blue fan shrimp

[slt]

i'm realy upset, as shrimpy my blue fan shrimp, is realy ill, had him just over twelve months now and he's shed his skin more or less every 4 months, it was only 2 weeks if that when he last shed, so when i noticed
he was shedding again last night i was a bit concern'd any way i looked at him this morning he seemed fine, but later in the day i noticed the fish
were in one spot of the tank. on further inspection i saw shrimpy trying to swim away, when i looked at him he had 2 legs missing and his tail had been almost eaten away, i've put him in my hospital tank and added melafix. i don't realy think he will survive, he's in a bad way but i've got to try because might sound silly i realy care such a lot about him,
if theres any one who can give me any advice i would be gratefull

 

[William]

Its hard to know how bad the injury is without seeing the little fella, I don't have much experience with these inverts so you'll have to wait for CCL or others to come on, I just hope for your sake he can pull through

 

[cryosi]

sorry to hear about shrimpie hope he pulls through

 

[StiX]

Have u got a scientific name for it slt ? maybe i can dig up some info for ya

 

[slt]

its atyopis gabonensis, i've checked the link but nothing usefull,

 

[StiX]

atyopsis gabonensis

Abit of info on them shedding :
"Then they pull themselves out of the back of their old shell, unfortunately sometimes some limbs can get stuck in the old shell"

"After they have moulted the new exoskeleton is soft and wrinkled, and they become very lethargic (due to the amount of energy used). During this time they grow and replace lost limbs (usually smaller, but sometimes completely)."

"They are vulnerable to attacks from tankmates when soft, and the shell can take between a few hours and a few weeks to fully harden, depending on species. They do this by absorbing calcium carbonate whilst the chitin hardens. "

Heres a stunning pic of one :

-HTH

 

[slt]

thanks stickle, something must of gone wrong, he's never been attacked before by the fish, he usualy stays behind the filter craddle after shedding, but for some reason he did'nt this time,

 

[StiX]

hmmm well just give him a couple of hiding spots, keep him fed well, water tip-top, and dosed with melafix, and he may just pull thru

 

[slt]

yes i will

 

[slt]

just checked shrimpy and i found him dead

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

Sorry to hear your loss

 

[Danny - the lost soul---]

Sorry to hear you lost part of the family SLT.
Danny

 

[StiX]

thats awfull

 

[slt]

thanks guys, the tank just does'nt look the same without him

 

[Cayote]

Gutted for you, quite close to the little fella weren`t you.