steve8855

Hey so after so looking I finally found out what the lump is on the side of my shrimp.

It turns out it is a parasitic isopod called "Bopyrid Isopods"

Here is the link to the article http://www.qualitymarine.com/News/Feature-Articles/Bopyrid-Isopods-in-the-Aquarium-%2811/27/06%29

I just picked up this shrimp today at "Big Als aquarium" and im going to bring it back there in the morning to see if they will exchange it for me. If not unfortunately its probably going to die as all I have to keep it in is a small glass bowl.

That's exactly what I was thinking, it's an isopod and you don't want it in your tank.

Peeling it off won't be fun.

Glad you spotted that before it got into your tank, propagated and spread to your fish.

do you think it safe to get other fish / shrimp from that store? of do u think it may have affected all there tanks?

That's a good question. If you can't see any on the livestock you are purchasing, you should be fine. It was obviously a hitchhiker and may have been a recent (isolated) case. Keep your eyes open with any purchase you make.

Great photos of the offending parasite.

I had one on a peppermint shrimp a couple of years ago. I did not know what it was until just now. My particular shrimp lived for over a year with it. At the time, I did not think it was something attached, but rather a deformity. Interesting. I had other peppermint shrimp in the same tank and they never showed a parasite, as far as I know, the parasite did not spread to anything else.

so the store i bought it from will not let me return it when i asked they said " sorry but all marin livestock is final sale"

What should i do with this now just flush it? that seem crule

Congrats on spotting the isopod during "quarantine"!!

I would really think twice before buying livestock at that LFS again. I visited a Big Al's in Florida, great for equipment and supplied (pumps, food, tests, etc) but I had the impression that as far as fish and creatures go they're an industrial shop with too much volume to really care well for the livestock.

Now, that is a strange peppermint shrimp, almost translucent. All the peppermints I've seen before have very strong red stripes, the stripes are so red that the shrimp looks red from a distance.

Stick it in a Pico vase and enjoy it. Minimal stuff needed, just make sure to top off daily. An airstone would be good enough for oxygen and a little movement/flow in the small volume of water. Desktop entertainment.

The isopod is harmless. No secondary host for it in tanks, shrimp will live a normal lifespan with it.

Those stores are good for freshwater fish.. saltwater, not so much. Those tanks are probably all connected in the back, so chances are those parasites are in every tank. And they never told you at the beginning that Marine is final sale?