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View Full Version : Gruesome mystery (warning: graphic photo)


Dash
07-14-2019, 09:07 PM
Petey the valentini was pecking at something stuck on the powerhead this morning and my stomach sunk thinking it was one of my fish. Quick glance at anemone, nope. Head count...all fish good, hermits yep. Flick on the light and the pistol shrimp immediately opened up his burrow. Hmm. So I examine this body and it's clear to me it wasn't a fish. I've cooked enough fresh seafood to conclude it was some kind of shrimp. The "head" has the stumps of all the little feet shrimp/lobsters have. But it can't be a molt - the whole body is attached and it's sizable - 1.5" without the shell.

This body, or even a molt, does not correspond to anything I put into the tank. Could a mantis or other shrimp have been hiding in my rock all this time? No shell found. Maybe it was molting and got caught by a puffer?
So weird.



https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48284193071_6d27f44b37_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gyH7pr)

davej
07-17-2019, 02:06 AM
Looks like it might be a scarlet hermit crab, maybe. The white part would be the tail section that it puts into shell.

Dash
07-17-2019, 04:47 AM
All my CUC are accounted for (I only have 6 hermits) Also the hermit crab’s physiognomy is different. This looks like a shrimp. I would even say more like a mantis because the head is smaller relative to the body. It’s also way bigger than my little pistol shrimp, or any of the hermits for that matter. I’m just amazed it has remained hidden for 3.5 years through two tanks?

smokinreefer
07-17-2019, 08:13 PM
I'm more amazed that something may have killed it!

Those guys are like armored boxers!

Dash
07-17-2019, 08:48 PM
Well, the green spotted puffers can crunch through some shells like a three year-old does Cheerios. The body was mostly inside the powerhead by the time I found it so maybe they couldn’t reach it.

smokinreefer
07-18-2019, 01:37 AM
Ah yes, your puffers!

Presuming it was them, sad but good! The puffers need to crunch on shells to grind their "tooth" down or it can become detrimental for them.

Ask me how I know, cuz I researched the puffers after my visit to your place!

DKoKoMan
07-19-2019, 04:18 PM
The puffers are amazing lol. I would replace hermits and shrimps for happy puffers :smile: