Coral Banded Shrimp Question

[Thumper]

I was looking in my tank last night and found the pinchers and the antenas of my coral banded shrimp, really freaky, I assume this is a molted skin because I only have one cbs in there and i was looking at the xtra set and the real cbs.. Is it common for the entire pinchers to look real laying on the rock or was it black voodoo. I'm sceered.

 

[xahx]

what?!

 

[copi]

The first time I found a molting from one of my hermits, it looked so much like a 'real' crab that I thought one had crawled out of it's shell and died. What you saw is normal.

Don't be scared

 

[Thumper]

Good, I dont like being sceered, LOL

 

[Devilishturtles]

I agree as well. What you saw was completley normal. When I saw my CBS's molt for the first time, I thought it had died. But I looked over, and there is a nice bright white and red CBS, munching away at a piece of detritus.

 

[DeNero1331]

I don't have a coral banded shrimp...but I've never heard anyone mention the fact that when molting, some animals will actually pull off their claws in the process (saw it on the discovery channel).

I don't know if that is only crabs or if it applies to shrimp as well. Also, I've never seen it happen to my hermits. In the unlikely event that it does pull off its claws...I'm pretty sure they grow back anyway.

Anyone else ever encounter this?

 

[copi]

They don't actually pull of their claws... the molt that remains just holds the shape of the claw. Imagine stepping out of your skin with new skin on underneath, leaving behind an outline of yourself... if that makes sense...

At least I think that's how it works...

 

[RMPD109]

Denero- This has been discussed here some time ago. They lose them during molting and sometimes in stress situations. I think it takes 2 or 3 molts to completely regenerate.

 

[redBernadino]

My coral banded shrimp did the same thing about a week ago. The entire outer shell was laying on the sandbed in the morning, and looked like I had 2 shrimp. Totally normal.

 

[DeNero1331]

I guess no one else saw that show on the discovery channel. I think it only refers to crabs though b/c their claws get so much bigger. Or maybe it was a lobster. I don't remember.

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

Denero, I hear what you're saying. I think it's crabs because I had a freshwater crab that lost his claw in a molt. He never recovered and died.

 

[DeNero1331]

That's odd. My brother has a freshwater setup and the crabs he had always grew theirs back. I guess it all depends on the species.

He also had a crayfish that would molt and then eat it's own shell...very nasty.