Healthy shrimp often spend a lot of time grazing, picking at surfaces, hiding to moult, and appearing more active around feeding or after lights shift. That can look strange to beginners. The more worrying patterns are usually frantic darting, collapse after water changes, repeated lying on the side, or whole groups clustering in odd places after a recent change.
Usually normal
- Regular grazing all over hardscape and plants.
- Temporary hiding after introduction.
- Females carrying eggs while remaining active.
More concerning
- Sudden frantic swimming after maintenance.
- Repeated failed moult attempts.
- Lethargy with loss of body clarity or colour.
- Persistent hovering at the surface in low-oxygen situations.