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Color of shrimp at birth

13K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Turningdizzy  
#1 ·
So yesterday I was walking towards my tank and I saw a tiny little baby shrimp swim across my Nano tank. It currently has two Glass/Ghost shrimp, which may not be Ghost/Glass shrimp, and two or three Blue Rili shrimp and two or three Blue Velvet shrimp.

This baby shrimp looked almost clear when I saw it from afar and then it hid when I got closer. Are the baby shrimp born one color and then color up later in life after a molt or two? I have heard that it is not very common for the Ghost shrimp to breed in a tank so I am thinking they are from the blue shrimp. But the color threw me off.



Tim
 
#2 ·
I'm betting it was your Neocaridina. Neos take a while to develop color, especially blues in my time keeping them. Blue Neo shrimp often throw wild types that never color up. Here are some of mine from earlier this year, every single adult was a great blue. Look closely around the adult, the offspring blend in with Flourite really well.
Image
 
#4 ·
#6 ·
It's been my experience that all baby neo shrimp are pretty much milky white/clear-ish. I had some Ghosties once and the babies were half grown by the time that I found them. I believe that the Ghosties go through a larval stage after hatching. You would need a really mature tank with lots of micro eats for the larvae. I currently keep six different neo varieties and they all have babies like you have described. The color comes later and gets better as the shrimp age. I kinda miss my ghost shrimp, their antics at dinner time were great fun to watch. They like to steal each others food and lots of scuffles break out with the temporary victor swimming away for dear life while others are chasing. Maybe they are related to seagulls-"Mine! Mine! Mine!"