What's wrong with my shrimp?

[oscar650]

hello everyone,
I need help regarding this lump on my skunk cleaner shrimp.
It's been there since I got him few month ago. I was hoping it would go away when he molts but that didn't happen.
Other then the lump he's behaving fine.
Tank parameters are all fine.
70g cube 4month old
2 x clown
Dotty back
Six line
Hogfish
Cleaning crew
Soft corals

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Probably a tumor. I had a banded coral shrimp that had one. She lived with it for a couple of years before she died. Based on the research I did these tumors seem to affect primarily females and the only known effect is sterility and a shortened life span. It did not effect any other livestock before or after her death.

 

[oscar650]

Thanks for the help

 

[ThRoewer]

It is a parasite, see these threats:
Cleaner Shrimp isopod parasite??
Parasitic Isopod on cleaner shrimp...

 

[Dmorty217]

It is a parasite, see these threats:
Cleaner Shrimp isopod parasite??
Parasitic Isopod on cleaner shrimp...

Doesn't look like a isopod to me. There would be more of them on other inverts and fish if that's in fact what it is

 

[Dmorty217]

Did you add any liverock straight from the ocean recently? This is how I had the one and only parasitic isopod I had in my tank yrs ago. Typically they are large and you can see them actively swimming through the water colum.

 

[ThRoewer]

Doesn't look like a isopod to me.

It actually looks exactly like one. See here: Bopyrid Isopods in the Aquarium

There would be more of them on other inverts and fish if that's in fact what it is

Not if it was already infected in the wild, which is the most likely case.
I seriously doubt it spreads easily like ich because it needs an intermediate host before finally attaching to the shrimp.
I had this on some Lysmata shrimps like this over the years and it never spread to others.

 

[Deinonych]

It actually looks exactly like one. See here: Bopyrid Isopods in the Aquarium

Excellent link!

 

[Dmorty217]

It actually looks exactly like one. See here: Bopyrid Isopods in the Aquarium



Not if it was already infected in the wild, which is the most likely case.
I seriously doubt it spreads easily like ich because it needs an intermediate host before finally attaching to the shrimp.
I had this on some Lysmata shrimps like this over the years and it never spread to others.

That is a great link, haven't seen Isopods like that before. The one I had in my tank was big, almost the size of your pinky fingernail and would actively swim thru the water column. Never attached to any of my fish or inverts but had big beady black eyes and would of done some serious damage to fish

 

[Dmorty217]

Excellent link!

Looked just like this one

 

[ThRoewer]

Here is another article that might be of interest on this topic:
The Global Diversity of Parasitic Isopods Associated with Crustacean Hosts (Isopoda: Bopyroidea and Cryptoniscoidea)
Besides peppermint and cleaner shrimp many other crustacean kept in reef aquaria are affected by these parasites.

 

[ThRoewer]

BTW: why are here no special sections covering invertebrate diseases and parasites?
There are quite a few shrimp diseases and parasites out there.
And the things that munch on your zoanthids, mushrooms and corals could easily fill more books than there are out about fish diseases.

 

[bluecoyote79]

I have a cleaner shrimp that had the same issue. I don't know what caused it but it never caused the shrimp any trouble and went away on its own. The recovery coincided with my switch to AquVitro Salinity salt mix, so I speculated that the bubble was a exoskeleton defect. I never knew about the parasites.

 

[jbvdhp]

Did you add any liverock straight from the ocean recently? This is how I had the one and only parasitic isopod I had in my tank yrs ago. Typically they are large and you can see them actively swimming through the water colum.

Geez, I remember the rock I got from Indonesia had some gnarly cirolanid isopods with it. Crazy stuff. Had to catch em with garlic soaked shrimp in a bottle trap. Nasty things!!!

Sorry OP, didn't mean to hijack. But didn't know there were isopods for inverts!!!

 

[ThRoewer]

Are all isopods parasites?
I have some that seem to be eating algae or other things that grow on the aquarium glass. I guess I need to catch some and take pictures of them.

 

[Dmorty217]

Are all isopods parasites?
I have some that seem to be eating algae or other things that grow on the aquarium glass. I guess I need to catch some and take pictures of them.

Not all Isopods are parasites. You can typically tell if they have the big black beady eyes and hooks for arms they are parasites... Then again maybe they are. I think Amphipods get mistaken for Isopods often.

 

[oscar650]

I'd like to thank everyone for the help.
I will do some reading and will update any changes or insights.
Thanks again