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	do ghost shrimp look dead when they molt?
moondog Moderator The Hobnob-lin Posts: 2676 Kudos: 1038 Votes: 4366 Registered: 30-Sep-2002	my ghost shrimp have been molting i guess they turn solid white, then fall over like they're dead. then in a few hours i see the "dead" shrimp twitching and then there's just a shell about an hour later. is this what molting looks like? "That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:27
Oleta Ultimate Fish Guru You can\'t rollerskate in a buffalo herd Posts: 3397 Kudos: 2260 Votes: 186 Registered: 16-Aug-2001	Sounds about right to me, moondog.. The twitching is from the shrimp trying to shimmy out of the old shell.. Once it's free of the molt, it will go off into some "safe" place and wait until it's new shell hardens before coming back out into the open.. If you don't already know, leave the old molt in the tank.. The shrimp will come back and eat it when it feels the urge.. All the minerals and whatnot that are left in the old molt will help the shrimp develop it's new shell.. Good Luck with it..
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:27
Callatya Moderator The girl's got crabs! Posts: 9662 Kudos: 5261 Registered: 16-Sep-2001	yeah, thats about right. pretty scary huh? For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:27
moondog Moderator The Hobnob-lin Posts: 2676 Kudos: 1038 Votes: 4366 Registered: 30-Sep-2002	no the scary part is that all 10 of them did it at roughly the same time over the course of about 24 hours i would wake up and see "dead" shrimp laying around the tank, then come back a few hours later and they'd be gone to be replaced by more "dead" shrimp. all after i fed them some peas. they must have really liked those peas to go into a molt right away "That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:27
DaMossMan Fish Guru Piranha Bait Posts: 2511 Kudos: 2117 Votes: 359 Registered: 16-Nov-2003	From what I read most of them molt within 2 weeks of being added to the tank.. Think I have one molting or dead, ghost shrimp turned pink but no twitching last time I looked, also read to put them in a hiding spot if any nibbling fish around The Amazon Nut...
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:27
terranova Fish Master Posts: 1984 Kudos: 1889 Votes: 229 Registered: 09-Jul-2003	uh oh has horrible thoughts I think that err, my shrimp did that too...and I got them out quick b/c I was afraid the ammonia would get to my double tail...yikes!!! !!! -Formerly known as the Ferretfish
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:27
Oleta Ultimate Fish Guru You can\'t rollerskate in a buffalo herd Posts: 3397 Kudos: 2260 Votes: 186 Registered: 16-Aug-2001	I did something similar with one of my ghost shrimp too, ferretfanatic.. I went to grab it out, thinking it was dead, and the poor little guy shot clean out of his molt.. I thought I'd squished him good until I realized that I still has X amount of ghosties in the tank plus an extra one in my fingers.. Weird experience for me, but hopefully that means that yours was actually dead since it didn't try to get away from you..
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:27
terranova Fish Master Posts: 1984 Kudos: 1889 Votes: 229 Registered: 09-Jul-2003	hmm...not sure...at least I know for next time. It's a good thing they go for about .99 each -Formerly known as the Ferretfish
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:27
Oleta Ultimate Fish Guru You can\'t rollerskate in a buffalo herd Posts: 3397 Kudos: 2260 Votes: 186 Registered: 16-Aug-2001	Wow.. That's high finance for a ghostie (at least around here).. I can get them 12 for $2 at my LFS..
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:27


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