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Short skirt, Open skirt, those are just some of the common names for this genetic condition. It's where the carapace does not cover the entire body and exposes part of the gills/internal organs. We see a lot of it with shrimp here in Australia. Our borders are closed to new shrimp from being imported. That means no new genetics. So the shrimps we already have in the country are from a very small gene pool. The shrimp itself can be healthy otherwise and live a long life. But if it breeds and passes those genes along, the next generation could have this same problem as well.

Hi @crustaceanfrustration, that is definitely Short Skirt genetic defect. Unfortunately, there isn't much anyone can do about it to improve the condition, except to not let it keep breeding and carrying forward those genes.

thank you so much for the quick reply! any help at the moment is very much appreciated. so doing more research and asking reputable breeders, i was told it could be a “short skirt or carapace” and or an “open carapace”. they are as active as they can be , grazing and eating, swimming normally and doing shrimp things. haven’t had a single one die on me yet( or any i could see, maybe they gobbled them up before i saw) i’m just worried that they’re suffering and i can’t do anything about it. I use RODI with Salthy shrimp gh/kh+, something might be up with my salts because even with the right measurements i get 9 gh/ 3 kh . i was hoping for 8/4 but i am happier with consistency rather than perfect parameters. they are pretty close to what the “breeder” kept them at. i am also kind of annoyed because if this is the genetic defect that causes short skirt or open carapace. i can’t believe the breeder saying they know nothing about this and have never seen it in their shrimp. these are my first aquatic pets and i feel like i got taken advantage of. i have more pictures and videos if that would help! any more insight on this would be great , and if this is something i can help, i am open to all and any suggestions! if ifs just an aesthetic issue, i will do the right thing and never give these to anyone or sell them. i just want my shrimp to live a happy life. thank you everyone who sees this and can help!