# Anyone have Blue Pearls?



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I recently (2 weeks ago) put some Blue Pearl Shrimp in my daughters El Natural and they are anything but blue. When I got them they were teeny tiny and had a tinge of blue. But now they have grown a bit and I would think they should have some color by now. (My Red Cherries of the same size are bright red. )

They had a tinge of blue when I put them in, but now they look no different than clear ghost shrimp. Do these guys need soft or acid water? The El Natural they are in has tap water (somewhat hard) and no CO2.

Thanks for any info or shared experience,
Dave


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

I read that shrimps like those like it a little more alkaline then acidic.

I had to crash course last night when a clear ghost hitched a ride home with my new kuhli.

http://www.theshrimpfarm.com/american_glass_shrimp.shtml

Stress makes them go clear as well.


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## marrow (Mar 4, 2007)

The blue pearls will never have as deep and saturated a color as your cherries. They look best against a black substrate and are pretty washed out against a lighter substrate.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Thanks for the info. Yep, these guys are in with very light colored gravel. Mine look pretty much like the pictures of the Blue Pearls on that website that Whitedevil linked. I guess I was just expecting more color. 

-Dave


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## marrow (Mar 4, 2007)

davemonkey said:


> I guess I was just expecting more color.
> 
> -Dave


Your reaction is pretty typical, many people were disappointed by the pale coloration when they first came out. On a black substrate, with lots of dark moss they seem to look their best.


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## Darthaardvark (May 28, 2009)

I'm not really sure if its true or not, but it seems that full spectrum lighting makes them tend to have a more vivid color (or at least this seems to be the case with my cherries and the blues to a lesser degree. That or the lighting at least APPEARS to make the color more vivid. I'm really not sure which is the case, but this is what it seems in my experience


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## disvegas (Oct 10, 2008)

I've done some environment experiments with my blue pearl. I've chosen to put some of my bluest shirmps a 10g tank with brown to light brown gravel while the rest raise in a different 10g tank with black gravel. After one month or so, most of the bluest turn out to be pale in color and in most cases brownish/yellow color. I think this is natural for the shrimps as they try to blend well in the environment they live in to avoid being eaten by predators.

The conclusion is in order for the blue pearl to show off their best light & semitranslucent blue color, it's best to provide them with a dark substrate and decorations if any.


disvegas,


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Thanks for that info disvegas. Much appreciated.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Just an update on these shrimp. I put some in my tank with dark gravel and let alot of time go by. Several are very blue now. Not quite as colored as RCS, but unquestionably blue (with some speckles on a few). The picture below doesn't do the color any justice, but you see what I mean about the speckles.


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## armedbiggiet (May 6, 2006)

Yeah I did that same thing and move them to the darker color tank but your shrimp looks cooler with all those maroom markingin the back.


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