# Blue pearl shrimp are the biggest fraud in the shrimp keeping hobby



## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

So I bought some blue pearl shrimp a few weeks ago after looking for a reputable seller with good pictures of his stock. Needless to say, they are a fraud since they are not really all that blue. Heck, you need a special angle to view them in order to see the vague coloration. There is really nothing special about these shrimp so I threw them in the same tank as the cherries. I know that they will probably cross breed but they are so ugly that I don't really care.

Anybody else have blue pearl shrimp?

Video I shot not too long ago...I think they are in the video as well (the Co2 has been removed a few weeks ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpI5Pcm25Ag


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## Ebichua (May 13, 2008)

They have an icy blue color to it. It's subtle but definitely blue. They're pretty neat in my opinion. They're definitely no blue tiger in terms of blue coloration but they're unique in their own way 

To each his own.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

I have some... Got them form a few sources. Most of them are an icy blue but some of them do come out a real nice bright light blue colour.
You might have just gotten poor stock


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## Gtdad2 (Nov 21, 2010)

They may be still young and not fully colored yet.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Shrimp will also loose color when stressed. If you just got them this may be the problem and the color will come back over the next couple of weeks.


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## james0816 (Jun 26, 2008)

I like Pearls. I'm curious by your description if they may have been mixed with Snowballs.

But...as Jmow stated, stress will cause them to loose color as well. Definately ride it out and see how they fare. If they are young, give them a chance to come into their own.


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## Lucille (Jun 15, 2010)

An interesting thread. Would like to see pictures of everyones shrimp on a white background (to make sure that the pix are not taken with a blue light on them). Then, viewers can come to their own conclusions.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Lucille said:


> An interesting thread. Would like to see pictures of everyones shrimp on a white background (to make sure that the pix are not taken with a blue light on them). Then, viewers can come to their own conclusions.


Good idea but that's going to be impossible since I have yet to see anybody with a white background. :wink:


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

jmowbray said:


> Shrimp will also loose color when stressed. If you just got them this may be the problem and the color will come back over the next couple of weeks.


I purchased these a week before my high grade CRS shrimp....both are living in the same tank and both are breeding. As you know, high grade CRS need ideal conditions to breed so I doubt the blue pearls are stressed if they are in the same tank.

In my opinion, people should go with the blue tigers if they are looking for a blue shrimp. Obviously they are more expensive but they will be worth it in the long run.


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## Alpha Pro Breeders (Jan 26, 2010)

I love blue pearls, but their colors don't really come out until they get some size to them. Many shrimp can take at least a few weeks for their true colors to start showing.


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## fresh.salty (Jul 2, 2010)

I made a similar comment yesterday about blue shrimp. Most of those I've seen called blue is a real loose interpretation of the word. lol


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

fresh.salty said:


> I made a similar comment yesterday about blue shrimp. Most of those I've seen called blue is a real loose interpretation of the word. lol


I definitely agree...it's a marketing scam. haha

Video I shot not too long ago...I think they are in the video as well (the Co2 has been removed a few weeks ago) (added it to the original post too)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpI5Pcm25Ag


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

hedge_fund said:


> I definitely agree...it's a marketing scam. haha
> 
> Video I shot not too long ago...I think they are in the video as well (the Co2 has been removed a few weeks ago) (added it to the original post too)
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpI5Pcm25Ag


they look like blue pearls to me... its not a dark blue by any means but its not supposed to be either.. i've never seen a dark blue pearl.. only a true blue rili gets the dark blue on the head and tail, the rest is light blue, which is what the pearls have.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

First, I think you should have looked up really good on what a blue pearl shrimp is. They are a lightly body tinted blue shrimp that are still transparent. Look here even, http://www.shrimpkeeping.com/ that is a good example of a blue pearl, believe or not. Or here from AlphaProBreeders site, http://www.planetinverts.com/Blue Pearl Shrimp.html You didn't get scammed at all, you just ordered something obviously without looking them up and see they are not going to be the blue you expect.

Because you didn't research them and seem to be expecting eye popping dark blue shrimp and came off rather rude in your original post, I almost don't even want to tell you, but I will. You're going to ruin your blue pearls and your cherry stock keeping them both together. They will cross breed and a lot of zhangjiajiensis and Heteropoda crosses end up with ugly brown colors and sterile. Hope you don't blame that lack of research on the seller too.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Nice music in the background haha. Very neat apartment 

Can't really tell but you could've gotten snowball shrimp. Either way don't put blue pearls with the RCS. It's not the same as putting yellows with RCS as they are both the same genus and species. Blue pearls and RCS are the same genus but DIFFERENT species.


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## wetworks (Jul 22, 2011)

They remind me of the old ads in comic books for 'sea monkeys''; all you have to do is squint and try to imagine that they are blue and voila! Instant fun!


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## Lucille (Jun 15, 2010)

hedge_fund said:


> Good idea but that's going to be impossible since I have yet to see anybody with a white background. :wink:


Many people have a white plate or similar in their kitchen that can be slid behind a shrimp into an aquarium. If you don't, call your Mom.:hihi:


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## jimko (Aug 17, 2007)

Get some aura blues. 

Neos take time to color up also the blue coloration in blue pearl is subtle. I wouldn't call it a gimmick until you have a big colony of them and the still look color less. A lot of time shrimps in picture are of the very best, best in show. There's an amount of culling that takes place.


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

It's a little rude to call them a fraud... a breeder spent a lot of time picking out slightly bluer and bluer shrimps until they got to this shrimp. It's belittling. Blue is crazy hard color to get to in the shrimp world, it's hard to get them breeding true and dark blue is crazy difficult to get (except for in blue tigers)

Also, looking at the videos, I like your tank, but all the blue pearls were still juvies and like neocaridina shrimp will color up with time.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Senior Shrimpo said:


> It's a little rude to call them a fraud... a breeder spent a lot of time picking out slightly bluer and bluer shrimps until they got to this shrimp. It's belittling. Blue is crazy hard color to get to in the shrimp world, it's hard to get them breeding true and dark blue is crazy difficult to get (except for in blue tigers)
> 
> Also, looking at the videos, I like your tank, but all the blue pearls were still juvies and like neocaridina shrimp will color up with time.


Thanks for checking it out. The video did not capture all the shrimp since I have larger ones in there that are pretty much adults.

I wouldn't say that I'm belittling the original breeder...I'm just sharing my personal opinion of blue pearl shrimp.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

diwu13 said:


> Nice music in the background haha. Very neat apartment
> 
> Can't really tell but you could've gotten snowball shrimp. Either way don't put blue pearls with the RCS. It's not the same as putting yellows with RCS as they are both the same genus and species. Blue pearls and RCS are the same genus but DIFFERENT species.


Thanks. My first apt in CT after moving from Jersey. :hihi:


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

hedge_fund said:


> Thanks for checking it out. The video did not capture all the shrimp since I have larger ones in there that are pretty much adults.
> 
> I wouldn't say that I'm belittling the original breeder...I'm just sharing my personal opinion of blue pearl shrimp.


They're not just that blue, they're a light tinted blue. Maybe if you looked at some different pics of them (I posted a few links on page 1) then you would have known what you were getting in and maybe not had a huge expectation of a deep dark blue, because nowhere I have seen blue pearls advertised as ever looking as, or being "royal tiger blue".

Also, don't keep your blue pearls and cherries together, you're going to ruin both of them and end up with a bunch of brown wild looking shrimp that will probably be sterile.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

GeToChKn said:


> They're not just that blue, they're a light tinted blue. Maybe if you looked at some different pics of them (I posted a few links on page 1) then you would have known what you were getting in and maybe not had a huge expectation of a deep dark blue, because nowhere I have seen blue pearls advertised as ever looking as, or being "royal tiger blue".
> 
> Also, don't keep your blue pearls and cherries together, you're going to ruin both of them and end up with a bunch of brown wild looking shrimp that will probably be sterile.


Thanks for the tip. I guess I'll move the pearls over to my new tank that I'm cycling...I'll use them as a test shrimp -- survival of the fittest style.

I didn't explain myself well in my original post. I was never under the impression that the blue pearl shrimp would be "royal blue"....I knew they had a tint of blue but mine literally have none which is why I'm a little disappointed.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

hedge_fund said:


> Thanks for the tip. I guess I'll move the pearls over to my new tank that I'm cycling...I'll use them as a test shrimp -- survival of the fittest style.
> 
> I didn't explain myself well in my original post. I was never under the impression that the blue pearl shrimp would be "royal blue"....I knew they had a tint of blue but mine literally have none which is why I'm a little disappointed.


I guess you should have explained yourself a bit better, cause you did come off a bit prick-ish. lol. They may color up a bit still.


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## ashes2ashes (Apr 7, 2011)

hedge_fund said:


> Thanks for the tip. I guess I'll move the pearls over to my new tank that I'm cycling...I'll use them as a test shrimp -- survival of the fittest style.
> 
> I didn't explain myself well in my original post. I was never under the impression that the blue pearl shrimp would be "royal blue"....I knew they had a tint of blue but mine literally have none which is why I'm a little disappointed.


You could also sell some of them off or even RAOK them if you are not happy with them. I have definitely heard a lot of different mixed reviews on what people think of blue pearls since they are such a light/icy blue, but I personally like them, and I know a lot of other people do as well and would probably purchase them from you if you didn't want to keep them. Just something to think about.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

UPDATE.

Ok, so I'm all over the place today since I'm trying to kill some time. I've been cycling a tank for 2-3 days now with Akadama. I just threw these in there and now they look blue...perhaps it's the type of light? 

iphone pics so not that great


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

ashes2ashes said:


> You could also sell some of them off or even RAOK them if you are not happy with them. I have definitely heard a lot of different mixed reviews on what people think of blue pearls since they are such a light/icy blue, but I personally like them, and I know a lot of other people do as well and would probably purchase them from you if you didn't want to keep them. Just something to think about.


Thanks for the suggestion. When I get bored with them I'll just give them away for free in the Swap and Shop section.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

GeToChKn said:


> I guess you should have explained yourself a bit better, cause you did come off a bit prick-ish. lol. They may color up a bit still.


It's part of my personality...I'm an equities trader so we all come off a bit prick-ish even though we are not. We always say that people need to get thicker skin.....:hihi::hihi::hihi:


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

hedge_fund said:


> It's part of my personality...I'm an equities trader so we all come off a bit prick-ish even though we are not. We always say that people need to get thicker skin.....:hihi::hihi::hihi:


lol. Light can certainly effect the color of the shrimp depending on the temp color of the bulbs being used.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Off topic but which part of NJ were you from? My family lived in Princeton before and now I'm in CT as well lol


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## ashes2ashes (Apr 7, 2011)

hedge_fund said:


> Thanks for the suggestion. When I get bored with them I'll just give them away for free in the Swap and Shop section.


ooOOoo I will keep my eyes peeled for that one!


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

diwu13 said:


> Off topic but which part of NJ were you from? My family lived in Princeton before and now I'm in CT as well lol


I grew up for most of my life in Kearny which is by Hoboken. I have a few friends that actually went to college @ Princeton so I'm pretty familiar with that area. Plus I went to RU so that's close to there.

Maybe it's my "jersey" personality that is making some people so sensitive <shrug>


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## Lucille (Jun 15, 2010)

hedge_fund said:


> UPDATE.
> 
> Ok, so I'm all over the place today since I'm trying to kill some time. I've been cycling a tank for 2-3 days now with Akadama. I just threw these in there and now they look blue...perhaps it's the type of light?


They are beautiful, and they are unquestionably blue. Very blue. I'll be glad to take them off your hands when you get tired of them :hihi:
I spent my formative years in Manhattan, I love Joisy, my Dad's best friend was from there.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Lucille said:


> They are beautiful, and they are unquestionably blue. Very blue. I'll be glad to take them off your hands when you get tired of them :hihi:
> I spent my formative years in Manhattan, I love Joisy, my Dad's best friend was from there.


haha. I love how everyone outside of Jersey says that we actually pronounce it "joizy". It's funny.

They are turning more blue by the hour. I think it has to do with PH rather than the light. I have two tanks now and one is hovering around 6.5 whereas the other is about 7.5. The akadama substrate sure does lower PH as advertised (definitely not a scam :biggrin


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## monkeyfish (Jul 5, 2010)

hedge_fund said:


> haha. I love how everyone outside of Jersey says that we actually pronounce it "joizy". It's funny.


Right. I've lived in Jersey my whole life and I've never heard anyone pronounce it like that. Well, no one from Jersey anyway.


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## ch3fb0yrdee (Oct 2, 2008)

Blue Pearl are definitely not as blue as their name suggests, but depending on where you get your colony, some will have really good blue coloration. 

I've gotten blue pearls from difference sources in the past and they range anywhere from almost clear to light clearish blue and even solid blue. They're never a dark blue color, like the blue tigers, but I don't think blue pearls were breed to ever be.

I like blue pearls best when they have a cool tint blue color. :thumbsup:


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## Plantedshrimptank (Jan 18, 2011)

Some people also sell you their culls and so you will not be getting the "as seen on tv" ones.


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

well they are called "Blue pearls" like a slimmering effect of blue. But they def. got to be almost adult to get the nice blue tint.
When I first got mine. half were almsot adult half were juvi. The juvi looked like snowballs and the adults were a nice blue "pearl".
Either way... I actually like them for a bluish shrimp and price.


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## Theinnkeeper (Jan 30, 2012)

Low quality. The ones I have a really blue.


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## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

Theinnkeeper said:


> Low quality. The ones I have a really blue.


Where did you get yours? By the way- welcome to the forum!

To the OP: That blue pearl at 0:56 in your video looks pretty good to me. Better than the cherries on the rock at 1:08. And add me to the list of people to send your BPs to if you decide they're not your thing.


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## youjettisonme (Dec 24, 2010)

This is my stock:









That said, not every Blue Pearl is this color, and it does depend on the light to a certain extent. I received a bunch of Blue Pearls a long time ago that didn't seem all that blue at all, but eventually they colored up.


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## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

youjettisonme said:


> This is my stock:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, that's an impressive picture. But the roots of the plants in the background seem a little blue. Did you mess with the color at all for that pic?

And could you tell us (in case it's an environment thing):
What do you feed your BPs?
What is your GH/KH?
Do you use CO2 injection?
What is the color temp of the lights on that tank?
How large/old are the shrimp when they get that color?
What percentage of each generation of shrimp are that color?
Have you sold any shrimp that looked like that? Did they maintain their color in their new home?


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## youjettisonme (Dec 24, 2010)

Fishly said:


> Wow, that's an impressive picture. But the roots of the plants in the background seem a little blue. Did you mess with the color at all for that pic?


No, I didn't touch the photo. However, it's taken from my EVO camera phone, and I agree that it seems to have a bluish hue to it for sure. 



Fishly said:


> And could you tell us (in case it's an environment thing):
> What do you feed your BPs?


I feed them organic zucchini and an assortment of Borneo Wild food. 




Fishly said:


> What is your GH/KH?


GH is 6. KH is 4. I have one large seiryu stone in this tank. Substrate is Fluval Stratum. Flora is a carpet of mini pelia and a bunch of anubias nana petite. 



Fishly said:


> Do you use CO2 injection?


None. All low light plants. 



Fishly said:


> What is the color temp of the lights on that tank?


That's just a standard 6500k, 27 watt x2 fluorescent. 



Fishly said:


> How large/old are the shrimp when they get that color?


A few were that color right away. Many of the others took awhile (many months to color up. I have noticed from the offspring that I get a mixture of colors (like OEBT let's say), and I know there are plenty of snowballs in the mix as well. 



Fishly said:


> What percentage of each generation of shrimp are that color?


Perhaps it's about 3/4s.



Fishly said:


> Have you sold any shrimp that looked like that? Did they maintain their color in their new home?


The less blue ones still give off some really blue off-spring, just like OEBT. I usually throw in some really blue juvies as well as some less blue adults.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

My iphone does the same with plant roots where they look blue-ish instead of white.


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## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

here are mine:


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## ZombieSix (Feb 2, 2012)

They do not reach the full true blue untill adult stage i have found, i have had a growing colony for almost a year now. I really enjoy my bigger ones with the red spotting in the tail. here you can see an adult (very blue) some Juviniles (light blue) and adolesents (not much blue at all) Just give them some time. :thumbsup:


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

I have to say that the blue pearls are starting to grow on me. What I have noticed is that I have all males so that probably plays a big part in coloration. Anybody selling any females? I probably need 2-3.


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## ZombieSix (Feb 2, 2012)

I have about 5 or 6 berried females currently you can even see one in the picture. I may start selling in april or may.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

ZombieSix said:


> I have about 5 or 6 berried females currently you can even see one in the picture. I may start selling in april or may.


Cool that works. Let me know if you have any before hand. I'm not looking for berried ones or even large ones. I just need about 3 females since all mine are males.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

You ended up with ALL males? Dang... how many did you buy again? That's some serious bad luck


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

diwu13 said:


> You ended up with ALL males? Dang... how many did you buy again? That's some serious bad luck


Bought 10 from someone on Ebay....so it was either done on purpose or I have really bad luck. The odds of that happening are .5 to the 10th power or 0.0009765625% haha.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

That'll show you haha. Don't buy things on eBay. Get the shrimp here. You can message johnny313 for some blue pearl females. He has a good breeding size as well.


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## Matt1892 (May 7, 2012)

I HAVE FIGURED IT OUT! "the blue pearl dilemma" if photos are used on the iphone (im geussing other devices as well, dunno the case for other true cameras) i have just posted my white cabinet video to youtube for everyone to see here. I have always noticed my blue pearls appear bluer when taking a photo with my iphone but they can get fairly blue without this "feature/malfunction" you must wait for maturation and hope for good color strain i started seperating mine out. heres the video for an example of this, it seems the same happens inside the tank as i held up a peice of paper next to a shrimp as well. I was extremely confused at first haha, but i beleive it to be the effect of lighting on the phones camera. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcHS5OBlDrM this is a very old thread but i think this may be the cause of a lot of anger.


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## CookieM (Feb 7, 2012)

hedge_fund said:


> So I bought some blue pearl shrimp a few weeks ago after looking for a reputable seller with good pictures of his stock. Needless to say, they are a fraud since they are not really all that blue. Heck, you need a special angle to view them in order to see the vague coloration. There is really nothing special about these shrimp so I threw them in the same tank as the cherries. I know that they will probably cross breed but they are so ugly that I don't really care.
> 
> Anybody else have blue pearl shrimp?
> 
> ...



Is that video your? Where did you get a 15 gallon long tank? I've never seen a long tank in that size.


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## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

That's a very old thread. Though, I thougth I have to tell I was too very disappointed when I received my juveniles Blue Pearls.

I also thougth this was a fraud, and was ready to transfer all of them in my pound. 
Lacking of time I let them sit in their tank.

A week later, I saw a female turning blue. I decided to wait, and did not regret at all.
Not only they are healthy and active, but they breed like rabbits... and turn blue once they age.

I'm selective breeding at the moment, and I have enough choice to select very nice blue pearls.

Just be patient with them when you buy juveniles. Opposite red cherries or blue diamonds where you can see the color very soon, Blue pearls will show their nice color only once they age.
Plus, they breed so easely that you can cull with no problem


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## cantsay39 (Jun 10, 2011)

i think you should look for blue velvet if u want the blue..
blue pearl might need to cull the shrimps take the strong colors out.
but down the road you might find it.


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