Shrimp

Shrimp Tank Troubleshooter

Pre-molt ring vs White Ring of Death

Some signs of molting problems are obvious, like a shrimp with appendages stuck in their molt or scrunched antennae that got trapped in a molt. Others, like the White Ring of Death (WRoD), may be difficult to distinguish from a healthy pre-molt ring, as they both look like a crack around the middle of a shrimp’s shell. Despite what you may hear, the WRoD is identifiable before a shrimp dies by looking for the following differences:

  1. A pre-molt ring is generally relatively small (1-2mm) unless the shrimp is stretching their tail under their body (shrimp pose) or they are about to molt within the next hour or so. If a shrimp consistently displays a larger gap in their shell for more than an hour, then that is very likely a failed molt.
  2. The edges around the break in the shell are often scrunched up when a shrimp tries and fails to molt, whereas those edges remain smooth for a pre-molt ring. This short video helps explain the difference.

While it is tempting to try to help shrimp that are stuck in molts or experiencing the WRoD, anything we do is likely to cause stress and result in greater harm. One hands-off solution is to add an air stone to ensure adequate oxygen for the shrimp, as they are trying to do what is essentially extremely strenuous exercise. Aside from that, it's generally best to leave them alone and let nature take its course. What we can do is help remaining shrimp avoid molting problems, which is what this tool does.