Peppermint Shrimp

[Fishdude]

I bought a peppermint shrimp from the FS yesterday. It had a mass of white things on its stomache which I assumed were eggs. I put the shrimp in an enclosed, netted container in the tank. This morning it molted. The eggs seem to still be on the old shell. Is this normal or did I disrupt the breeding cycle?

 

[wdt2000]

It is possible that the shrimp is about to have babies but I would take it out of the netted container. The babies will most likely die or become food for you critters.

 

[davelin315]

Shrimp will often molt when placed into a new environment because of the stresses involved with moving and different water. That is one of the reasons that it is helpful to introduce the shrimp after acclimation and turn the lights off. If your shrimp molts too many times in quick succession, it can be fatal. The eggs that were on the shrimp are probably dead now that they are not being cleaned and aerated by the shrimp, so you might as well give a meal to your fish by dumping in the shell. The chances of any of your baby shrimp surviving is almost 0 anyway.