First berry p.alleni, looks strange..

[lexi9319]

This is her first berry. She looked normal at first, then the eggs began getting white fuzz and falling off. They're now pink/orange and fuzzy.. I'm pretty worried about her, something doesn't seem right.

[Mustafa]

For some reason the eggs weren't viable and either bacteria or fungi settled on them. As long as the female herself does not get any growth on her and acts normally, she should be fine. She will just drop the eggs over time.

[lexi9319]

Any idea what caused this to happen? She mated with the male several times within a few days. How long will it take for her to drop them and be ready to try again?

[Mustafa]

It's hard to pinpoint why eggs are infertile in any given situation. Bottom line is that aquarium conditions (i.e. high nutrient levels due to feeding) make a great breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. You don't see this kind of stuff in nature, really. No idea when she will drop all eggs...if she drops them. If she is acting normally, then it will happen eventually. If she is walking kinda funny (slower than usual) and not eating much, then she may actually be reason why the eggs are like that...she's not doing well and has not cleaned/aerated the eggs or dropped them yet.

[lexi9319]

Yeah she's not doing well. Will she die? Is there anything I can do for her?

[Mustafa]

Unfortunately, once inverts reach this point, there is not much you can do. For future reference, though, I would check the pH in your aquarium and see if it's too high. Higher pH levels are the reason for the presence of toxic unionized ammonia, which is one of the main reasons for invert deaths (along with non-treated, chlorinated water).

[lexi9319]

I am currently treating with pimafix. She's seemed to perked up some since dosing.. she's picking at her infected eggs, so hopefully she will do a little better. Still has yet to eat unfortunately.

[Mustafa]

Good luck! The odds are against you, though. Not feeding is a good indicator that something is wrong. Unless she manages to molt and start eating, Pimafix won't do much besides possibly treating the symptoms, not the problem itself.

[lexi9319]

I can still hope.. if not, got one of her siblings, who had all but one leg picked off by the others.. I'm hoping the best for her though, she's more active today than she's been in a long time..

Thanks for your replies. I will keep updated. Feel free to throw in any more information you might have, I'm still learning and want to absorb as much knowledge as I can.

[lexi9319]

Just did something that was probably like torture but I just couldn't watch her suffer. I removed the eggs and infection myself gently using a wooden bamboo skewer.. got almost all of the eggs off that seemed to be matted around her swimmerettes.. not sure if it will do any good at all, I just had to try. Still treating with pimafix, and she's far more active than she's been. If I don't see improvements soon I may find a humane way to end her life.

[Mustafa]

I hope it works. Let us know if things get better (or worse).

[lexi9319]

Just caught her nibbling on a flake..

[Mustafa]

Well, that's good news...if the cray actually ate the flake instead of spitting it back out.

[lexi9319]

She's doing much better now. I've moved her back to the main planted tank. She's been searching for food and very active. I am so happy that I didn't lose her!

[Mustafa]

Great! Glad to read the good news!