Remove shrimp molts or not?

ScottR · Jun 12, 2019

Oddly my shrimps all decided to molt at the same time. Marble and cleaners. The cleaner molt is massive and has 6” antenna sticking out. I’ve read that they will leech iodide into the water (I think). And it was recommended to leave them. I’ve also had friends have corals eat them whole. Is there anything bad about leaving them in the tank to rot away?

BestMomEver · Jun 12, 2019

I don’t remove mine unless they get stuck to a power head. I’ve never seen any adverse results from leaving them.

ScottR · Jun 12, 2019

BestMomEver said:
I don’t remove mine unless they get stuck to a power head. I’ve never seen any adverse results from leaving them.

Thanks. Me neither. They usually disappear after a few days. But these giant molts and all of them simultaneously have me spooked. After I saw all the molts, I had to do a head count ;Hilarious

BestMomEver · Jun 12, 2019

ScottR said:
Thanks. Me neither. They usually disappear after a few days. But these giant molts and all of them simultaneously have me spooked. After I saw all the molts, I had to do a head count ;Hilarious

I only have one shrimp... a cleaner. He’s probably one of the first critters I purchased two years ago. He’s molted dozens of times. But if I had multiple molts at once I would automatically wonder who was having shrimp dinner!

Scotty Buttons · Jun 12, 2019

I always remove them just because they Get stuck to my power head every time, also because my 2 year old keeps pointing at it saying shrimp, and thinks it's dead.

Gareth elliott · Jun 12, 2019

I consider it free food for the cleanup crew. High in a digestible fibre and prebiotics. Also no idea if this is the case in any marine life but chitin activates many antiparasitic processes in terrestrial fauna and flora, and can decreases the effects of arthropod parasites of individuals that have receptors like kinase 1.

ScottR · Jun 12, 2019

Scotty Buttons said:
I always remove them just because they Get stuck to my power head every time, also because my 2 year old keeps pointing at it saying shrimp, and thinks it's dead.

So funny you mentioned this. I just fed the tank frozen and the cleaners had a good meal and went back into the rocks. My 6 year old is keen on the livestock and asked if the shrimp is dead. I said yes I just fed them. And he replied,” are you sure!?” ;Hilarious

ScottR · Jun 12, 2019

Gareth elliott said:
I consider it free food for the cleanup crew. High in a digestible fibre and prebiotics. Also no idea if this is the case in any marine life but chitin activates many antiparasitic processes in terrestrial fauna and flora, and can decreases the effects of arthropod parasites of individuals that have receptors like kinase 1.

My goal for my tank is to try to run as natural of a system as possible where all life forms can feed off of each other from phyto on up. I seeded my tank with ocean water and rock during the cycle. Of all the tanks I’ve kept, this is my favorite by far. I’ve found the oddest things in it. And surprisingly everything’s happy.

ScottR · Jun 12, 2019

Gareth elliott said:
I consider it free food for the cleanup crew. High in a digestible fibre and prebiotics. Also no idea if this is the case in any marine life but chitin activates many antiparasitic processes in terrestrial fauna and flora, and can decreases the effects of arthropod parasites of individuals that have receptors like kinase 1.

I appreciate this comment. I just read some studies about anti-parasitic capabilities of chitin and was surprised. Perhaps this is why inverts are immune to many parasites that affect fish. Not sure how this will work in a reef tank, but worth the try. ...and I may stop peeling my shrimp before eating ;Muted