Cleaner shrimp with super glue on pincers

[Acanthurus1517]

So while I was cleaning the tank about half an hour ago, I decided to glue a couple of rocks down, and as I did so my cleaner shrimp got a little curious and, thinking the glue was food, decided to grab some of the stuff and see if he could eat it, only to get it all over his front limbs. He managed to get all of his stuck limbs unstuck but his pincers are still covered in glue and he’s still trying to get himself cleaned off. My concern is that he won’t be able to eat and will eventually die, and I don’t know when the next time he’ll molt will be. Anyone have any ideas on what I should do, if anything?

Thanks,
Diego

 

[dschuffert]

I feel for you and the shrimp. I am not sure what should be done or how to help.

 

[CoralB]

Your pic is had to see the glue . If your able to catch him in the net and gently try to rub off or scrape off with a finger nail . What you have circled Leeds me to believe that he has other pinchers to eat with .not sure if you pull the pincher off whether it will grow back like crabs do . I would first watch him closely to see if he can eat with other limbs . Good luck !

 

[Fish Fan]

Wow, tough situation, poor little guy. I really don't know how to help, I just thought this was so unusual I wanted to see how this turned out. Is there some kind of solvent that would be gentle, and something you could apply to his pinchers without harming him or keeping him out of the water too long? Olive oil or mineral oil or something? Just thinking out loud, please don't take my word for it. I would hope that if he can molt he'd slough it right off, but I don't know, and like you said who knows when he's due to do so.....

I'm hoping for the best, and interested to see if anyone has any solid suggestions here. Best of luck for both of you!

 

[Fish Fan]

Your pic is had to see the glue . If your able to catch him in the net and gently try to rub off or scrape off with a finger nail . What you have circled Leeds me to believe that he has other pinchers to eat with .not sure if you pull the pincher off whether it will grow back like crabs do . I would first watch him closely to see if he can eat with other limbs . Good luck !

I had been thinking that I'm pretty sure they can survive if they lose a pincher, I'm pretty sure I've seen that, but I was worried if he loses both front pinchers that may be bad news.

 

[Wrassenaround]

I had the same thing happen with one of my peppermint shrimps a while back. I thought about trying to scrape some of it off but they are so delicate that it would have done more damage than good. I left it alone to do its thing. It actually molted shortly afterwards and all was good. If you haven't seen it molt recently then you'll probably be fine.

 

[MDAquatics]

Im sorry but I chuckled a little when I read this, its horrible. The reason for the chuckle is that I tend to have a bunch of trouble with gluing things and it seems like if it can go wrong with glue, it will happen to me. Good news is I think the shrimp will be fine. He will most likely get it cleaned off or molt.
If he doesn't, you cant beat yourself up about it, accidents happen as unfortunate as they may be. Its my opinion that if you interfere at this point you risk damaging the shrimp. Good luck

 

[Acanthurus1517]

I had the same thing happen with one of my peppermint shrimps a while back. I thought about trying to scrape some of it off but they are so delicate that it would have done more damage than good. I left it alone to do its thing. It actually molted shortly afterwards and all was good. If you haven't seen it molt recently then you'll probably be fine.

Seeing this, I think leaving the little guy to his own devices is the best course of action since I don’t want to end up hurting him. Still, I’ve only seen the aftermath of his moltings once since I got him (which was about a little over a month ago) so I’m not sure how long he can go like this before molting. Then again, it’s totally possible he’s molted more times and I wasn’t around to see the remains of his shell before the CUC took care of it. Hoping for the best

Thanks,
Diego

 

[Rugops]

Leaving it to molt is likely the solution or it's either try to rub it off with the risk of tearing off the pincer or arm or damage a muscle.
Its got another appendage. They manage.

 

[homer1475]

Seen this happen many times over the years(many posts like this on these forums). They will quickly molt and get rid of the glue. No worries.