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Today was a sad day for one of the new additions to my tank. My new Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp lasted less than 5 hours in my tank. It wasn't pretty ... I came home this evening to find him under a rock with his head taken clear off.

I'm trying to figure out who the culprit is. I doubt that my lone clownfish or starfish would have done this. The snails and dwarf hermit crabs I have seem too small for this. So unless there is something hiding out in my rock that I don't know about that brings me down to my two Peppermint Shrimp. Are these shrimp aggressive? Has anyone experienced a loss because of housing this guys?

I don't belive a pepermint shrimp would do this. Perhaps you have a hitch hiker in your rock in the form of a crab, or other shrimp. Try to watch your tank at night with a red flashlight.



Dan

It is impossible for a snail to have done this, and I doubt that your other shrimp could have, either. The starfish is innocent as well, if it could have been able to catch the shrimp, it would have eaten the whole thing. Hermit crabs are usually peaceful, I don't really think they could have done it. It may have been your clownfish, or if indeed there is something hidden in your rock, I would bet on it being the culprit. Sometimes, live rock can come with crabs, and depending on the type, they may or may not be a problem.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Are you sure it was the whole shrimp and not just it's molt?? Sometimes stress can cause a shrimp to molt it's old shell and it will hide out until the new one hardens up a bit..

Oh OH, that's a good point. If the shrimp looks hollow, then it's a molt.



Dan

Another possibility, if indeed the shrimp was whole and we're only at a loss for where the head might be, is scavenging from the other tank occupants after the shrimp expired on it's own.. I don't see anything on your list of known occupants that would have decapitated your skunk, but there are several that I could see picking it apart once the critter had decided to give up it's ghost..

It was not a molt. It was definately the remains of a shrimp.

I've been wondering about that myself, Oleta, since I know the Peppermint shrimp are scavengers. I'm sorry to lose the new shrimp, but I do hope that you are right. I hate to think about some unknown aggressive critter hanging out on my rock.

I would think if something was hiding, it might have gotton your other shrimp as well.



Dan

"Sometimes stress can cause a shrimp to molt it's old shell"

They molt when they're stressed?? i thought they molted when they grow? I've had many molts from my Skunk, Fire and anenome shrimps since i've had them (and they've all grown)

hope they're not stressed!!

rob

While shrimp do molt their exoskeleton when they're stressed, they must molt to permit their bodies to grow, as well. They do this several times in their life, until they stop growing.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I would think you would have had other casualties, namely the peppermint shrimp since they generally spend the most time hidden there, had it been something lurking in the rocks by now.. I wouldn't say I was positive though..

The red flashlight trick after lights out would be an interesting thing to do regardless of whether or not you actually found something harmful in the tank, so I'd give it a shot.. Couldn't hurt to double check..

I'm sure you've probably already read and/or received advice about acclimating new purchases, but ornamental shrimp are one of the things that I always allow plenty of time to adjust.. They can be pretty sensitive to changes and since they tend to run towards the high end of the price range for creepy crawlies, I give them a lot of time..

I am sorry to hear about your skunk cleaner.. They're one of my favorites so I hope that you decide to give them another chance..

Good Luck to you..

The peppermint shrimp seem to be doing fine.

I'll give the light idea a try.

I did try to be very careful when acclimating the Cleaner Shrimp. He was an online purchase and delivery (first time I've tried that) so I'm not sure if the stress was just too much for him to handle or if it was something else. He was a beautiful guy. I'd love to try one again, but not for awhile. I want to be sure the tank is well established before I try another addition.