Help me save my Vampire Shrimp!!

[GothFishKeeper]

Woke up when the tank light turned on as usual and saw him like this, I thought he was dead at first but he’s not. He’s moving his antenna and his fans but clearly struggling to do so. I think he’s molting but I’ve never actually seen what that looks like, and I assume lying on his side means he’s struggling with it. I do have the minerals seen in the last two pics but I assume the bee shrimp mineral is for caridina shrimp and i know the other one isn’t the greatest quality brand. Also idk if adding anything to the tank would even help at this point in time. I have an iso tank i could potentially put him in to avoid the stress of the fish in the tank but i don’t have a heater for it at the moment and my room is very cold right now.

Please help me save my buddy

 

[connorlindeman]

Are you sure it hasnt already molted and thats the old exoskeleton? It could be the water moving it around a bit...

 

[Jinx_]

As above, are you sure it's the shrimp itself? But if they molt, they have tendency to climb out the tank.

Well, if it is the shrimp then I'm sorry, you can't do much Vampire shrimps need a fast water flow as they originate from fast flowing rivers. They also prefer harder water.

What's the hardness (degrees or ppm is fine), pH, no2, no3 and ammonia of your tank water? How old is the tank?

Shrimps also are pretty sensitive to any changes. Are there any fluctuations that you are aware of? Are you adding anything to the water?

I'm betting it's the temps, vampire shrimps need it warm and don't like it cold as it will make them perish.

 

[Colin_T]

There's nothing you can do to help the shrimp molt except make sure the water quality (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) is good and nothing attacks the shrimp while it's molting and for a few hours after it has molted.

Normally when they molt, they absorb the minerals form the old shell and it splits along the back. The shrimp then crawls out of the old shell and hides. It drinks a heap of water to make itself fat and stays like this while the new shell hardens, then it expels the extra water. The old shrimp shell can sometimes look like a shrimp and might be upright in a normal shrimp position or on its side.

At this stage it's a matter of waiting and making sure nothing attacks it and hope for the best.