Hi everyone!
I've had my N. oerstedii "Mo" for 4 months now, and she's had a gradual shift in color with each previous molt. I believe she's just come out of a molt (she seems to molt very quickly, her burrow has never been closed for more than a day at a time) and the color change this time was very dramatic! I say that I *believe* she's just molted as I haven't been home much lately aside from topping things off and haven't been observing her very closely. She's gone from olive green when I received her to a coralline pink/purple! The only thing throwing me for a loop is the strange silvery sheen over her -- do mantis shrimp change color BEFORE they molt? It reminds me of the cloudiness that you see in snakes before they shed.
Personally I hope this is her post-molt coloration -- it's so funky!
Just thought I'd share a couple of pics!
Before:
After:
I've had my N. oerstedii "Mo" for 4 months now, and she's had a gradual shift in color with each previous molt. I believe she's just come out of a molt (she seems to molt very quickly, her burrow has never been closed for more than a day at a time) and the color change this time was very dramatic! I say that I *believe* she's just molted as I haven't been home much lately aside from topping things off and haven't been observing her very closely. She's gone from olive green when I received her to a coralline pink/purple! The only thing throwing me for a loop is the strange silvery sheen over her -- do mantis shrimp change color BEFORE they molt? It reminds me of the cloudiness that you see in snakes before they shed.
Personally I hope this is her post-molt coloration -- it's so funky!
Just thought I'd share a couple of pics!
Before:
After:
