Immune system shrimp - disease prophylaxis

Like all invertebrates, shrimp have a somewhat different immune system than vertebrates or mammals. They only have an innate immune response, not an adaptive immune system. They can therefore only distinguish between their own and foreign cells. Fungi, viruses and bacteria are identified by certain patterns in the cell wall, which do not occur in animal or plant cells, and are then destroyed by the body's own defense cells. Shrimp are also very sensitive to large amounts of germs because their immune response is simply not strong enough and they are literally overrun by the pathogens.

Possible cause of illness stress

Their immune system is also very susceptible to stress. Fluctuations in water values, lack of hygiene, unbalanced food, extreme restlessness in the aquarium (either due to too lively tank mates or too much handling in the tank) and much more can lead to an immune deficiency, which then quickly manifests itself in diseases and infections. Often a disease and the weakening caused by it leads to moulting problems, which then lead to death for the sick animal. Also, putting shrimp from different sources together can be fatal for the animals due to the large amount of foreign germs that then rush in on them. If you want to keep shrimps from different sources in one aquarium, a preventive quarantine is recommended. To do this, place the new animals in a separate tank and exchange some water back and forth between the aquariums every day. After two weeks the animals can be put together.

Recognizing infections

If it is not a particularly virulent germ, a typical sign of a bacterial infection in shrimp is that you find only a few dead animals per day. If you see animals with whitish opaque abdomens, apathetic, pale animals that just sit around, animals with shortened antennae and animals with pinkish to reddish internal organs that appear inflamed, you can also assume a disease that is rampant in the aquarium. An external infection with bacteria or fungi is manifested by rusty brown to black spots and depressions in the carapace.

Treat infections

If you now have an infection in the aquarium, you should eliminate the possible causes. There are a variety of natural remedies such as sea almond leaves, alder cones, walnut leaves and many more that can be used in this case, as well as by feeding a varied but sparing diet. Daily water changes of 80% with adjusted water over a week or two can also help reduce the bacteria count, and it can also help to thoroughly vacuum and mulch the substrate blog contribution.

Natureholic Mainfeed and Babyfeed has a features of high binding power and inactivation of pathogens/toxins in the intestinal lumen.

With certain substances from the cell wall of some fungi it is possible to increase the immune system and thus the disease resistance of shrimps within a few hours. The high-quality ß-glucan in our new Natureholic shrimp food, which is extracted from brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cervisiae), is one of these substances. It is particularly effective because it stimulates the body's own phagocytes to greater activity. In this way, the animals are much better able to cope with pathogens. Often, the measures mentioned here are already sufficient to contain an infection, but in very bad cases one must think about the use of antibiotics - here the veterinarian will be happy to help.

Preventing infections

As always, prevention is the best cure - so you should always make sure that the shrimp are kept as optimal and stress-free as possible. Low germ conditions can be achieved by regular water changes, vacuuming of the substrate and a varied, natural, but sparse feeding. Excess food is bacterial food!
Sometimes, however, stress can hardly be avoided, for example when shipping or introducing new animals. Not only in this case it is good to have something up your sleeve that supports the immune system of the animals. Also here the feed of Natureholic with ß-glucan is the means of choice.

The Natureholic Mainfeed and Babyfeed helps in the formation of an additional protective film (biofilm) on the intestinal mucosa (infection barrier). The Natureholic feed supports and relieves the immune system, reduced loss rates in infections.