Peppermint Shrimp with bulge?????

[thirty5]

I just noticed that one of my peppermint shrimp has this bulge on the side of its body.

Anyone have any ideas? It seems to be acting normal, eating and picking around on all the rocks....

Sorry for the pic, It is hard to take pic through the curved glass...

 

[BFITZ06]

Cant tell by the pic but it my be ready to molt

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[thirty5]

Cant tell by the pic but it my be ready to molt

Sent from my DROID3 using Reefs

I never thought of that. But it is an obvious bulge.. We will see

 

[lfsmarineguy]

It's not molting. What you see is probably a parasitic isopod attached to the soft tissue under the shrimp's carapace. I've never seen them spread in tanks so you're probably fine. They are somewhat common.

 

[thirty5]

It's not molting. What you see is probably a parasitic isopod attached to the soft tissue under the shrimp's carapace. I've never seen them spread in tanks so you're probably fine. They are somewhat common.

Just googled it and it looks like you hit the nail on the head! Thanks

I get paranoid about this stuff. I found an article that explains how to try to get rid of them out the shrimp.

Will prob just leave it alone!

 

[lfsmarineguy]

You're better off leaving it. Shrimp are delicate and unless you have access to microsurgical equipment odds are good you'll end up doing even more harm to the shrimp.