# cloudy shrimp- causes?



## seuadr (Feb 20, 2013)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> OKay, for years I've read and believed (basically because I was told by others who had been told, etc.) that cloudy insides mean bacterial infections. Undeniably, in some cases this is true.
> 
> I've culled who knows how many shrimp in my time because of slight haze.
> 
> ...


i wonder this as well. i pulled a big, otherwise apperantly healthy amano out of my tank shortly after joining this site afraid that he was infected. 

recently though, I've 2 shrimps that have been around 2 weeks cloudy, and the one i've been keeping tabs on appears to be clearing up. now, i had a heater failure and the tank dipped to very cold (somewhere around 55 degrees) and now i wonder if he might've been cloudy from stress from the cold instead. this time, i'm letting them do their thing in and will see what happens. Both seem to be swimming around perfectly happy, no damage that i can see and acting perfectly normal.


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## Tabberwok (Jan 31, 2013)

I currently have a yellow neocaridina that is otherwise very healthy (perfect legs and antennae) but he is VERY cloudy(but not the shell, just the insides). He's just as active, molts fine, eats fine and even chases the girls around. I have no idea if he's sick or not but i'm beginning to think it may not be a bacterial infection. it's good to hear i'm not the only one who doesn't think it's _only_ ever bacterial.. though it does make me nervous


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Always been curious at this. Keep me posted if a true answer is ever found..


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Bacteria infection is clearly hazy tissue, which is from the bacteria killing tissue (think egg whites turning from clear to white while heating up). 

It's very easy to tell the difference between hazy shell and the internal tissue dying, it's not a slight cloudiness, and it happens quickly.


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

part could be age as well. some "ghost shrimp" turn hazy as they age. i have a rili that has done this as well. she started out clear when young and as she has gotten older gotten kinda milky in color as she has aged. she is prob 8 months old now and been like this for at least 4 months. she is easy to tell apart from others due to markings/color so i know its the same shrimp. i have a feeling genetics play a part in it and if not its must an odd mutation


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Very well could be what you brought up, Wicca. Age, genetics and even the odd mutation could cause it as well. Good theories.

Liam, I'm not doubting that in many cases bacterial infections cause the hazy tissue. This has been proven.

What I'm doubting is that bacteria causes it in all cases...


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Yeah, I know what you're saying, there's also a parasite that can cause the tissue to cloud as well. But I get cloudy shells all the time, especially keeping rilis and cherries in soft acidic water, it looks similar to cloudy tissue, but it's not, I think it's pitting in the shell


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Good to know that theory as well. Thanks!


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

Some of my snowballs are cloudy, but they are just doing fine. But now I'm kinda worried lol.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Snowballs have always perplexed me too when keeping them. I think the shell growing thicker causes more of a translucency instead of transparency, which cause a hazy look.

It's causes me enough banging my head against the wall, that I've started using tannins in the water as an extra precaution to make sure they all are healthy!


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## seuadr (Feb 20, 2013)

just as an update to this.. nearly a month later and both shrimp are still pretty cloudy (appear to be inside, rather than the shell) and both are still pertty happy in their respective tanks. both have molted a couple times and still _appear_ to be fine.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Thank you for the update. This goes very well with the theme of the thread. roud:


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## eightoeight (Jan 8, 2013)

I've had a few cloudy shrimp, mainly in yellow and blue pearls. There were a few deaths, so I separated the cloudy yellows from the main population just in case...

The cloudy blue pearls haven't died as often so I didn't separate them yet...I'd rather lose a couple then start losing them all though.

I'm torn between counting them as losses, or risking it by hoping for the best.

I only recently got my shrimp, so it could just be that they had a difficult time adjusting.

I haven't necessarily noticed shorter antenna, usually the cloudy yellows are very inactive and seem to just linger in one spot.

The cloudy blue pearls perplex me because they are quite active and have voracious appetites. One cloudy blue pearl did die, though I think it might have been having molting problems.

When other people say that their cloudy shrimp are fine for long periods it makes me unsure of myself when I separate the cloudy ones...


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## seuadr (Feb 20, 2013)

Bear in mind my sample is just 2 amano shrimp. One if the is around 7m old, the other just a couple months old. Ymmv, results not typical, etc.etc.


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## seuadr (Feb 20, 2013)

update here.. both milky shrimp are still kicking!


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Good to hear. Just goes back to the same idea that not all clouding is detrimental.


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## seuadr (Feb 20, 2013)

Well, i noticed today when i cleaned the puffer tank that my faithful amano was nowhere to be found. i'm not sure what might've done him in - i didn't find any remains. given that the puffer ignored him for nearly a year, i don't suspect that he was killed by the puffer, but i didn't witness it so who knows. the other one somehow got sucked into my canister sometime in the last 3 weeks or so (he was pretty small and hard to pick out in all the plants, so i'm not sure, except i found him in the canister)

guess it is time to get some foam for the intake!


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

either that or a SS filter. heh


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

I have one RCS and one tangerine tiger shrimp that also have the white insides, not the shell. It looks like they swallowed a large white worm. The white goes from the chest all the way to the tail. But the RCS had this condition for well over 3 months and the tangerine shrimp I noticed 2 weeks ago. Both are males and are eating and acting totally normal. I thought about separating them from the other shrimp and put them together in a different tank. So far no other shrimp have been infected and I am leaning toward it not being a bacterial infection. The male RCS is at least 8 months old as I had males and females in different tanks until recently. I did not want them to breed any more. The tangerine shrimp is an adult but unknown how old he is, most likely young though as I only had 2 adult males 4 months ago. All my other tangerine tiger males are off spring and less then 3 months old. After reading this threat I think I will leave them where they are and just keep an eye on them.


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