# Shrimp horror stories



## oldwhitewood (8 Oct 2008)

Does anyone have an irrational fear of shrimp? or more specifically, airbourne shrimp? I can't seem to handle them if they escape and when they jump it actually makes me scream like a big girls blouse! Even removing them from my tank to put them in a temp home really freaked me out, you've never seen someone handle a net so quickly. I remember when I first netted one, as I moved the net out of the water I presumed it would just stay in the net like a fish would, but it suddenly crawled up the net and onto the handle and started advancing towards me. Before I could hurl it back into the tank it decided to jump and landed on the floor, at which point it began advancing towards the rug in the front room. That freaked me out.

The other day I found one dead in my kitchen area, it had turned a golden brown colour and gone hard, perfectly preserved, whiskers and all. I kept it actually because it seemed a shame to throw it away.  not sure why I've done that.

Is it just me or does anyone get freaked out by them leaping around? It's not just shock it is literally I have to get away from them; I guess like a very servere arachnophobia. Do you have any shrimp stories?


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## vauxhallmark (8 Oct 2008)

Gosh, I don't like it when they hop around, but only cos I'm worried they'll damage themselves!   

I use a small net and cover it with my hand if I ever have to catch them, to avoid that very thing. 

Don't have any horror stories though!   

Mark


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## LondonDragon (8 Oct 2008)

If you think that is horror imagine my face when I saw my 25cm crayfish crawling along the corridor with its huge pincers in the air LOL shrimp are fine though I have a tank full of them lol


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## oldwhitewood (8 Oct 2008)

LondonDragon said:
			
		

> If you think that is horror imagine my face when I saw my 25cm crayfish crawling along the corridor with its huge pincers in the air LOL shrimp are fine though I have a tank full of them lol



 brilliant


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## GreenNeedle (8 Oct 2008)

I was always told shrimp can hide away a lot and get a bit timid!!!

There I was last week repositioning the diffuser when one crawled onto my hand (while my hand was moving) 2 seconds later when I wanted to remove my hand there 3 of them 'cleaning me'.  They only jumped off when my hand got near the surface.

AC


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## a1Matt (8 Oct 2008)

SuperColey1 said:
			
		

> I was always told shrimp can hide away a lot and get a bit timid!!!
> 
> There I was last week repositioning the diffuser when one crawled onto my hand (while my hand was moving) 2 seconds later when I wanted to remove my hand there 3 of them 'cleaning me'.  They only jumped off when my hand got near the surface.
> 
> AC



I always smile on the few occasions my shrimp have done that.
I laugh when my fish do simliar (they try and eat my hand), not because it is funny, but because it tickles like mad!


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## jay (8 Oct 2008)

The females carrying eggs and when they move their back "legs", the eggs move.AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

And if they swim towards my hand when I'm doing maintenance...


*shudders*


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## LondonDragon (8 Oct 2008)

oldwhitewood said:
			
		

> brilliant


It was and I laughed about it after the panic was over lol good thing that outside the water they are easy to catch.
Shame I had to take it back to the store when it cracked the tank with a rock, trying to escape again I assume lol


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## the Guru! (8 Oct 2008)

I like it when my shrimp come to my hand! makes me feel like Dr Doolittle


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## Fred Dulley (8 Oct 2008)

I had a similar experience with a large blue crayfish, only 5" though. It was at work and I underestimated it's force, so it broke out of my grip on the net and scuttled around the tank cover glass waving his pincers around. Keep calm and act accordingly lol.
Catching a Boxer shrimp (marine) is interesting to say the least as well.


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## LondonDragon (8 Oct 2008)

Fred Dulley said:
			
		

> I had a similar experience with a large blue crayfish, only 5" though. It was at work and I underestimated it's force, so it broke out of my grip on the net and scuttled around the tank cover glass waving his pincers around. Keep calm and act accordingly lol.


I learned the best method is to catch it by hand, after keeping it for nearly 3 years I was pretty used to pick it up, when I took it back to the fish store, i took it in a bucket and the guy was scared to catch it, so I picked it up with my hands and put it in the tank, he thought I was nuts LOL


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## oldwhitewood (8 Oct 2008)

I remember once I was moving wood from one tank to another. Picked up the wood and as I was moving it about 6 shrimp dropped out of the crevices and started leaping around....*shudders*


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## aaronnorth (10 Oct 2008)

not so much a horror story but it amazed me.

i took out a sponge from my cycled filter to cycle another tank, opened it up the other week (after 4 months) and i found an adult RCS living in there!


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## Themuleous (21 Oct 2008)

Its amazing how long shrimp can live in an external filter.  Cleaned one of mine recently there there 20 in the bottom, wondered where they had gone!  I guess with the water flow food supply must be pretty high.

Sam


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## Steve Smith (21 Oct 2008)

I had the leaping amano shrimp experience this evening when moving a bit of wood out of one of my tanks.  They certainly can jump!  Thankfully it jumped straight into the water


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## R1ch13 (2 Nov 2008)

I hate jumpy shrimps haha!

I bought 2 amanos ages ago from Dobbies, and shortly after putting them in the tank, one dissapeared.

About 3 weeks later i find it at the other side of my room (about 13feet away from the tank)

They are crazy buggers, but tough as anything, After a while the other went missing, i then decided to drain and rescape the tank, I had about an inch of water, no heater and no filter in it for around 3 weeks, i eventually had the plants ready to plant etc, started to plant and then this little psycho shrimp started scooting around the tank 

I then made the dumb mistake of moving him into a tank full of hungry BIG tiger barbs .... He may still be there though, hes a fighter


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