do cleaner shrimp shed their skin...

[cmc3502]

just saw what I thought was my dead cleaner shrimp and pulled him out of the water....but now I see him still in there... Is this his old skin that he shed??

 

[saltfan]

Exactly. Inverts: like hermits, they have a shell, and they molt.

 

[dapak83]

this is really funny but the same thing just happened to me... before i saw what i thought was one of my hermits dead... then i saw both of them and i was odly confused... and rite now i just saw my shrimps old shell.... thats so cool!... btw what happend to the old shell if i just let it stay in the tank? any negative affects?

 

[reefforbrains]

It haunts the tank as the ghost of Crabsmas Past........
Nothing, the molt will disolve or break down in a few days. Some people remove them. Others dont bother. Wont hurt or help either way. Its preference

 

[rebelprettyboy]

I dont remove mine unless im spot feeding the coral or something and i see it there ill take it back, but i normally never take them out

 

[dapak83]

beautiful... because i kinda like that ghostly look!... you know like its there and its not!!

 

[crt81]

Yeah that is normal for the shrimp to molt.That's how they grow! It would be abnormal if they didn't- that would mean there wasn't enough calcium in the tank!

 

[weber518]

i had 2 cleaners both molted within days of purchase and both dead within days after the molt

I think they are very cool and hate that they died, but am alittle concerned about spending the $$$$ on new ones. Good luck.

 

[althemean]

I had one of my corals eat the molt. I guess the current carried it into its sweeper tentacles and it wrapped itself around it and ate it.

 

[dapak83]

ouch... but i guess its good then cuz my carbs molted before too.... and they are still doing just fine... and now my shrimp... nice!

 

[shrimpi]

My pompom crab molted and I couldnt tell if it died or if it was the molt. The skeleton was so colorful just like the crab, the only thing missing was his poms. :cheer:
Then a week later when he made his monthly appearance (if you have a pompom you know what I mean) I was releived to know he was alive.
:cheer: :cheer: