cleaner shimp molting

[ooja3k]

Well... I have had my cleaner shrimp about a month...

It took them about 3 weeks before their first molt and now they molted twice... about a week apart... and I have two cleaner shrimps and they both molt the same night...

are they growing at exactly the same pace?? or is there some biological trigger that starts the process....


also, is it typical for them to molt this fast? i mean i do feed heavily...

 

[ooja3k]

anyone?

i think im going to have HUGE cleaner shrimp...

 

[salty420]

i had a skunk cleaner once that molted back to back (within days) and then died. now i have a skunk cleaner in one tank and a fire shrimp in the other. the fire shrimp molts every 2 weeks and the skunk every 3. i also have land hermit crabs. with them (land hermies) they can delay molts until the time is right - i.e. not at the pet store, then will molt within days of being purchased - sometimes back to back. they also molt often at the same time. i don't know if any of that holds true to marine inverts but it kinda makes sense (at least the delay molting since they are vulnerable). oh and my shrimp are big but not crazy big despite molting so often. oh and if yours are tiny maybe they are just growing fast..? HTH

 

[Max]

It's most likely normal unless it's been injured in some way. Inverts do grow rather quickly to an adult size.
hth
max

 

[atarax]

My cleaner molts every other week or so. doesnt seem to grow much. may be a preventative measure to help prevent parasites as well as a growth thing.

 

[ooja3k]

it molted again about 5 days ago...


they are definitely getting bigger!

 

[FishPassion]

I was terrified the first time my shrimp molted many yrs ago lol then researched and asked lotta questions, survey says feedings!!! lotta food molt more often hense growth spurts...