Litter Bugs.

[372xp]

I am fairly new to marine tanks and have a question.
My cleaner shrimp and at least one hermit crab have, as my kids put it, left their wrappers lying around. (Moulted incase you havn't worked it out) Are these in danger of raising the PH and should be got rid of, or should I just leave them be?

 

[techen]

Pretty sure there fine to leave in the tank but you can take them out if you please.
 
My pistol shrimp did it a few days ago but I swear my hermits/cleaner went for it anyway

 

[Donya]

Old exoskeletons won't risk raising the pH. If anything, on large Crustaceans that leave a lot of soft tissue bits on their molts (like some of the larger hermit crab species), it can lower the pH as those fleshy bits rot. However, shrimp molts are very clean and other small Crustacean molts as well should be fine to leave in the tank. I never remove small shed skins from my tanks, even in my tiny pico tanks. Other organisms will break it down if the owner of the old skin doesn't eat it.

 

[372xp]

That'll do me. I will leave them in.
Thanks guys.