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I have had three of these guys in a tank since April. I thought 2 were female and one was male, because it's literally three times the size of the others. But I read that a dominant male does become oversized, leaving the others small. So now I think that's what happened and I have all males. I had to separate them because the big one ripped the legs off one of the smaller ones. I didn't notice for a week because he was hiding. He literally had one 'walking' leg left either side and no main claws so he could only hobble along, lurching from side to side. However, after six weeks' separation and making sure he got food delivered right in front of his nose, this little guy grew back a spindly set of legs that are growing stronger. He hasn't moulted yet, but I am hoping that after he does he will be as good as new. I find these guys more interesting than fish or even neocaridina. I think it's those big claws and the way they use them to explore their world as well as brandish them at me when they think I'm holding out on the food. Below is recovering victim using new legs and claws.

It may be just as well you have no shrimp left, as you can PREP properly this time. I assume you will be getting Cherry (neocaridina) shrimp again next time? I can't quite make out what your substrate is from the pictures so I don't know whether that may be reducing your PH or not. Can you test your tap water for PH (and TDS if possible)? Useualy cherry shrimp are fairly easy to keep and most people use an inert substrate, though it is possible to keep them with an active substrate if you want to keep a lot of plants etc! As you ony have moss balls an inert substrate should work well. Do you have a TDS pen? You will be aiming for PH of about 7, or slightly over ideally! This should help also with the cycle. I have had tanks of PH5.5 before but I have never seen a cycle in them and at that low PH anyway you get ammonium (not ammonia) which isn't harmful to any inhabitants in the way ammonia is. Of course that means you have you keep the PH stable so it doesn't flip betweren the 2 ammonia/ammonium as that would cause problems? Lets take it slow as you don't have any occupants now to harm or worry about. What substrate have you got and can you test your tap water for PH and TDS (if you can test KH and GH as well, all the better). Tap water is usually good enough to keep cherry shrimp in unless its parameters are way off? We can take it from there, one step at a time! Simon

Hi All, Thank you for your responses, it is indeed a RCS, and I use tap water. The tank had been running for about two weeks but I have no lifestock in it, only some drift wood, java moss and moss balls. Are fish required to properly cycle the tank? Another shrimp had a brown blister in a similar spot to the one in the photo. There are now no more shrimps left in the tank. I am slightly weary of restocking it knowing that the conditions are far from ideal. Do you recommend I use a specific type of substrate to raise the PH? Should I empty the tank and start afresh? What are your thoughts?

Woahhhhhhh that's a massive hole! I don't know much about shrimp diseases, only that your pH is too low, GH possibly also. Try using some crushed coral or salty shrimp GH/KH+ to increase the alkalinity and hardness in your tank water.

Congrats on the new babies.