Cloudy body shrimp

[OhKay13]

Hello all! So I’m new to shrimp keeping. I got 10 golden rod neos in September from Rachel O’Leary. So far everything has been great. 3 hatches from 2 of the older females. But we noticed today that the largest one who has had 2 of the clutches is a little cloudy and sluggish. She molted well today and didn’t look like it caused her any trouble. She gets away from males pretty well still. She doesn’t have any holes in her exoskeleton or any missing limbs so I don’t think it’s a bacterial infection. Other shrimp are also exhibiting the same symptoms, and some are totally fine. I did a full water change just in case. The shrimplets are all alive and well as well.

Could they just be getting old?

PH=7.5

Temp=70

*no GH, KH, or TDS tester yet - any recommendations for this would be appreciated

 

 

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[JSak]

Hi @OhKay13! From the pictures the shrimp look fine to me so it might be hard to tell without looking at them in person or without comparing a before and after picture, but from my experience once you get the first batch of shrimplets that successfully hatch, you're more or less in the "safe zone". By that I mean that when I get in new shrimp I don't feel too confident that they'll be okay in my tank until I at least start seeing breeding activity. If the eggs are able to successfully hatch I assume that the tank environment is optimal for them to be able to reproduce so I know more or less that I can breathe a little easier and not worry about if they're doing well or not. One thing I've noticed is that even after a few months of having my shrimp (most of which I got around September and October as well) they've been continuing to change colors, and my thought is that it takes them some time to adjust to a new environment and as they acclimate, they begin to show more and more of their "true" colors. For example, when you first receive new shrimp they're stressed and as a result appear less colorful, but once they acclimate most of their color back. My theory is that they don't fully obtain their full color until they're completely acclimated to their environment, which may take a little while depending on tank parameters, how closely they match the person you bought them from, shipping methods, etc. I have some purple nanacy pintos that were purple with white stripes for the past several months and then within the past week or 2 some started showing deep blue coloration where the white stripes are, which was a very unexpected, but exciting, surprise. 

 

The point you bring up about the possibility that the color change could be due to aging is also plausible. I've noticed that especially with neos that have the more translucent bodies, you can differentiate individual shrimp by age by looking at their size and coloration. Naturally as animals and humans get older, their biological processes don't work as well as they did when they were younger. In general, with age health will also decline, and the changes in the pigmentation could be a result of the decline in health of the tissue/shell. It doesn't necessarily mean the shrimp is unhealthy or diseased though. If you think of a young adult dog compared to an older dog, the younger dog will have a healthier and more vibrant coat compared to an older dog, in general, simply because of the aging process. 

 

Sorry for the long post, but I think the main point is that since your colony and the individual shrimp appear to be healthy, are eating normally, aren't exhibiting any unusual behavior, and the water parameters are normal, you shouldn't have to worry too much about it, but it may be something you could keep tabs on if you're concerned. Hope this helps!