# What has happened to my poor cherry shrimp?



## Danielle (Jan 26, 2008)

*Why is this cherry shrimp dying? please help!*

I found a little cherry shrimp body a few days ago. It looked like something you'd find in a shrimp cocktail almost. The head/thorax shell was tilted up, the legs were gone and there was no shell on the tail. All the meat was still there so nothing had been eating on it.

Now I find this poor shrimp










Look at it's shell. It's like something tried to pinch it's head off or pull the tail. The poor thing is alive still... but it's very slow and doesn't seem like it will make it. I'm wondering if this is the same thing that happened to the first shrimp.

What could be causing this?????

I don't think it's any of the tank inhabitants.... I have CPDs, an otto and two very tiny dwarf cories and a couple of amanos. None of which have ever messed with the cherry shrimp. The filter is an eheim 2213, but the shrimp (even small juvies) crawl all over the inlet and have never been stuck or sucked in.

I did do some rescaping, but I don't think I squished anyone?

water parameters are all good.... they get R/O water that has been reconstituted with equilibrium and a bit of KH buffer. I've been using the same water and treatment for months with no ill effects.

Thoughts???


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## Danielle (Jan 26, 2008)

Well it died not too long ago 

If they are in water with a moderate GH and KH will it make the shell hard enough that they can't molt and die? I'm not sure what the GH is, but the KH is at about 4 according to my test kit. Although it's been that way for months now and I've seen a few molts.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I've never heard of anything like this so I'm afraid I can't help you. I just wanted to say I'm sorry your having trouble with your shrimp. I know it's awful to have a problem like this and feel so helpless because you can't figure out what's wrong. Good luck, I hope the rest of your shrimp stay healthy.


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## Logan's Daddy (May 3, 2008)

did it maybe get up against the heater?


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## Danielle (Jan 26, 2008)

Logan's Daddy said:


> did it maybe get up against the heater?


I'm not sure. They don't really go around the heater much. I don't think it's been turning on since it's warm in here. The tank stays about 76*


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## kelvin2go (Apr 6, 2008)

This happens to CRS sometime too.
Look like its is molting failure. 
If there has only 1 pcs happened may be, then should be ok/may be need to isolate it.
If there continuously happen in your tank, try to raise the GH slowly under GH 5 in different days. 
You can try to keep GH stable for the shrimps.

Raising GH has many ways, I use hagen cichild to raise GH and this wont affect pH.


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## SpeedEuphoria (Jul 9, 2008)

I also saw one like this, I also believed it to be some trouble with molting. I believe it died although I think it may be possible for it to be corrected in the next molt???


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## JohnPaul (Aug 28, 2006)

Looks like a bad molt. It doesn't mean anything is necessarily wrong with your water or your conditions, sometimes it just happens. I would only be worried if you start seeing lots of shrimp deaths due to bad molts in a short period of time.


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## Ravenous (Aug 18, 2008)

I just had a shrimp that lost an eye to a bad molt... at least that is what it looks like happened. Its always sad to not have any control over these situations.


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## R33 GTR (Aug 4, 2008)

hI i have this problem to but i heve like 3 or 4 like this but not as bad what this mean


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