Shrimp euthanasia
- Thread starter mel_20_20
- Start date
Update
Thanks for the kind words and support, everyone. I have an update and more pics.
This morning I tried to feed him some flake but that didn't work this time
, so I made a little pile of kensfish veggie pellets with extra
calcium
, thinking he might wiggle around and somehow wind up on top of the pile and maybe some of it could get into his mouth.
I was worried, too, this morning because his color is a bit troubling. He is more opaque than his former companion shrimp, and there's some yellowish shading and rust shading in some areas. :shakehead:
When I came in a few hours later I decided to suction out the disintegrated veggie pellets to keep the water clean. I was on my knees with my nose nearly pressed to the glass tank, suctioning the debris with a turkey baster and thinking that the veggie pellet pile idea didn't work when I saw something that caught my eye; a long stiff dark green string... wait... it's veggie pellet poo! Yes he had a nice long, pardon me, string of poo... deep green... veggie pellet green poo.:grinyes:
Yay!! He has a good appetite and so I am hopeful, still. Tonight, it's FBWs for supper.
EDIT: Ooops... forgot to attach the new pics. Here they are.
Thanks for the kind words and support, everyone. I have an update and more pics.
This morning I tried to feed him some flake but that didn't work this time
, so I made a little pile of kensfish veggie pellets with extra calcium
, thinking he might wiggle around and somehow wind up on top of the pile and maybe some of it could get into his mouth.I was worried, too, this morning because his color is a bit troubling. He is more opaque than his former companion shrimp, and there's some yellowish shading and rust shading in some areas. :shakehead:
When I came in a few hours later I decided to suction out the disintegrated veggie pellets to keep the water clean. I was on my knees with my nose nearly pressed to the glass tank, suctioning the debris with a turkey baster and thinking that the veggie pellet pile idea didn't work when I saw something that caught my eye; a long stiff dark green string... wait... it's veggie pellet poo! Yes he had a nice long, pardon me, string of poo... deep green... veggie pellet green poo.:grinyes:
Yay!! He has a good appetite and so I am hopeful, still. Tonight, it's FBWs for supper.
EDIT: Ooops... forgot to attach the new pics. Here they are.
Opaque coloring could be a good sign, a sign of molting soon. It could also be a bad sign. Keep us posted, and you are doing such a great job!
He's still with us. Since I had so much success with the veggie pellet pile yesterday, I just made a brine shrimp pellet pile. I hope he gets a tummy full.
I just did a 60% water change on his tank and he's resting in the breeder trap in subdued lighting. I'll update with more pics, soon.
I just did a 60% water change on his tank and he's resting in the breeder trap in subdued lighting. I'll update with more pics, soon.
Update
The brine shrimp pellet pile didn't work yesterday. I saw no signs of him eating any of that, so I sucked that out with the turkey baster and put another veggie pellet pile in the breeder trap and gently shoved the pellets, with the point of a long skinny stainless steel shish kabob skewer, up under his head and thorax so it would be close to his mouth.
Later In the evening I did see some veggie pellet poo, so I was encouraged.
Today I made another pile of veggie pellets, after removing the debris, but I haven't seen any signs of success with this feeding.
A little later this evening I'm going to try to feed him some more FBWs.
He hasn't molted, yet, but I'm still hopeful.
I'll post again after I try to feed him tonight.
The brine shrimp pellet pile didn't work yesterday. I saw no signs of him eating any of that, so I sucked that out with the turkey baster and put another veggie pellet pile in the breeder trap and gently shoved the pellets, with the point of a long skinny stainless steel shish kabob skewer, up under his head and thorax so it would be close to his mouth.
Later In the evening I did see some veggie pellet poo, so I was encouraged.
Today I made another pile of veggie pellets, after removing the debris, but I haven't seen any signs of success with this feeding.
A little later this evening I'm going to try to feed him some more FBWs.
He hasn't molted, yet, but I'm still hopeful.
I'll post again after I try to feed him tonight.
Update
OK. Supper time.
This evening, I tried making a pile of FBWs and gently pushing them up under him, but he couldn't do anything with it, so I got out my curved forceps and grabbed a cluster of the worms.
He falls over on his side a lot, since he has no legs except the swimmers, so I had to prop him up a bit with the forceps as I maneuvered the cluster up under his mouth.
At first he is nervous and flicks his body and jets away from me. He can't really go anywhere since he's in the plastic breeder trap, so I give him a minute to gather his nerve, and mine, and then try again. Finally, either he's tired and decides to be still or he has decided to give me a chance, lol.
He has no little feeder legs or claws to help guide the worm into his mouth so it's really like trying to thread the eye of a needle without having a visual, so you're just poking the thread in the general vicinity of where you hope the eye of the needle is.
I have to try to thread a fat worm between those two front short stubs, which he tends to have pressed together, and then once I get past them I try to aim upwards with a floppy worm, towards a mouth I can't even see.
I don't know what it is, anatomically, that is near his mouth that you can see whipping back and forth under/inside the carapace that stirs up so much turbulence. The worm sways this way and that and resists going up into the orafice of his mouth.
Must be like trying to dock the shuttle at the space station, blindfolded....in a meteor shower.... without all thrusters....
Well!! I managed to get 4 or 5 fat juicy worms into him. His color still is not good, and he spends most of the time just lying there on his side, though sometimes he props himself up with his tail and those two front stubs.
There's sort or a EUREKA moment when you see a worm sort of just stick to a spot and then start to disappear like a kid sucking up a spaghetti noodle.
I sure hope this guy makes it. I don't think he's in pain or I wouldn't try to continue with this. I'm sure he must be frightened when I first try to feed him, but I think once he gets a taste of those worms he knows it's supper time, lol, and he is OK with me messin' with him.
Here are some new pics:
OK. Supper time.
This evening, I tried making a pile of FBWs and gently pushing them up under him, but he couldn't do anything with it, so I got out my curved forceps and grabbed a cluster of the worms.
He falls over on his side a lot, since he has no legs except the swimmers, so I had to prop him up a bit with the forceps as I maneuvered the cluster up under his mouth.
At first he is nervous and flicks his body and jets away from me. He can't really go anywhere since he's in the plastic breeder trap, so I give him a minute to gather his nerve, and mine, and then try again. Finally, either he's tired and decides to be still or he has decided to give me a chance, lol.
He has no little feeder legs or claws to help guide the worm into his mouth so it's really like trying to thread the eye of a needle without having a visual, so you're just poking the thread in the general vicinity of where you hope the eye of the needle is.
I have to try to thread a fat worm between those two front short stubs, which he tends to have pressed together, and then once I get past them I try to aim upwards with a floppy worm, towards a mouth I can't even see.
I don't know what it is, anatomically, that is near his mouth that you can see whipping back and forth under/inside the carapace that stirs up so much turbulence. The worm sways this way and that and resists going up into the orafice of his mouth.
Must be like trying to dock the shuttle at the space station, blindfolded....in a meteor shower.... without all thrusters....
Well!! I managed to get 4 or 5 fat juicy worms into him. His color still is not good, and he spends most of the time just lying there on his side, though sometimes he props himself up with his tail and those two front stubs.
There's sort or a EUREKA moment when you see a worm sort of just stick to a spot and then start to disappear like a kid sucking up a spaghetti noodle.
I sure hope this guy makes it. I don't think he's in pain or I wouldn't try to continue with this. I'm sure he must be frightened when I first try to feed him, but I think once he gets a taste of those worms he knows it's supper time, lol, and he is OK with me messin' with him.
Here are some new pics:
