Do Pistol Shrimp Molt?

[Nate]

I bought my first pistol shrimp a few months ago. Today I saw two claws drifting around my sand bed. I have no experience with these little guys and was wondering if when they molt they lose their claws?

[Coral Hind]

They shouldn't loss the claws from just molting but something might have yanked them off when they were still soft. You might just be seeing the molted outsides of the claws floating around.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Coral Hind

[Jan]

I bought my first pistol shrimp a few months ago. Today I saw two claws drifting around my sand bed. I have no experience with these little guys and was wondering if when they molt they lose their claws?

 

Are you sure they are it's actual claws? Could it just be the shape of the claws on the exoskeleton?

[Nate]

Pictures Pictures Pictures

 

 

OK, So dead or alive?

[DJBoy98]

That's not molting, that's an assault.

 

Molting shells should be lighter almost see thru versions of it.

[Nate]

So is it possible for the little dude to survive this?

[Jan]

Those definately look like claws. When my pom pom crabs, coral banded shrimp, cleaner shrimps and lobster molt, the color of their exoskeleton appears identical to what is still on their living bodies. I found claws laying around from my emerald crab that looked like something ripped it apart. 2 days later it was out and about. All the claws also look and feel full, but they're not. That's why i asked. See if you can find the shrimp. Give it a couple of days. Is there anything in your tank that would could kill them?

 

Pictures Pictures Pictures

 

 

OK, So dead or alive?

[Jan]

umm, my guys molted claws are not opaque or clear.

That's not molting, that's an assault.

 

Molting shells should be lighter almost see thru versions of it.

[Happyfeet]

So is it possible for the little dude to survive this?

 

Take the claw and pull the bottom claw until it tears out of the hinge, if it comes out with anything its probably not a molt, You could also look inside the claw once this is done and tell pretty easily if its a molt or not. (they are already off I don't think he will mind your destroying them a little more)

[Jan]

Snapping shrimp and regeneratin of claws....

http://sailhawaii.com/snapping_shrimp.html

 

http://www.biolbull.org/cgi/reprint/193/3/401.pdf

 

So is it possible for the little dude to survive this?

[Happyfeet]

Take the claw and pull the bottom claw until it tears out of the hinge, if it comes out with anything its probably not a molt, You could also look inside the claw once this is done and tell pretty easily if its a molt or not. (they are already off I don't think he will mind your destroying them a little more)

 

sorry I wasn't thinking.

Pistol shrimp do lose their claws and regrow them. I thought you were asking if it was a Shell Molt and I didn't read the whole post.

[Nate]

I haven't seen him since I put him in the tank months ago. The only way I knew he was still alive was the "snapping" sound. I cracked open the large claw and found NO meat in it...So now what?

[lanman]

I haven't seen him since I put him in the tank months ago. The only way I knew he was still alive was the "snapping" sound. I cracked open the large claw and found NO meat in it...So now what?

 

Then it's probably just a molt... when my Sally Lightfoot crabs molt - it looks like an entire whole crab. I sometimes leave them around, and people think my crabs died.

 

bob

[DJBoy98]

All the ones I seen are lighter versions of the molted shrimp. The picture looks like it's the original claws ripped from the shrimp.

 

Regardless, let's hope he made it.

 

umm, my guys molted claws are not opaque or clear.

[Jan]

+1 This has been my experience with all the crustaceans in my tanks as well.

Then it's probably just a molt... when my Sally Lightfoot crabs molt - it looks like an entire whole crab. I sometimes leave them around, and people think my crabs died.

 

bob

[Hilary]

Let us know if you hear the snapping again in a couple of days!

[davelin315]

I don't think those are pistol shrimp claws. Those look like regular crab claws to me. I have a very large crab in my tank that I haven't caught - only reason I know is because I find the molts of its claws periodically and they get larger as time goes on. I would guess you have an unwanted crab in your tank and that those are the claws for it. Pistol shrimp have different shaped claws than that and are much straighter. Oh, and the molts of most crabs are not clear, while the molts of most shrimp tend to be translucent. Shrimp exoskeletons tend to be much thinner than crab exoskeletons, hence they are translucent or even transparent, whereas a crab has a very hard exoskeleton.

[Jan]

correction my guys claws are opaque, not clear.

umm, my guys molted claws are not opaque or clear.

[Nate]

I don't think those are pistol shrimp claws. Those look like regular crab claws to me. I have a very large crab in my tank that I haven't caught - only reason I know is because I find the molts of its claws periodically and they get larger as time goes on. I would guess you have an unwanted crab in your tank and that those are the claws for it. Pistol shrimp have different shaped claws than that and are much straighter. Oh, and the molts of most crabs are not clear, while the molts of most shrimp tend to be translucent. Shrimp exoskeletons tend to be much thinner than crab exoskeletons, hence they are translucent or even transparent, whereas a crab has a very hard exoskeleton.

 

Wow, I think you're right Dave. I just did a Google search for images of pistol shrimp claws and they do look completely different. I just assumed they were the pistol's claws since I haven't seen him enough to know what they look like. I just knew that they weren't from a hermit crab. Must have a unknown crab in there somewhere.