Shrimp molting?

[Kawaipoon]

Hi,

I have (or had) two amano shrimps in my 10G tank.

Today I looked in and thought my shrimp had died, I then went to take it out, and saw it was just the shell? But now all I can find/see is one shrimp.

Can anyone tell me about molting shrimps as I'm not sure what that is? And what should I do next time? Take the shell out? Or was that a dead shrimp?

Many thanks.

 

[eco23]

Sounds like he molted...my Amanos do it all the time. I've read to leave the shells in the tank because they will eat it and use the nutrients. After they've molted, they're soft and prone to being eaten, so they instinctively hide for a while until their shell has hardened. Everything sounds normal

 

[jcolon]

Shrimp have exoskeletons so unlike us, crustaceans as well as other creatures grow out of their skeleton. They shed their old shell and then go into hiding until they grow their new shell. I've read some shrimp will eat their old shell for nutrients .. so you shouldn't remove the old shell ... but someone else with shrimp should confirm.

Your molted shrimp is probably in hiding as they are fully aware how vulnerable they are to predators during molting.

 

[Kawaipoon]

Cool, thanks for the info. Next time my shrimps molt. I will leave them alone.