[doncityz]

I am not sure, but some of my shrimp started to molt after day 3 i bought them. so far 2 molted, but they are still alive and doing ok it seems.

They are all seems to be ok, grazing on the mosses and plants like nobody's business.

So do shrimp molts on a regular basis?

 

[BigTom]

Yep, they will moult fairly regularly as they grow, perfectly normal. Sometimes changes in water conditions can trigger a moult early.

You may find your male shrimp swimming around very actively after a female has moulted, as this is when they are able to mate, it can be a bit disconcerting the first time! Also, leave any old moults you spot in the tnak, the shrimp will happily eat them.

 

[blacksheep998]

I agree with everything BigTom said, and would like to add that young shrimp can molt as often as several times a week as they grow rather quickly. Once they approach full size they'll slow down and only molt about once a month.

In an established tank with several hundred shrimp you can usually spot a molted skin or two at any given time, but they do get cleaned up rather quickly by the other shrimp.

 

[diwu13]

In order to grow shrimp must shed their hard exoskeleton.

 

[doncityz]

Great.. thanks for the info esp. Big Tom...

 

[jasonpatterson]

Shrimp will also molt fairly often after they have been stressed, such as after a water change (or moving to a new tank.) As diwu13 said, they have to molt in order to grow. It's actually a not uncommon cause of death in aquarium shrimp that they fail to molt properly and die as a result.

Basically, if they are molting and pooping you're in good shape.

 

[mordalphus]

Also, a healthy adult shrimp molts every 2 weeks, not once a month. Not that you could keep track of which shrimp is molting when, but that's how quickly they grow and breed.

 

[Xinori]

Great thread and info... Tnx guyz

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