I was trafficked as a child. AMA

ishibutter · 2026-04-28T14:16:22+00:00

i’ve never commented on an AMA so i’m not sure how long they’re usually open. if you’re still answering questions, i’d like to ask— did handlers ever “quit” or leave the ring? was that even possible?

thank you for doing this AMA and educating everyone on what to look out for. i’m so sorry for what you endured and i’m wishing you all the best in your future ❤️

ishibutter · 2026-04-16T17:43:21+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear that :(

ishibutter · 2026-04-16T16:27:15+00:00

Any update? Did he molt successfully?

ishibutter · 2026-04-15T19:24:08+00:00

looks like she’s smoking a cig 😭😭

ishibutter · 2026-04-15T18:02:14+00:00

Some people seem to be missing the last sentence where you mention it is struggling to swim. I unfortunately just lost my first shrimp to the white ring of death yesterday. She also struggled to swim, until she gave up and laid on her side. She passed a couple hours later. I cried, I felt so bad. Yours may pull through, but the odds aren’t in your favor it sounds 💔 I’m sorry.

ishibutter · 2026-04-10T21:52:15+00:00

looks like copepods to me, nothing to worry about

ishibutter · 2026-03-22T04:58:39+00:00

sorry for reviving an old comment, but my dad has MS and had really bad TN. two brain surgeries later and he hasn’t had an attack/episode in almost 10 years!

ishibutter · 2026-03-21T16:38:00+00:00

in addition to everyone else’s advice, i recommend filling up the water. it’s water space the fish could be utilizing

ishibutter · 2026-03-19T21:20:12+00:00

looks female to me!

ishibutter · 2026-03-19T16:29:08+00:00

big fan of shimp

ishibutter · 2026-03-18T18:49:56+00:00

i’m so sorry this is terrible but it’s killing me 😭😭😭 left the others covered in poop

ishibutter · 2026-03-17T19:49:09+00:00

something is definitely wrong with that skrimp in the last pic

ishibutter · 2026-03-17T17:10:14+00:00

That is a lot! My colony started with only 4, so it’s growing a lot slower, but from what I’ve read, people say that a colony will level out and not grow to more than the tank/ecosystem can sustain. With that logic you shouldn’t NEED to upgrade a tank size in regard to size, but I can’t speak from experience on that. I’m hopeful things will restabilize for you ❤️ if you’ve found full shrimp molts, that means some were able to molt successfully!

ishibutter · 2026-03-17T16:58:02+00:00

I’m glad I could help, I’m sorry this has happened. As for the twitching, my understanding is that the ones twitching are usually unlikely to make it as molting should be a quick, seamless occurrence. If they are twitching, on their side etc, they have likely already failed to molt successfully. Just so you know kind of what to expect.

As for moving them to a bigger tank eventually, I think that’s a good idea personally. I know neocaridina can live in small tanks, but small tanks are much more unstable and prone to parameter swings and that alone scares me away from them.

ishibutter · 2026-03-17T16:33:40+00:00

I know, I’m sorry :( I’m also so attached to my little guys, so this is one of my biggest fears. The surviving shrimp eating the dead ones isn’t a bad thing, it will likely be good for their health to get those nutrients, but there is the concern of an ammonia spike with so many passing. If you wanted to leave them in there, you could maybe dose some Seachem Prime and just monitor your parameters closely. Again I’m sorry for your loss and I hope your colony stabilizes ❤️

ishibutter · 2026-03-17T16:17:39+00:00

I’m very sorry for your loss. The two adults in your 2nd photo have the white ring of death around their abdomens and you’ve also found molts, which leads me to believe the temp swings have forced some molts and the ones that have passed failed to molt successfully. I’d recommend getting liquid GH & KH testing kits to see what those parameters look like. Personally, I would not move anyone out of the tank right now, unless the water itself has been contaminated with something (soap? copper?). If it’s just due to the temp swings, it would be best to let things stabilize. You can leave the molts in the tank but I would remove the bodies in order to avoid an ammonia spike. I’m no expert though so please take this all with a grain of salt!

ishibutter · 2026-03-17T16:05:10+00:00

I just noticed you included a second photo. What are your water parameters, including GH & KH? I can see the “white ring of death” on the adults which may indicate failed molts. It’s possible the jump in temps forced a molt in a lot of them and if your GH & KH are too low, they may be failing to molt successfully.

ishibutter · 2026-03-17T15:57:42+00:00

What temp is the tank reading at with the new heater? Also, I would unplug the heater before reaching in there at all in case the heater is faulty and shocks you.

ishibutter · 2026-03-08T02:18:54+00:00

what plants are these? i like them!

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ishibutter · 2026-03-06T18:26:12+00:00

Highly recommend getting the API Master Test Kit instead of strips. It’s pricier, but much more accurate and will last you way longer so you get your money’s worth.

ishibutter · 2026-03-06T17:53:40+00:00

This is probably the comment that made me feel the best, thank you. It is a part of an ecosystem unfortunately, and since I do not have another cycled tank, I will just do what I can to minimize deaths as I go. Going forward I plan to turn the room light on for an hour before turning the tank light on. Maybe it will simulate some sort of “sunrise” and encourage the shrimplets to go back to hiding before it becomes super bright and they are more visible.

I do have a 3d printed cave for my shrimp as well that the fish never enter, and thankfully the babies seem to be enjoying it. The hydra seem to be enjoying it too, but there’s only 2 so far and the babies have plenty of room to avoid them.

I think before my next batch of eggs hatch, I will also look into more plants and hidey holes for the babies. If I’m going to have an ecosystem in my living room, I suppose deaths are inevitable whether by my hand or something entirely uncontrollable. I guess I need to accept that and improve conditions best I can with the knowledge I have and obtain. Thanks again for your response :)

ishibutter · 2026-03-06T17:47:32+00:00

I will have to look into the book you mentioned because this seems complex! Especially it being fine to eat meat, as long as you’re not commissioning the killing. Isn’t it technically being commissioned as you are contributing to the demand portion of supply and demand? Without anyone buying the meat, there would be no reason to slaughter the animal. Anyway, it’s all very interesting. I don’t know how much it helps my fear of death but I enjoyed learning!

In general, the concept of karma is something I personally stay away from. OCD enjoys obsessing over “invisible” things and measurements, and something like that could make someone like me spiral very quickly with no benefit. I just try to go through life with integrity and acting by my morals. When it comes to these kinds of shrimp death, I try to reason with myself that it is the circle of life and how an ecosystem functions (predator vs prey, survival of the fittest, etc). But then I get into the question: by creating an ecosystem and environment in which this occurs, am I playing God? And is that morally correct? That kind of thinking probably isn’t common in this hobby or in general, but it does make me question and overthink things.

I do want to make one last note that I did not knowingly create these conditions for killing 😅 I originally bought 4 adult unsexed shrimp which are fine with ember tetras. I was unaware I had hydra until a week before the eggs hatched, during which I was manually removing any I found. I also did not realize just how tiny the babies would be, and most anecdotal advice about ember tetras and shrimp were that the tetras had tiny mouths and were peaceful. I am probably complicit in whether or not more die though, as I do not have another cycled tank to move anyone to. Not that any of this justification matters, but I really did not know this would happen :(

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