Need advice on my red crayfish

[rookie]

When I got it about 4 weeks ago from LFS, it was a beautiful bright red in color.

After the first molt 2 weeks after I got it, it lost it's red color and became quite orange-gy.

After another molt another 2 weeks later, it became even more pale looking.

Attached are pictures showing before and after. The after picture is taken today, 2 days after molting.

1. Why the color change and how do I get the bright red back?

2. Anyone can advice what is the breed and sex of this particular crayfish?

Many thanks!before.jpg after.jpg

[thebaldingaquarist]

What's the food given and the water parameters?

[rookie]

Mainly hikari crab cuisine. Occasionally I give it carrots and egg shells.

Water parameters sorry I have no idea. It's molting so I take that as a good sign. :/

[Aozora]

- I cant advise you on why the color of your crayfish has changed.

- As for the gender separation, please refer to the below pointers and pictures. (Hope that helps)

General Appearance

Examine the tail and pincers of the crayfish. Generally, male crayfish have larger pincers than females but thinner tails. Although pincer and tail size can serve as a good guide when determining crayfish gender, these two characteristics are not absolutes.
Genital Openings

Place the crayfish on its back and look for a small opening on the animal's abdomen. This genital opening is found just behind the set of legs farthest from the head of the male crayfish. On the female crayfish, the opening is located at the third set of legs. (The leg pairs are counted starting at the back of the crayfish.) Some crayfish will possess both of these genital openings. In this case the crayfish is almost always male but can be female.
Swimmerets

While the crayfish is on is back, examine the swimmerets. Swimmerets are the small appendages that line both sides of the crayfish's tail. The first pair of swimmerets, located at the base of the male's tail, is shaped differently from the other swimmerets and has white tips. Female swimmerets all look the same and are longer than the male swimmerets, which do not have to carry eggs.

[demoon]

I had the same experience of crayfish fading their colours, not as drastic as yours though.
You should try feeding them some live food such as tubifex worm, snails or clams. The colour should come back slowly.