrimp's body is bad news, and can eventually become toxic.

Is the food you're adding to the tank shrimp specific or non-specific? If it is a food thing then reducing the amount of food may help or at least allow you to see if there's a reduction in the glowing.

While I do not question your ability to keep the tank clean, once there is a bacteria or algae related problem, it's going to take an acid wash of everything to make sure it's 100% gone. (This is just something I've learned trying to keep a system of 30 tanks clear of algae over a month using a centralized aeration system that was fouled)"

*me*: "The one that was alive last night, was dead this morning. They don't seem to last very long once infected. Also, just this evening, I pulled the body of a ghost shrimp out that was slightly luminescent, so I guess that rules out the infection only targeting the single species.

I haven't been feeding them anything out of the ordinary, basically the same food that is going into my other tank. Mainly they eat whatever the fish don't consume, as well as scavenge for microbes in the water, and any algae that accumulates on the plants and gravel.

I feed the fish, 'tetra-min PRO' flakes, and I'll throw a Hikari algae wafer in every few days.

One thing I have to do is contact the guy I bought the tank from. I found it on Kijiji, complete with plants, substrate, and filtration. I literally helped him take the tank down in Ajax, and set it back up at my place within 3 hours of purchasing it. He included roughly 60 shrimp, and I added another 30 or so from my original setup. He never mentioned anything about the shrimp glowing, which I assume he would have. It's not something that you just forget about!

I am not sure if the shrimp from my original tank were the carriers, or the new tank was infected. I never noticed it in the old tank, I assume because of the blue 'moonlight' that comes on in the evening."

*him*: "I am stumped.

Seems unlikely that something new would have been reintroduced en route from one house to another... unless an existing bacteria population exploded in that time."
_

Ah well, never really figured this one out, but I hope this is the end of it!

edit: Jan. 3rd. Pulled one out this morning, half devoured.... eff. I shouldn't have said anything yesterday!

edit: Feb 1st. Over the past two days, I've pulled 4 shrimp out, 2 alive, 2 dead, all glowing. This corresponds with the re-introduction of pressurized CO2 into the tank, which makes me believe that PH swings may bring this on. I need to get a new PH test kit to find out where the levels are, and if this change may cause the shrimp to have these problems.


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