Shrimp Help!

[Ziggi]

ok, I just bought 5 ghost shrimp. At the store, the store, they seemed fine, but when I got home, 2 weren't moving. Figuring they were dead I put the bag asside and dealt with the 3 remaining. Then it hit me that it might be a molted shell (dont ask...) or dead so I squeezed one just in case and .... squished it then I saw a thing online that said they turn pink when dead...

anywho, so the other one is whole and in a little cup with tank water, just in case

so uh, how can you tell if it's ... alive/dead/molting/whatever ...

 

[Shrimper]

ok, I just bought 5 ghost shrimp. At the store, the store, they seemed fine, but when I got home, 2 weren't moving. Figuring they were dead I put the bag asside and dealt with the 3 remaining. Then it hit me that it might be a molted shell (dont ask...) or dead so I squeezed one just in case and .... squished it then I saw a thing online that said they turn pink when dead...

anywho, so the other one is whole and in a little cup with tank water, just in case

so uh, how can you tell if it's ... alive/dead/molting/whatever ...

If the shrimp is still alive it will wiggle its legs or the swimmer parts in its tail every now and then, but even if it is alive like this i'm not sure if there is much you can do to help it other than keep it in clean water. If it is dead it will turn pink, but not imediately, it can take a few hours.

If it is a molting it will be a very thin shell with nothing inside. It will also be split just behind the head as this is where the shrimp climbs out from.

 

[Ziggi]

Thanks, yeah I think they died, cause neither was moving .... and the other, whole one, is pink now.

but, on the plus side: the female I got has a tailful of eggs! but I dunno what to do with her/when ... they are in a 10 gal by themselves. later this week a small fish pair will be joining them. think the egg'll have hatched by then? any suggestions?

 

[Shrimper]

Thanks, yeah I think they died, cause neither was moving .... and the other, whole one, is pink now.

but, on the plus side: the female I got has a tailful of eggs! but I dunno what to do with her/when ... they are in a 10 gal by themselves. later this week a small fish pair will be joining them. think the egg'll have hatched by then? any suggestions?

Shrimp tend to carry eggs for 3 to 4 weeks so its hard to say how much longer she will have them for as we don't know how long she has had them.

Unfortunatly its hard to say whether they will survive in fresh water. Ghost shrimp is a name that covers quite a few similar looking species some of which are fine in fresh water and some of which need brackish water when they are young. If you can get a clear photo of her and the eggs we may be able to tell if they are likely to survive, as i understand the eggs are genrally bigger if they survive in fresh water as they skip a larval stage in development while in the egg.

 

[connorsbala]

IMO they do alot better in Brackish tanks...mine survived for months until they were finally eaten
Did the store put oxygen in the bag...they dont survuve long without it!

 

[Ziggi]

IMO they do alot better in Brackish tanks...mine survived for months until they were finally eaten
Did the store put oxygen in the bag...they dont survuve long without it!

I got 'em from PetCo, but seeing how two died en'route home (20 mins) I guess not... granted that doesn't mean much.

Shrimper - I'll try to get a pic of the female.

 

[jeej]

I've had RCS in the past that looked dead, then actually came back to life after a water change. They aren't too impressed with sudden decreases in the quality of water, but on both occassions that shrimp of mine have appeared near to death they have recovered within a day or two after a large water change.

Just make sure you do regular water changes and you quickly get rid of uneaten food etc...

 

[Triops Lover]

hi i just got Triops (also called dinosaur, tadpole, or shield shrimp) and i read that i have to cycle the larger tank i going to transfer them to. but i read every link on the internet about cycling a tank but i don't seem to understand what is cycling and why is it important. plz anyone reply!

 

[ston3]

We recently bought a couple ghost shrimp as well. After a few days, one of them turned completely white and stopped moving. It did not turn pink, but we assumed it was dead. The other one already has some white discoloration in its organs . The shrimp is not as active as it was the first day, hardly walking around. Right now, its just laying there on the bottom. Help please.

 

[Shrimper]

We recently bought a couple ghost shrimp as well. After a few days, one of them turned completely white and stopped moving. It did not turn pink, but we assumed it was dead. The other one already has some white discoloration in its organs . The shrimp is not as active as it was the first day, hardly walking around. Right now, its just laying there on the bottom. Help please.

Do you know what your water stats are? Shrimp are very sensitive to poor water quality and this could be affecting them.

To be honest I'm not certain what is wrong with the shrimp, It does sound like they are dieing though. The best thing for them would be to do a big water change and hope they get better. I don't know if anybody else has got any ideas?

 

[iSnail]

We recently bought a couple ghost shrimp as well. After a few days, one of them turned completely white and stopped moving. It did not turn pink, but we assumed it was dead. The other one already has some white discoloration in its organs . The shrimp is not as active as it was the first day, hardly walking around. Right now, its just laying there on the bottom. Help please.

That doesn't sound good Agree with what Shrimper said. Keep up the water change and hope it gets better. Also, have a look at this website to see if you find anything helpful

http/www.shrimp-diseases-online.com/home.htm

 

[ston3]

thanks for the replies, were going to try and quarantine the poor guy in fresh water