DAMNsel and missing smashers.....

[odoprelude]

I have a n. wennarae about 1.5" long and he seems to have molted and turned a real pretty green color. I was wanting a little something in the tank and bought an orange tailed blue damsel for a little swimmer after reading about several people housing these fish with n.wennaraes before. Since I put the fish in there I noticed that one of my little guy's smashers was gone... I figured okay, he's been doing a lot of construction recently (pecking away like mad underneath the rock actually) and figured he had lost it that way. Well, it now appears that his other smasher is gone after his last molt. Could the DAMNsel be to blame or is this industrious little feller literally working his smashers off?

[H2OLUVSME]

i read some where that stress and/or poor water quality can get them to shed their smashers. ill see if can find the literature to verify. sorry to hear about this though. ill FOR SURE, NEVER have a damsel in any tank ever..............are chromis damsels? :lol::lol::lol:

LT

[Gonodactylus]

The raptorial appendages are generally lost during or just after a molt. If the animal cannot remove the old exoskeleton or if the new cuticle is deformed, they will literally twist and pull the appendage off. They cannot autotomize it the way some crabs can. The fact that this guy lost them one at a time suggests to me that they were torn off.

There is one other possibility. He might have stabbed the fish, the dactly became stuck, and in the struggle to get free the appendage was pulled off. I have seen this happen, but it would be unusual for it to occur twice in quick succession.

The animal would not lose the appendages chipping rock.

Roy

[odoprelude]

he just finished one molt and both are gone... the damsel is a little aggressive and have seen him chase the mantis... I'm definately taking him back. The damsel does not seem to have any marks on him suggesting a dactyl getting stuck... The water quality shouldn't be a factor either, as I have several snails, hermit crabs and and anemone in this tank as well... Thanks for the input! I'll let you know how things progress after I get rid of the DAMNsel...

[Gonodactylus]

The stomatopod should be able to regenerate the appendages, but it will take three molts and six to nine months for them to come back fully functional. Obviously, you will also have to feed it soft food like shrimp and krill.

Roy

[odoprelude]

that's what he eats anyway... thanks again!

[john76]

Perhaps they fell off from lack of use?

[odoprelude]

no he has been pecking away at the rockwork in the tank until recently...