How can you tell if cherry shrimp is moulting?

[FriendsNotFood]

Hi all,

We have had three cherry shrimp for about five months now, and recently one started to look a bit, well, odd. It stopped moving around a lot, and developed a white stripe across its back. We got a bit concerned, tried to look it up on the web, but no luck. It died the next day - we found it dead on the bottom of the tank so hooked him out.

Got our water quality checked at the aquarium centre, apparently all was well. We have quite a happy tank, all told. Five neon tetras, two harlequins, three white cloud mountain minnows and a clown plec.

Bought a few more shrimp, as we guessed he failed to moult, so we're up to four. Yesterday, spotted a shrimp with the same white stripe across it's back. Moving and eating happily.

Now, obviously concerned again, but still can't find much about it! Please can anyone advise? Is this what we'd expect to see?

Thank you,
FriendsNotFood

 

[MABJ]

Really, I can't say from the pictures. I do know they only live about 18 months in captivity. You never know how old he was when you got him.

How big is your tank? And what were the parameters exactly?

You probably should have your own testing gear. It is much more accurate than the store.

 

[FriendsNotFood]

Hi Mabj, thanks for the reply.

We've been keeping the tank pretty level by weekly using the Tetra 6-in-1 kits to ensure we're on top of anything. I don't have any exact figures as they were within the tolerances and didn't think to keep them. Can't do a test at the moment as we've run out and more are in the post.



They're in the tank on the right, an AquaCube 40. Its a little more planted since this photo was taken.

Shame they don't live very long - 18 months seems quite short, and we've not got lots, hence reducing the chance of them being able to replace those that die off!

Are those 'white' lines common across their body? It's like its shell has split in two, a top half and a bottom half.

 

[MABJ]

Well don't quote me on the number here, but I believe they have 18 body segments. So one could be deficient and ready to come off. And yes 18 months is short. But if you keep them in a tank with just a few number of predators, you'll have 100s soon enough.

Keep an eye on the shrimp in question. I can't exactly see the line that well. But I know a similar colored line in the opposite direction on a female shows that she is saddled.

If it molts and the line goes away, then you're fine. Nice tanks by the way

 

[Coursair]

Keep your nitrates below 20 if you can. Shrimp are sensitive to them. Plants need them. So it's a balancing act.

 

[Austin.b]

IMHO, it just looks like there isn't any red right there on the back, And she's just saddled giving It that yellowish color.

 

[jetajockey]

It looks like the shell is separating to me. I've had some that have done this and either disappeared or died shortly after. Might be a molt, who knows, but there are some threads on google for RCS shell separation.

 

[Sake]

It looks like the shell is separating to me. I've had some that have done this and either disappeared or died shortly after. Might be a molt, who knows, but there are some threads on google for RCS shell separation.

What did you type in to get the posts? I tried RCS shell separation and red cherry shrimp shell separation didn't find anything.

 

[jetajockey]

Cherry Shrimp Impartial Molt? Sorry, couldn't remember how I found it before, I looked up cherry shrimp molting problems.

 

[Sake]

Cherry Shrimp Impartial Molt? Sorry, couldn't remember how I found it before, I looked up cherry shrimp molting problems.

Thanks! Reading the thread now. I kinda felt dumb not being able to google it myself lol.

 

[FriendsNotFood]

IMHO, it just looks like there isn't any red right there on the back, And she's just saddled giving It that yellowish color.

I hope you're right - we would very much like at least one to be female. The yellow appears like anactual gap between the parts of her shell, which seems different from images of the 'saddle' we've seen elsewhere.

Not seen any other RCS images like the shrimp we've got. Most moulting threads on the web don't seem to have images!

But I did find this, with a similar image to our shrimp: Introduction and a question about clear belt on Red Cherry Shrimp?, so maybe it is ready to moult...

 

[MABJ]

I hope you're right - we would very much like at least one to be female. The yellow appears like anactual gap between the parts of her shell, which seems different from images of the 'saddle' we've seen elsewhere.

Not seen any other RCS images like the shrimp we've got. Most moulting threads on the web don't seem to have images!

But I did find this, with a similar image to our shrimp: Introduction and a question about clear belt on Red Cherry Shrimp?, so maybe it is ready to moult...

That looks just like what yours had. So if it goes away in time, you're golden

 

[FriendsNotFood]

They're all still alive and kicking, and I can't see any of them with the gap in their shells, so looking good! Thanks all

 

[MABJ]

They're all still alive and kicking, and I can't see any of them with the gap in their shells, so looking good! Thanks all

great to hear.