Removing Invert Molts

[BamboozleBean]

I had a hermit molt this morning, originally I though it was dead, but it turned out to just be a molt.
It’s been swirling around the tank in the flow today, should I remove it? Or will it dissolve into nutrients?

 

[brandon429]

harmless to leave in, becomes recycled material and detritus in a while

i remove them from my work tank only so I dont have to hold mini shimp funerals for each passerby, the aw he's dead speech.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I generally leave it in their there. Mant crabs and shrimps will eat the molt for added calcium to harden their new soft shells/armor

 

[Bbfishb81]

I have never removed a mily. Ways just left them, never had an issue in doing so. Part of the whole contained ecosystem thing i got going on. Lol

 

[Waters]

I leave my shrimp molts in until they get wrapped around a coral or stuck in a powerhead....which seems to happen pretty quick.

 

[BeejReef]

Same.. If I'm feeling proactive, or if it gets stuck to a powerhead, I'll remove cleaner shrimp molts. Smaller stuff, we just observe the circle of life.

 

[will25u]

I always leave it in the tank, unless, like others, it gets stuck on a power head. Then it’s just messy.

 

[JoJosReef]

harmless to leave in, becomes recycled material and detritus in a while

i remove them from my work tank only so I dont have to hold mini shimp funerals for each passerby, the aw he's dead speech.

Haha, that made me laugh. This is an old post, but I was just googling the same question for my first porcelain crab molt in my office tank. Asking myself the same thing, if I'd have to explain to everyone popping in that it's not a dead crab!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Haha, that made me laugh. This is an old post, but I was just googling the same question for my first porcelain crab molt in my office tank. Asking myself the same thing, if I'd have to explain to everyone popping in that it's not a dead crab!

In many cases your inverts will eat the molts to increase calcium. It also tricks other fish into thinking it’s them while their new shells harden

 

[JoJosReef]

In many cases your inverts will eat the molts to increase calcium. It also tricks other fish into thinking it’s them while their new shells harden

I have a post coming up just about this