Symptoms to Look For
Check if your shrimp are showing any of these symptoms. Symptoms are grouped by severity to help you assess the situation.
Early Warning
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Gradual fading of overall body color
Visual: Shrimp that were red now appear orange or pink
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Loss of intensity - colors look washed out
Visual: Dull appearance compared to when purchased
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Color looking different under store vs home lighting
Visual: Shrimp looked more vibrant at the store
Moderate
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Transparent or see-through patches appearing
Visual: Areas where shell was solid now show internal organs
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Offspring paler than parents
Visual: Color grades declining over generations
Does this match what you see? If your shrimp are showing multiple severe symptoms, act immediately. Early symptoms give you more time to correct the issue.
Possible Causes
Causes are listed by likelihood. Start with the most common causes and work your way down.
Diet Lacking Color-Enhancing Nutrients
Shrimp color intensity depends on carotenoids like astaxanthin in their diet. Without proper nutrition, colors cannot be maintained regardless of genetics.
Review diet - are you feeding color-enhancing foods? Foods with spirulina, astaxanthin, or paprika enhance reds/oranges.
Light-Colored Substrate
Shrimp adapt their coloration to their environment. Light/white substrate causes shrimp to fade as camouflage. This is a natural response, not illness.
What color is your substrate? White sand, light gravel, or bare bottom tanks cause color fading.
Genetics / Low-Grade Stock
Color is primarily genetic. Low-grade shrimp can never achieve high-grade colors regardless of diet. 'Cherry grade' will never become 'Painted Fire Red' through feeding alone.
What grade did you buy? Were they sold as high-grade or just 'cherry shrimp'? Low prices often mean low grades.
Stress
Stressed shrimp lose color. New tank, aggressive tankmates, poor water quality, or recent shipping can all cause temporary color loss.
Are shrimp new to tank? Any recent changes or stressors? Stress-related fading is usually temporary.
Age
Both young and very old shrimp may show less color. Juveniles often gain color as they mature. Very old shrimp may fade naturally.
Are the faded shrimp juveniles or elders? Juveniles typically color up with maturity.
Breeding Color Dilution
Without selective breeding (culling), colors dilute over generations as low-grade offspring breed back into the colony.
Are offspring paler than original stock? Without culling, average color decreases over time.
Water Quality Issues
Poor water quality can cause stress-related color loss. This is usually accompanied by other symptoms like lethargy.
Test parameters. If only symptom is fading with otherwise healthy behavior, water quality is unlikely the cause.
Solutions
Option 1: Diet Enhancement for Color
- 1
Add color-enhancing foods to diet
Feed foods containing astaxanthin, spirulina, paprika, or carotenoids. Commercial color-enhancing shrimp foods are available.
- 2
Feed blanched vegetables with carotenoids
Blanched carrots, red bell pepper, and spinach provide natural color-enhancing nutrients.
- 3
Vary the diet
Don't rely on one food. Rotate between protein foods, vegetables, and color-enhancing foods throughout the week.
- 4
Feed consistently
Color enhancement takes weeks of consistent feeding. Don't expect overnight results.
Recommended Products
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Option 2: Environment Optimization
- 1
Switch to dark substrate
Black substrate provides the best contrast and encourages deeper coloration. Dark brown or natural planted tank substrates also work well.
- 2
Reduce stress factors
Provide hiding places, remove aggressive tankmates, maintain stable parameters. Stressed shrimp fade; relaxed shrimp color up.
- 3
Ensure proper lighting
Moderate lighting is fine - too bright can stress shrimp. Color appears most vibrant under balanced white light.
- 4
Give them time to settle
New shrimp often take 2-4 weeks to fully acclimate and show their best color. Be patient after purchase.
Option 3: Selective Breeding for Color
- 1
Identify high-color individuals
Watch your colony and identify the most vibrant individuals. These have the best color genes.
- 2
Cull or separate low-grade shrimp
Remove or move pale/low-color shrimp to a separate tank. This prevents them from breeding diluted genes into the colony.
Culling is emotionally difficult but necessary for maintaining color quality
- 3
Maintain over generations
Selective breeding is ongoing. Each generation, remove the palest individuals to keep color quality high.
Prevention Tips
Follow these practices to help prevent this problem from occurring in the future.
- Buy from reputable sources that sell specifically graded shrimp
- Start with high-grade stock if color is important to you
- Use dark substrate (black or dark brown) for best color display
- Feed color-enhancing foods 2-3 times per week consistently
- Include natural foods like blanched carrots and spinach in diet
- Minimize stress through stable parameters and adequate hiding spots
- Selectively breed by removing low-color offspring from the breeding colony
- Allow 2-4 weeks for new shrimp to acclimate and show true color
Track These Parameters with ShrimpKeeper
Get alerts when your parameters drift out of range, see historical trends, and catch problems before they become emergencies.
Download FreeShrimp color is determined by two main factors: genetics and diet. Understanding this helps set realistic expectations and guides improvement efforts. Genetics establishes the POTENTIAL for color. A Cherry Grade shrimp can never become a Painted Fire Red through diet alone - they simply don't have the genes for solid coloration. The grading system (Cherry < Sakura < Fire Red < Painted Fire Red) reflects increasing genetic color quality. Diet and environment enhance what genetics allow, but cannot exceed genetic limits. Diet provides the pigments needed to EXPRESS genetic color potential. Shrimp cannot manufacture carotenoid pigments internally - they must come from food. Without astaxanthin and other carotenoids in the diet, even genetically high-grade shrimp will look washed out. This is why proper nutrition is essential for color display. Substrate color affects apparent color through camouflage response. Shrimp on white substrate naturally fade to blend in - this is survival instinct, not illness. The same shrimp on black substrate will appear significantly more vibrant. This is purely visual adaptation, not a health change. Stress causes temporary color loss through hormonal changes. New shrimp, shipping stress, aggressive tankmates, or poor water quality all trigger stress responses that include color fading. Address the stress source and color typically returns within 1-2 weeks. For long-term color quality in a colony, selective breeding is necessary. Without removing low-color offspring, they breed back into the population and color quality decreases with each generation. Serious breeders maintain a 'cull tank' for lower-grade shrimp and only allow the most vibrant individuals to breed in the main colony. Color fading is rarely a health emergency. If shrimp are active, eating well, and breeding normally, faded color is an aesthetic concern to address with diet and environment, not a medical issue requiring urgent action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Several possible causes: shipping stress (give them 2-4 weeks to recover), different substrate (light substrate fades color), different diet (store may have fed color-enhancing foods), or different lighting (store lights often make colors pop). Try dark substrate, color-enhancing foods, and patience.
Yes, but within genetic limits. Color-enhancing foods help shrimp express their full color potential, but cannot exceed what their genetics allow. Low-grade shrimp will improve with diet but won't become high-grade. High-grade shrimp show the most dramatic improvement from good diet.
Absolutely. Shrimp naturally adapt coloration to blend with surroundings. Black substrate makes shrimp appear significantly more vibrant due to both contrast and camouflage response. White or light substrate causes shrimp to fade. This is a quick, reversible change when substrate changes.
Color genetics are complex and dilute without selective breeding. Unless you're removing low-color offspring from the breeding pool, subsequent generations tend toward lower color grades as 'wild-type' genes express more frequently. Consistent culling maintains color quality.
Usually no. If shrimp are otherwise healthy (active, eating, breeding), color loss is aesthetic not medical. Address diet, substrate, and stress factors. If color loss accompanies lethargy, not eating, or deaths, then investigate water quality and health issues.
Stress-related fading: 1-2 weeks after stress is resolved. Diet-related improvement: 4-8 weeks of consistent feeding. Substrate change: days to weeks as they adapt. Selective breeding results: months to years over multiple generations.
Foods containing astaxanthin (main red pigment), spirulina, paprika, or natural carotenoids. Commercial 'color' shrimp foods contain these. Natural options include blanched carrots, red bell pepper, and spinach. Feed color foods 2-3 times weekly alongside regular diet.
Track Your Parameters with ShrimpKeeper
Most shrimp problems stem from parameter issues. Track your water quality, get alerts when things drift, and prevent problems before they happen.