leannaby
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hi can someone tell me why shrimp shed their skin.. Just wondered
Shrimp shredding
- Thread starter leannaby
- Start date
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DragonFish71
Great white snark
It's called molting and just like crayfish or crabs, they shed the exoskeleton when they grow.
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Craw Chief
Aquarium Advice Activist
Shrimp and other crustaceans (crayfish, crabs, lobsters, etc.) have a hard exoskeleton which doesn't grow, but the animal on the inside does grow and has to shed the outside shell from time to time to make a bigger shell for himself. It's basically like they are outgrowing their old clothes and getting a brand new pair of clothes.
In order to build up their shell more easily, crustaceans may eat their old shell and also draw calcium directly from the water itself. This is why it's important for us to take note of the hardness (dGH and KH) of some of our crustacean tanks in order to know how much calcium (and other compounds) are in the water.
In order to build up their shell more easily, crustaceans may eat their old shell and also draw calcium directly from the water itself. This is why it's important for us to take note of the hardness (dGH and KH) of some of our crustacean tanks in order to know how much calcium (and other compounds) are in the water.
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leannaby
Aquarium Advice Freak
Thank you
ScotJudd
Aquarium Advice Addict
Don't remove the shed shells, mine are usually eaten within a couple of days. Recycling at its best 
