Coral banded shrimp help

[Yellowboy]

I just moved home from college and my cbs is very lethargic and having problems standingon his legs...i found him this morning 12 hours after the move upside down...he has since flipped back but doesn't look well...half the tank water was old still in the tank from the move and half was recently mixed...no major changes in salinity...ammonia at 0 nitrite and nitrate at 0 temp ok but did drop during the move...three fish in the tank fine so i thought hes the only invert maybe something copper, dont know how though...checked copper and its so close to zero but the colors are difficult to tell...it definitely no where near .1 ppm but could be very slightly above zero...don't think thats it cause no copper was introduced but was thinking outloud...what could be wrong? what can i do?

 

[Anonymous]

He could be getting ready to molt too. I have had many shrimp molt soon after a move for whatever reason (CBS, Peppermints, Skunks and a Mantis) probably stress. They get pretty sluggish before molting and may kind of lie on thie side until they can kick free the old exoskeleton.

Other than that I would suspect a salinity issue but you said thats ok? I'd maybe throw an airstone in the tank and turn the lights off and let him be for now if your chemistry looks ok.

 

[Droggy]

If you have fears of contamination, place carbon in the filter to deal with your fears.It should scrub the water and improve the tank.

 

[Yellowboy]

yeah i have carbon in the filter...i was thinking maybe he got a lot of sand in his gills or something cause he looks much darker in that area and the sand was kicked up a bit when i changed the water...much more than usual....he's still barely moving...but he's eating when food drifts close enough to him i think he is improving a bit maybe...

 

[Anonymous]

I have heard that crustacians get very stiff right before they molt.

Never seen it myself, but then again I have never seen a shrimp molt, only found the aftermath.

 

[fishfanatic2]

If the CBS is molting, that means that they are growing. Crustaceans have an exoskeleton that does not grow with them. I would watch him carefully after the molt since he is very vulnerable while he waits for the new shell to harden. If you see a transparent object that looks strikingly like a dead shrimp and can't find the real one, don't worry. The shrimp will go into hiding to prevent from being eaten.