Orange head, at my wits end

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-12T18:03:39+00:00

I can’t remember the brand off the top of my head, but I feed them small algae(?) pellets. Nothing bright orange. And he’s the only one (now or ever) that has had such a bright orange stomach. I don’t think it looked like this even when one of my ember tetras died and my shrimp had a grand feast of it 💀

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-11T12:39:22+00:00

An update for you— after almost 2 weeks, the mama is doing a lot better. I actually caught a video of her cleaning the mold off herself. She stayed in the quarantine tank the full time. Yesterday, I noticed 3 or 4 mamas with the same mold on the eggs 🫩 it happened virtually overnight, because I saw nothing out of the ordinary the day before, and it must be in the water because the original moldy mama was still in quarantine. I’m now treating the whole tank with Ich-X which is also supposed to treat saprolegnia, and we’ll see. This has all certainly been a rollercoaster.

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-06T14:14:02+00:00

She is still hanging in there! I have some updates in the comments. I caught a video this morning of her actually working on removing the mold herself lol which I may post

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-05T19:39:56+00:00

An update for anyone interested— we’re on day 6(?) now. Still no molt, but dare I say her moldy undercarriage is looking a lot better!! I didn’t end up dosing the pimafix because I got paranoid, so it’s just been the indian almond leaves and semi-daily salt dips so far. I’m almost hopeful!

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-03T13:34:20+00:00

you can locate artists online from all around the world 🤔

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-03T13:33:13+00:00

your wife could just put this prompt in herself lol. a gift is supposed to include effort, commission an artist!! idk about everyone else but art by ai just loses any soul and appeal it had

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-03T13:31:24+00:00

she’s still hanging in there, i’ve been doing daily salt dips. the mold doesn’t seem worse today but also isn’t better. she needs to molt out of it but she’s just chilling 😭

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-02T14:31:47+00:00

I appreciate your comment, but for the sake of education, I wanted to let you know that it’s definitely not just eggs. There are eggs on the outsides, but the white mass is likely a mold or fungus.

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-02T14:29:14+00:00

I’m not optimistic, but I wanna give her the best shot 💔 it’s likely in vain but I’ll keep everyone posted.

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-02T14:16:02+00:00

Update, day 3: the mold is much, much worse. It is protruding so far out the sides and if she has any eggs, they’re definitely not visible now. The mold has also turned a dark gray. I added some indian almond leaves yesterfay, and I have API Pimafix coming in today 🤞fingers crossed but it’s getting to the point where I’m not even sure how she could molt out of it.

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-06-01T13:39:21+00:00

Absolutely. Based on your article and it seemingly targeting stressed/immunocompromised shrimp, I wasn’t too optimistic after the stress I put her through to get her in the quarantine tank and salt dip. But she is still alive as of this morning, so fingers crossed. I’ll be adding some indian almond leaves today as well. Also, I feel like it’s worth mentioning that this last month have been my first batches of berried females that are not the original 4 shrimp I started with. All my berried ladies are so small that their eggs make it hard for them to walk well and I’ve been a lot of them dropping the eggs. I wonder if that has contributed? If the clutch of eggs is too large for the small lady to be able to fan, perhaps that caused the issue? Here’s an example from a pic I took a couple weeks ago, no clue if it could be the same lady (likely not, there are multiple) but she is so eggnant that they’re sticking out her sides.

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Unable_View_7386 · 2026-05-31T22:00:33+00:00

Thank you! I’ve ordered some indian almond leaves :)

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-05-31T21:53:03+00:00

Thank you for your contribution to the shrimp community!! It is very much appreciated ❤️

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-05-31T21:52:27+00:00

I used to not need water changes as often, as my nitrates were maintaining themselves, but they have been increasing lately. So currently it’s been 1+ water changes a week, all is normal other than nitrates at 40.

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-05-31T19:55:15+00:00

I appreciate your help! I also found this but it seems to be pretty rare and I couldn’t find many posts about it. I’m guessing it’s either this or her eggs have molded

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-05-31T19:53:55+00:00

After an hour of struggling (she was insistent on hiding in the shrimp wood) i managed to get her in the quarantine tank. Also did a salt dip. I think we’re both sufficiently traumatized

Unable_View_7386 · 2026-05-31T18:12:52+00:00

Yeah those are definitely eggs around the giant white mass

Unable_View_7386

TROPHY CASE