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I have kept my lava shrimp alive and breeding for about 7 months now. For the most part they have acted healthy. A see very small young ones when I prepare the sea horses their monthly treat.
Howver, My lava shrimp prefer to be basically a white color, or very pale. I recently added an additional 50 shrimp, which someone in phoenix no longer wanted to keep. They were a very nice color red. After acclimation, they also turned white for the most part.
I feed them Ocean Rider\’s Shrimp gro. I also on some days feed instead Reef Nutrition Acrti-pod…Or flake food with Selcon added/.
Dear Jeff:
There is some normal color variation in the lava shrimp or volcano shrimp (Halocaridina rubra). Most specimens are red but some are white and they may have coloration anywhere in between these extremes as well.
It sounds like you are providing excellent conditions that are conducive to breeding and are to the shrimp’s liking, since they are reproducing in your tank. And there is certainly nothing wrong with a diet that you are providing for them. You might consider mixing it a little Vibrance with the Shrimpgro since that will provide the shrimp with the carotenes that help produce their normal red coloration.
The only other thing that comes to mind is that there may be a difference in the pH, specific gravity, or light levels in your shrimp tank that cause them to favor white rather than the usual red coloration. But if you are using the lava shrimp as live treats for your seahorses, then their coloration shouldn’t matter — your seahorses will still love to hunt them down and they will still be just as nutritious whether they are white or red or some shade in between.
Best of luck with your culture of volcano shrimp, Jeff!
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna
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