Peppermint shrimp running on it's side

[Its.Evannn]

Sorry if this is the wrong section. I'm still kind of new to this whole thing. I bought a peppermint shrimp about 4 days ago and since then he's been doing wonderful(eating, moving etc) but I woke up this morning to him laying on his side with his back feet running. Is there something I can do or is he going to die? Please help!!!

 

[Calappidae]

Is he alright now? The cleaner variaty of shrimp swim in just about any position. He also could've molted recently causing him to be in a frail position. Doubt it's anything but let nature take it's course as you may do more harm than good helping it.

 

[rEeFnWrX]

I think this typically happens when they are unable to molt... Their shell is to hard for them to crack and shed... I believe you need to dose Iodine.. But you have to be careful too much iodine is bad and can make their shells way too soft...

If someone else doesn't respond with more experience on this topic you can easily find a lot of threads covering this with a google search

 

[Its.Evannn]

Thanks to both of you. I did google it and some people said to dose iodine but others said it might just be sick. I think it's probably the iodine. Is there a way to dose iodine and is he going to die because of this?

 

[Calappidae]

Don't bother with iodine, one wrong dose and it's toxic. Iodine is in our salt mix when we water change anyway.

Is there anyway we could get a video of it's activity? Peppermint shrimp can just be weird sometimes with their movement pattern.

 

[rEeFnWrX]

I would agree with Calappidae that Iodine is very dangerous to dose. I would not dose it without testing for it...

 

[Its.Evannn]

https://vimeo.com/102165665

 

[Calappidae]

That don't look good.. how long has he been like this? Looks like the end of a bad or incoming molt.

 

[Its.Evannn]

I noticed it this morning. Was perfectly fine yesterday

 

[Calappidae]

Just see what happens. There's not really much you can do to control this.

 

[rEeFnWrX]

That is a classic shrimp whose she'll is to hard to crack and molt... essentially it is being crushed to death...

Most likely it is too late

 

[Its.Evannn]

How can I fix this in the future then?

 

[Its.Evannn]

6:00 pm. Rip little shrimp

 

[Calappidae]

6:00 pm. Rip little shrimp ��

Sorry to hear about your loss

There's alot of things we just can't control in this hobby. Weird stuff happens.

 

[oh207]

Sorry for your loss. I have a pair and they are now my favorites. I never really cared for Peppermint shrimps before. I've had cleaner shrimps that die suddenly without me knowing whats the reason. I still have a blood shrimp, but he hides all the time. The pair of peppermint that I have are model citizens and although they only come out at night, I try to stay up to get a glimpse of them.
I do dose 2 drops of iodine a week into the tank.