Here are some older pics of my Shrimp, including the newest ones at the end. There is definitely a difference in appearance which is why I'm hoping she's just saddled and not sick. If you zoom in on the first pic and the molts, you can see the rounded plate that lead me to believe she's female. (Uploading damaged the quality but the molt is at least obvious)
Excuse the quality, she's hanging in the very back of a 29 gallon. I started small with three Amano shrimp I'd guess about 8 months ago, one sweet lady disappeared when they were young and the body was presumably eaten, my other girl jumped behind the tank and dried up before I had found a safe-but-not-too-low waterline, so this girl's all I have at the moment :(
It's my first experience with adult female shrimp now that she's grown, so I'm not very familiar with their reproductive functions yet. To those who are, do you think she's carrying unfertilized eggs? It would certainly explain why I have trouble seeing her "vein" if it's surrounded by them, as I see her grazing often so it shouldn't be clear. If not, do you think she looks healthy? I just want to do well by her before purchasing any others.
I'm always keeping an eye on my Amano Shrimps' digestive tracts to make sure they're eating enough, and have noticed that one girl's become more opaque than transparent, making it difficult. I can just barely see the outline of the "vein" in good lighting from a certain angle. She molted yesterday and is still like that, and has been for what feels like a couple weeks perhaps.
She's acting completely normal, though she does itch herself and her pleopods but she's always been partial to doing that. I don't see anything that looks like a fungal infection either. I guess I was just wondering, is this something that happens to some shrimp naturally, or does this sound like a cause for concern?
It's been about a week since I last checked my parameters, my PH was about 7.0, Ammonia and Nitrites 0, Nitrates at about 5 ppm. I just performed a regular water change today as well. Hope this info helps, thanks in advance!
Sat down and played this beautiful game in one sitting tonight, my god was that a rollercoaster of emotions. I felt so much love and respect for Neva, she felt so real and beautiful to me and it was so bittersweet protecting, raising and fighting with her, watching her fall in love and grow up to become a mom. (I know it might be strange but I'm autistic and only really connect with animals, and experience VERY heightened emotions to the point that it can be debilitating, so bear with me lol.)
I was so relieved when I thought we saved the forest and then I saw that DAMN bird falling to the ground and noticed the flowers coming out of it.. I was hoping it was just a lasting effect from the monsters we defeated, AND THEN I CONNECTED THE DOTS AND REALIZED THAT THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME WAS ACTUALLY THE END. I gasped so loud and just sat there in shock with tears streaming down my face for the final cutscene, occasionally whimpering "nooo" and "oh my god.."
It genuinely felt like I had actually lost a loved one, like when I lost my own animal soulmate several years ago. I think I had been subconsciously projecting that relationship onto the protagonists the whole time without realizing it.
Add in the ending credits showing the life of Neva and our character from their first meeting, and I'm an inconsolable MESS.
It was a beautiful and heart wrenching journey but I would gladly choose to experience it for the first time again if I could, it's that wonderful of a story. I can tell it's going to be one of those games that sticks with you for a lifetime even if you only play it once, like Endling: Extinction Is Forever.
Just wanted to share my feelings and love for this wonderful masterpiece of a game. I'm glad it exists, even if it hurts. 💙
I noticed my Lil guy was on the thin side recently and have been feeding him twice a day for a couple weeks to see if that helps, but I'm not very good at noticing subtle changes! I think his back end is filling out a bit more but I wanted to hear what other people think. (In case you're wondering that sponge filter is old and used and just there for my Amano shrimp to hide)