Weird Question? Will Carapace Shedding Inverts Eat Their

[kj23502]

Can I ask a dumb question? I know fw crayfish will eat their carapace to help gain back nutrients from shedding it. Will sw shrimps or inverts that shed do the same thing?

 

[SkiFletch]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no... It never hurts to leave the stuff in the tank if they do shed

 

[BigC]

It never hurts to leave the stuff in the tank if they do shed

Well silly old me I've just gone and removed it.
BigC

 

[Lynden]

If I'm not mistaken most will re-absorb the nutrients before shedding. I personally have not witnessed my animals eating their own shed skin, and if I offer the skin to fish that normally eat dead shrimp, they refuse it.

 

[dilbert]

I always leave the molts from crabs and shrimps in there and it gets eaten within a day or two. But I never saw who actually is eating it.

 

[Musho3210]

Agree with lynden, everyone says leave them in so they can get re-eaten for the nutrients, but i've never seen mine do that. I leave them in though because normally the powerheads jam the moult into a cave and im too lazy to get it out, they dissolve within a few days.

 

[Ficious]

mine just ate his