# Green Shrimp Turning White and Dying



## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

ive had a few deaths since ive gotten my green shrimp. some have turned white like ghost srimp, and then they die. i have made sure water params are good, and they are not getting copper in their diet. i feed them every other day also. could this be a disease of some sort? other shrimp are healthy and have grown and gotten their full green colour...


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## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

Its either one of two things a bacterial infection or parasites. Do the insides looked cooked? Like they are turning completely white? If that's the case what happens is the shrimp dies other eat the carcass and the bacteria spreads to the rest of the tribe. Once it has the bacteria its a slim to none chance of survival and should be isolated to keep it from spreading.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

ive been taking out the bodies as soon as i see them. (i check numerous times a day) is there any way to treat it? not sure what you mean by the "cooked" look...they just turn absolutely white, with no signs of green. others are doing well, but im afraid ill loose them all. i was going to buy more, but now i think ill wait and see, and hopefully treat the tank!


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## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

newbiefishfanatic said:


> ive been taking out the bodies as soon as i see them. (i check numerous times a day) is there any way to treat it? not sure what you mean by the "cooked" look...they just turn absolutely white, with no signs of green. others are doing well, but im afraid ill loose them all. i was going to buy more, but now i think ill wait and see, and hopefully treat the tank!


To date and from my own research and several other breeders I know there is nothing known to treat it.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

well, can it be spread to fish? i dont have any other tanks to put him/her into without fish. i made the 10 gallon which was my hospital tank, just for the shrimp.


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## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

newbiefishfanatic said:


> well, can it be spread to fish? i dont have any other tanks to put him/her into without fish. i made the 10 gallon which was my hospital tank, just for the shrimp.


No idea, I had it once a few years back and culled the entire group to keep it from spreading, plus I keep mainly species only tanks.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

well this is terrible news. i guess the only thing i can do is let it run its course, and loose my $35 investment. on shrimp!  very frustrating, and i do not think i will keep shrimp ever again. ill spend my money on my fishes who can be curred of disease, and my plecs. too bad, i thought it was going to be fun keeping shrimp...


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

is there any ideas on how this disease starts? did i do it to them or did they come to me diseased?


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## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

To answer the first part of your question, overcrowding, poor water quality, stress. Second part I couldn't possibly say.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

hmmm...is 15 shrimp in a 10 gallon to much? i wouldnt think they are stressed out. there are a lot of snails in there though...and the snails are all over the sinking pellets when i put them in. all my tanks are almost perfect water params. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5-10ppm nitrates. i havent checked PH though in that tank in awhile, maybe i should? do you know, kate, what ph the shrimp prefer? and would dh have an effect on them?


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## Katalyst (Jul 29, 2007)

newbiefishfanatic said:


> hmmm...is 15 shrimp in a 10 gallon to much? i wouldnt think they are stressed out. there are a lot of snails in there though...and the snails are all over the sinking pellets when i put them in. all my tanks are almost perfect water params. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5-10ppm nitrates. i havent checked PH though in that tank in awhile, maybe i should? do you know, kate, what ph the shrimp prefer? and would dh have an effect on them?


Dwarf shrimp are usually pretty and can handle a range of pH's easily. Your best bet is to contact the seller who should be able to provide you with detailed information, the scientific name, parameters of his or her tank and any illness they have witnessed in their tanks.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

99.9% of the time it is water quality issues.

Same goes with fish diseases - I'd never rely on the ability to "cure" fish diseases. Medication is awful in general, and more than often it is past the point of no return.

Water quality, water quality and water quality. 99.9% of EVERY aquarium related problem.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

all my tanks are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 5-10ppm nitrates. definately not a water quality issue here. might be stress, or i have sponge in the filter intake so the filter is not working at 100% efficiency. but all my water is almost perfect, im not exaggerating either. the ph ranges are fine also, maybe a little higher in one tank, but all from 7-7.6.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

kH and gH?


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

i didnt think those mattered too much. they just tell you how stable your ph is. so i figured if my ph was fine, and stayed the same for lenghty periods, i didnt need to monitor the gh and kh. am i wrong? should i be monitoring them also?


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

newbiefishfanatic said:


> i didnt think those mattered too much. they just tell you how stable your ph is. so i figured if my ph was fine, and stayed the same for lenghty periods, i didnt need to monitor the gh and kh. am i wrong? should i be monitoring them also?


While you aren't wrong about (kH) affecting the stability of your pH, I would suggest you do a bit of reading up on what both general hardness and alkalinity are.

I used to monitor my kH and gH as often as my pH, but now I test on a more irregular basis. If you have no idea what they are, I would suggest finding out =D

That isn't to say these are the problem - I mean, we haven't even talked about the temperature of your tank or the filtration, or feeding methods...who knows?

In my experience, shrimp sort of look after themselves. I have a slew of random different shrimp in all my tanks - I never feed them or anything, they just subsist! I have had some die offs before though, which I failed to figure out of the causes of. I just left them and eventually they rebuilt their little colonies in time.

As for helping you though, I think I am limited. Harold from Menagerie is probably a better source of information, or Katalyst.


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

lol im at a loss as to what is wrong. i keep the temp at 28 (82) and i use a HOB aquatech filter. katalyst suggested it was stress, and im beggining to think thats the main cause, but it spreads when they die,and the other shrimp eat the dead ones.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

If you are %100 positive it is spreading when the other shrimps eat them (and they aren't just dying for the same reason), then disease/parasites are probably your problem.

As for helping you with that....good luck!


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

thanks much for being interested chris s. i have no chance of correcting with meds says katalyst, so i am left to watch my new babies die.  very sad situation. i will keep updates posted as they happen. the person who sold the to me is also concerned. they were healthy with them, and now ive got them and theyre dying!


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