Star anise ok for antibacterial infection??

[NSinvert]

I’ve noticed that my crs shell is becoming discolored. The white on their shell is becoming transparent and I’m worried some have contracted chitinolytic infection. I’ve recently bought some nature white shrimp food to help keep their shell white and healthy but I’ve noticed on 2 of my crs a rust color on their head. It’s been almost a week that I’ve fed them this new food and I will say that the white has improved some but this yellow rust color is bothering me. I wanted to make a medicine bag from cheese cloth with aldercones, cinnamon sticks, almond leaves, banana leaves, guava leaves. I also wanted to use some star anise because it’s a natural antibacterial spice for human consumption and it also great for the digestive system. I just don’t know if it’s shrimp safe. Any ideas?? 

[Shrimp Life]

What are your tank parameters? Any pics of the shrimp? Indian almond leaves have antibacterial properties and are used frequently in shrimp tanks so just use those instead. Cinnamon sticks need to be boiled a few times and soaked well prior to use, people have reported without boiling and soaking thoroughly, it can cause problems in the shrimp tank (death)

[TheGlassBox]

Yeah, I think I'd stick with the leaves...  I have no idea how the oils in the anise would effect them.  It could be too strong.  Has the loss of white come on suddenly?  Or has it crept in over a few generations?  Got any pics?

[NSinvert]

Hi, I’m sorry I don’t know how I didn’t see this. I figured out my nitrates were incredibly high and I needed to change my substrate. My ph wasn’t stable at all but the nitrates I think is what really harmed them. So I sorted all that out and now my tank is good. I’m still curious about the star anise though. I’m thinking about using one in my cull tank of cherry shrimp. I would boil it first and see if I can strip some of the ingredients. I went to my local Asian markets and saw a plethora of dried leaves and spices. Banana leaves were .99 cents!! 

[NSinvert]

This was one of them that concerned me. His shell was just inconsistent in color. When I got him he was beautiful! 

[TheGlassBox]

I can't see anything on the picture that looks like chitinolytic infection.  He looks pretty healthy...  How old is he?  (I'm guessing it's a boy from the body shape, but I could be wrong.  Would need to see a picture from a side profile).

 

Just like people, shrimp age.  And just like people, they tend to look physically more attractive when they're young.  People get gray hair, wrinkles and gravity takes it toll on us.  With my PRLs, their shell looses it's beautifully white solid color as they get older.  Particularly the females.  I think it's just the stress of having babies that ages their shells faster than males.  By the time they're a year and a half old, they don't look very white at all.  And just like people, physical stressors can intensify the negative aspects of physical aging.  For example, those of us who sun tanned a lot in our youth tend to have more wrinkles when we're older...   Too much smoking and drinking can have an effect as well.  Could be prolonged high nitrates may have had an impact on their shells?  Maybe?  Was their pH above 7 for a prolonged time?    Maybe that could have negative effects, as these shrimp really do like softer water...   Do you use salts to reconstitute the water?

 

Shrimp live to about 1 year to a year and a half.  Could it be he's just getting older?  When was the last time you had babies, and how do the babies and younger shrimp look?

 

I'm a 57 year old woman with gray hairs, wrinkles and yeah, this old body doesn't look like it did when I was 25 LOL!!!  So maybe it's just age?

 

If you try the anise, I'd definitely try it on the culls.  And incidently, I tried BorneoWild White and I didn't have any luck with it.  I don't think it made any difference in their shell quality that I could see.  Never tried any other brand, and other's mileage may vary on that...  But I don't think it did anything to improve the white color on my older shrimp, so I stopped using it.

 

Hope this helps!

 

😊