What is Wrong with my Pistol?

[Ricksreeefs]

Aiyaiyai. That’s crazy! Maybe I’m not right for this hobby because I don’t appreciate unanswered questions.... Hahaha

Well, I’m really stumped about this poor little pistol. Really hoping he can hang in there until I can get my parameters checked. I really don’t want to do another water change on this tank. I feel like they’ve been hurting my situation rather than helping it.

Sry I get carried away and idk how to help. Hopefully he's alright! good luck

 

[Apollo7235]

Sry I get carried away and idk how to help. Hopefully he's alright! good luck

No problem at all, thank you!

 

[Apollo7235]

I moved the little fella into QT and gave him some of the Mysis/Coral Frenzy/Baby Brine that I feed my corals and he is eating it. Upon further inspection, he is missing one of his long thick antennae.... Could this be why he is so messed up? Maybe the Watchman decided to reject him and nipped it off?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

@Apollo7235 When a shrimp molts the outer layer is very fragile and sometimes molts fail. I remember reading about when my cleaner shrimp died but it may take some research on your part. Iodine can force a molt but I hear about that mainly in freshwater shrimp. Is his main claw completely gone?

 

[Cell]

How do they regulate buoyancy? Seems like this guy is having trouble staying grounded. I've never seen my tiger pistols look anything like they are going to float away like this.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I moved the little fella into QT and gave him some of the Mysis/Coral Frenzy/Baby Brine that I feed my corals and he is eating it. Upon further inspection, he is missing one of his long thick antennae.... Could this be why he is so messed up? Maybe the Watchman decided to reject him and nipped it off?

Actually, it's quite possible it got in a fight with your other pistol shrimp. Pistol shrimp tend to fight with conspecifics, and if the stronger one wins, the other will lose a claw or antennae, or could even die. I used to have a hitchhiker pistol shrimp until my tiger pistol took care of him (at least I assume. I haven't seen or heard the little hitchhiker in a long time).

 

[Apollo7235]

@Apollo7235 When a shrimp molts the outer layer is very fragile and sometimes molts fail. I remember reading about when my cleaner shrimp died but it may take some research on your part. Iodine can force a molt but I hear about that mainly in freshwater shrimp. Is his main claw completely gone?

No, both claws are completely intact. The only thing I can see is his antennae missing.

 

[Smirkish]

Can you make out a molt over a new exoskeleton? The shrimp will look faded, or hazy almost. The video is good, just difficult to tell something like that. I usually find my peppermints will hide when they molt, and the husk of their old self will be piled up nearby later or floating about. They usually are a lot more cautious immediately afterwards as well. I would expect your pistol to be seeking shelter if it was molting, not doing this. Check your parameters please, when you can. I understand having a kid makes it on their schedule not yours!

If it’s too high, the shrimp could be having difficulty molting (which may be why it is behaving this way, though with the salt you use I might be worried more about too low alk, etc). If it’s too low, it won’t be able to build a proper new exoskeleton, and it will die following the molt. Would also possibly explain why the other shrimp is fine, if it isn’t currently molting.

You said you found a claw a few days ago, but that the shrimp has all of its appendages currently. They will regrow lost claws, etc, but I doubt it would do so that fast. You’d have a little baby claw on it, maybe. I would check both shrimp and see if they have a claw missing, as it could be from an attack as well.

 

[Sharkbait19]

When a crustacean loses an antennae or any appendage, it's also a sign that it is unhealthy or in poor water.

How is the coloration? Notice any black marks on its tail or shell? Any algae growth on its appendages?

 

[Apollo7235]

How do they regulate buoyancy? Seems like this guy is having trouble staying grounded. I've never seen my tiger pistols look anything like they are going to float away like this.

I have absolutely no idea and of course, all I can find online is about their 'shooting' ability.

Actually, it's quite possible it got in a fight with your other pistol shrimp. Pistol shrimp tend to fight with conspecifics, and if the stronger one wins, the other will lose a claw or antennae, or could even die. I used to have a hitchhiker pistol shrimp until my tiger pistol took care of him (at least I assume. I haven't seen or heard the little hitchhiker in a long time).

Wouldn't this have happened sooner than later? I've had these two in the tank for a few weeks now and they've really just left each other alone and stayed on separate ends of the tank. Since I added a big chunk of live rock in the center of the tank, my Bullseye really stays hidden up in the rockwork. I almost never see him come down nowadays.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Question for the audience. If he just molted then his exoskeleton is lightly less dense than a pre-molt skeleton right? Could be messing with his ability to stay at the bottom.
Either way Im fairly certain at this point it was a failed molt is why the antenna is missing.

 

[Apollo7235]

Can you make out a molt over a new exoskeleton? The shrimp will look faded, or hazy almost. The video is good, just difficult to tell something like that. I usually find my peppermints will hide when they molt, and the husk of their old self will be piled up nearby later or floating about. They usually are a lot more cautious immediately afterwards as well. I would expect your pistol to be seeking shelter if it was molting, not doing this. Check your parameters please, when you can. I understand having a kid makes it on their schedule not yours!

If it’s too high, the shrimp could be having difficulty molting (which may be why it is behaving this way, though with the salt you use I might be worried more about too low alk, etc). If it’s too low, it won’t be able to build a proper new exoskeleton, and it will die following the molt. Would also possibly explain why the other shrimp is fine, if it isn’t currently molting.

You said you found a claw a few days ago, but that the shrimp has all of its appendages currently. They will regrow lost claws, etc, but I doubt it would do so that fast. You’d have a little baby claw on it, maybe. I would check both shrimp and see if they have a claw missing, as it could be from an attack as well.

It doesn't look faded, it actually looks really great, believe it or not. The claw I mentioned is a shell of a claw, so I had assumed it was from the molt. When I saw it, I immediately thought the Bullseye had come down and ripped it off the Tiger, but when I checked the Tiger, he was fine. It's definitely his as the markings are very obvious, considering the Bullseye's claws are neon purple.

When a crustacean loses an antennae or any appendage, it's also a sign that it is unhealthy or in poor water.

How is the coloration? Notice any black marks on its tail or shell? Any algae growth on its appendages?

Coloration is beautiful. The yellow rings on his legs are super bright right now. That was the first thing I noticed when I was looking at him earlier. No no black marks. He looks very clean and exactly like he did when I brought him home aside from the missing antennae.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Wouldn't this have happened sooner than later? I've had these two in the tank for a few weeks now and they've really just left each other alone and stayed on separate ends of the tank. Since I added a big chunk of live rock in the center of the tank, my Bullseye really stays hidden up in the rockwork. I almost never see him come down nowadays.

To be quite honest, crustaceans are very unpredictable creatures and can kill or fight something at the drop of a hat.

 

[Apollo7235]

When they molt, it looks like a whitish almost transparent skin floating around, right?

If that's the case, very, very shortly after I brought the shrimp home, one of them must have molted because I saw something like that floating around in the tank. It was only a few days after I brought them home.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Question for the audience. If he just molted then his exoskeleton is lightly less dense than a pre-molt skeleton right? Could be messing with his ability to stay at the bottom.
Either way Im fairly certain at this point it was a failed molt is why the antenna is missing.

+1.
Having dealt with many crustacean deaths, I've experienced that missing appendages almost always equals a failed molt.

 

[Apollo7235]

To be quite honest, crustaceans are very unpredictable creatures and can kill or fight something at the drop of a hat.

Well, crap.

The only sign of any damage is the missing antennae.. I would think if the Tiger lost the fight the damage would be a bit more severe? The two shrimp are almost exactly the same size. The Bullseye is just a tiny bit bigger, but they're very, very close.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Well, crap.

The only sign of any damage is the missing antennae.. I would think if the Tiger lost the fight the damage would be a bit more severe? The two shrimp are almost exactly the same size. The Bullseye is just a tiny bit bigger, but they're very, very close.

A fight is quite possible, but as you said, it would likely be even more damaged if it lost a fight.

 

[Apollo7235]

I can try to run some API tests really quick, but I won't be able to use my Hanna checkers until my husband gets home. They are just too involved for me to do while managing my 6-month old. Not sure how much the API tests will really say though, considering how unreliable they are.

 

[Smirkish]

On that note, found this:

Water changes​

After understanding the basics of how the molting process works, it's easy to recognise why stable parameters are really important.

When a freshly molted shrimp grows by taking in more water, they're more vulnerable to something called osmotic shock. Osmosis is the movement of water from a low concentration to a higher concentration. What this means in real terms is that if your shrimp take in relatively hard water and then you do a water change with water that's a lot softer, the softer water will try push its way into the harder water that's already been absorbed into their body. This can cause their cells to expand to a dangerous or even deadly level, and the same is true for the opposite case, but living in softer water and adding harder water will cause the shrimp to quickly take in more minerals.

 

[Apollo7235]

On that note, found this:

Water changes​

After understanding the basics of how the molting process works, it's easy to recognise why stable parameters are really important.

When a freshly molted shrimp grows by taking in more water, they're more vulnerable to something called osmotic shock. Osmosis is the movement of water from a low concentration to a higher concentration. What this means in real terms is that if your shrimp take in relatively hard water and then you do a water change with water that's a lot softer, the softer water will try push its way into the harder water that's already been absorbed into their body. This can cause their cells to expand to a dangerous or even deadly level, and the same is true for the opposite case, but living in softer water and adding harder water will cause the shrimp to quickly take in more minerals.

I understand what that is saying, but do you think that would really cause the buoyancy issue? The last water change I did was on Sunday and he's been fine up to this morning. I noticed the claw shell a few days ago.