Cleaner Shrimp MIA

I recently purchased a cleaner shrimp.. They are pretty hard to find in my part of town so when i found out my LFS was getting one in i jumped at it. The shipment came in and they acclimated him for about 3 hrs then put him in a tank .. i showed up an hour or so later for the purchase..

Shrimp was a little on the small size 1 inch but i still got him. Acclimated him again for an hour and a half in my tank adding a half shot glass every 15 minutes for first half hour then a half shot every 7 or 8 minutes.

At this point the lights were off so i just put him in.. he landed on my power head.. i tried to get him off in fear he might go through it but he kept rotating away from me so i just left him and went on to bed.

The next morning i see his shell and antennas right under my power head.. i read up and assume he just molted.. Question is i still have not seen him and not sure if he is dead or still just recovering from molt.. how long do they hide usually after a molt? its been since thursday night.

 

on the shrimp I don't know, but I've heard of lobsters taking 24 hours to a week to recover. Usually you'll see the whole shell though.

 

They can hide for up to 2-3 days after molting.

 

mine will hide for about 2 or 3 days before and after he molts.

 

So today is day 4.. you think he hit the bucket.. or is there still hope?

 

If you got a good cuc you wont ever find any evidence other than a shell. I never have to worry about taking out a dead fish. I would be surprised if it molted within hrs of putting it in.

 

He's probably still there. Try sticking your hand in there and keep it still... maybe he will come out to clean it or hold a piece of food in your hand.. If not shine a flashlight in there at night.
After they get comfy they always want to jump on your hand.. they're quite cute creatures... congrats on your new purchase.... they're always a little shy at first.

 

Hard to tell, can hide for couple of days, but normally then will come out when food is added to tank. Hopefully he'll show up.