The shrimp doctor cannot molt.

Monique1236

I need urgent advice, the shrimp hid behind a rock after the water change, and today when I came home, half of its tail shell has molted, and the shrimp is lying on its side, apparently unable to molt. At first, I thought it had died, but when I touched it, it jumped away. What should I do? Is it dangerous to leave it in this condition overnight? Could a black brittle star or someone else take advantage of it? Helping it with molting is also not an option?

Chad4168

trim what has come off if it interferes too much.. add trace elements to the water and feed.. iodine first of all, and wait for the next molt... follow the instructions for trace elements.. make sure it eats..

John3165

Thank you, in general, the head and legs were almost all constrained by the old shell. I waited a couple of hours, and the poor thing couldn't get rid of it. I gradually pulled off the old shell, and she immediately started to move actively. The only thing is that now a large part of her legs is crooked; they must have broken when I was pulling it off, even though I tried to do it carefully. Well, she survived the night and can swim thanks to the legs on her belly, but she moves around poorly. I hope she regenerates. It's a sad story.

Jennifer7578

For those interested, after 2 molts and about a month, the shrimp has fully recovered. During the first molt after the incident, the broken legs either fell off or she tore them off herself. By the second molt, the legs had completely healed, and the torn antennae are now long and beautiful. So, in practice, carefully removing the shell that she couldn't take off by herself for more than an hour or two isn't so bad. I think if she had stayed in the shell overnight, she would have died. Plus, I personally fed her with tweezers every day, especially in the first week, as she was having trouble moving; all legs except for the two side ones were broken (crooked).