Shrimp Tale

[Dekker500]

So I wound up at the fish store on Friday with my wife and daughter, and ended up buying a "flower shrimp" (aka bamboo shrimp, or Atyopsis moluccensis). Anyway, it was evening time, and by the time I transitioned the fish and shrimp to the main tank, the lights went out and I left the fish alone to carve out their niche.

Saturday morning comes, and the new fish was still there, but the shrimp was nowhere to be found! I have some decent hiding spaces, including a hollow decoration, so I figured I'll see him eventually. The next day, still no sign. Now I'm ready to write the shrimp off as a casualty of one of the other fish (can't imagine which!).

Yesterday (Monday) evening, just before the lights shut off, I notice something tan-coloured stuck to the filter intake - it is the shrimp!! I look closer, and I notice that the shell is in fact hollow and bent out of shape. My first thought was that yup, got eaten, but then I remembered that shrimp moult! This was confirmed a couple minutes later when I noticed this bright red shrimp hanging upside down high up on my intake tube!

I'm glad to see that he's doing fine, but I hope he doesn't keep himself too hidden after his exoskeleton hardens. It'd be a shame to never see the guy! I had heard that they could change colour, but I wonder what caused such a drastic change?

Dekker