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Hi Ladies and Gents, I need some help. Some of the shrimp in my PRL tank are starting to loose their colour and go translucent. I noticed this morning that the shell of one of them has changed to a light pink. He still has the thick white shell, its just the white part is turning pink. I'll attach a photo later on today. I know pink means internal bacterial infection but his "insides" look fine, its just his shell. By the time I went to get my phone to take a photo he ran to the other end of the tank ... typical. My water prams Ph: 6.6 Gh: 6 Kh: 0 TDS: 241 Temp: 22-24 degrees I know my Ph and my TDS are a little high so I've been lowering it slowly over the last few weeks. I didn't want to change it too much and shock them. I do a 10% water change weekly and drip my new water in. I use a mixture of RO and tap water. I have fluval stratum in the tank and also have Indian almond leaves, subwassertang moss and cholla wood. I have green walls for them and I use a sponge filter. Is this a Ph problem or is this bacterial? I've attached a photo of one of the females that have changed colour and who have gone translucent. I appreciate all your help!

Hope all goes well with getting the new shrimps, those in the picture look great. Perhaps watch the video on telling the differences between male and female shape just before you go? If you are getting them from a breeder he can probably tell which are which for you anyway! You were very wise to stay away from unhealthy shrimps from a tank with 'planaria', that could have been a BIG mistake???? Simon

I may be wrong but the PH looks fine. Generally though it sounds like you are having the same problems I had years ago using tapwater. As beanbag says I would stay away from tapwater, use RO water and remineralise then you know what is in the water. As zoidburg says messing about with water parameters may also have caused them stress. Simon ps. (sorry every one else you must be a bit fed up of me linking this thread???) Here is the article I did about my problems and it may help, hopefully anyway? https://skfaquatics.com/forum/topic/14025-tap-water-taiwan-bee-uk-zerowater/?tab=comments#comment-135328

Hello folks, I am aiming to have a mixed medley shrimp tank of Taiwan bee shrimp, sort of like what Simon has. However, I want to minimize the number of "reject" hybridized shrimp that are either mono-color, or have weak colors and lots of clear patches. My understanding is that as long as you mix Taiwan bee, you will get other Taiwan bee. However, if you mix with CRS, you get these reject "mischlings" and if you mix with Tiger, you get the Taitibee that will end up having a lot of clear patches. I finally found a local breeder that has a bunch of these shrimp. (I don't want to deal with shrimp in the mail) Anyway, I got a pair of juvenile blue bolts and a pair of red wine panda, which is vaguely similar to Simon's initial mix. I'm not in a hurry to have an overgrown colony, but for genetic diversity reasons, is starting off with only 4 shrimp enough? Secondly, here's a partial list of other (reasonably priced) shrimp that this guys sells. Are these "compatible" with my current shrimp in the sense of not getting reject offspring? Yellow King Kong, Black King Kong, Black Belly Pinto, blue shadow mosura

Great news you have made a good start. I have had mine for a year or more now and I don't have any (never have had) with any clear patches or weak colour, though some of the patterns are a bit funky on some and some keepers would consider them to cull I suspect but I still like them as 'variety is the spice of life' after all? You may get some all reds or all blacks but they are called king kongs so still taiwan bee. Anyway, I guess the photos speak for themselves so you have seen what I have. I am no expert by all means but I would stick to ONLY taiwan bees to avoid any of the colour/clear issues, and as zoidberg says, I a not sure about Yellow king kong so would avoid those! I am getting a few which look half taiwan bee and half Pinto so bear that in mind if you get some of the pinto ones, but again they are fully coloured like the taiwan bee but obviously you may get some funky ones so that is a question you need to ask yourself. I have some blue mosura in my tank as well. I would maybe get a couple of the black shrimps and go from there??? Simon ps in case anyone else is wondering about the shrimp of mine Beanbag is talking about, their are pictures in the gallery ref 'sdlTBfanUK'.

Can't help but wonder if I might know the person who has those shrimp. Based on the information you gave, I'd say to stay clear of the YKK's. They are believed to be TT hybrids although no one knows what species originally went into making them. They do pop up occasionally in mixed tanks. (at least the phenotype) Beyond that... well, I honestly don't know enough to give any input!

If you are allowed to pick the shrimps yourself, then pick all the females (since you already have a couple of males). Good solid colouring, check for genetic defects, active ... I can't think of any thing else. Bring your TDS meter with you to test their water parameters. If you have a pH pen bring that too. It's best to know what water the new shrimps come from so you can tailor acclimation to their water params.

Of the two choices, I'd say grindal worms would be better, but they are very similar.