View Full Version : Cherry shrimp dying?!
Dejitaru_Davis
11-28-2009, 6:06 PM
I have a tank with cherry shrimp in it. I've had them for six or so months...they've been doing well until now. I've moved with them twice during this span -- once at the end of summer, and then moved back a week ago.
The shrimp were doing very well until this week -- now I'm noticing the numbers are dwindling. When I set up the tank this time, I rescaped it, untangled the huge wad of anacharis and removed some java moss. I noticed they weren't as active as they had been -- normally I see a few paddling around, climbing over rocks, picking at the plants. Now they've all been hiding in the back, in a couple key spots.
Every couple days I find a shrimp (or remains of one) floating around the tank. I pull him out and give him a proper disposal :(
I know during transit the water they were in got kind of cool -- but I didn't see any dead shrimp. Could the temperature problem be what's killing them, even though it's been a few days? The other option is a water problem, but I don't have a way to check it here, so I haven't had a chance to do that yet....
enthusiast
11-28-2009, 6:13 PM
are you doing regular water changes, and being sure to add a water conditioner to the new water?
shrimp are also very sensitive to copper. Did you start anything new in their line of diet, or add any fertilizers recently, that contain copper in the ingredients?
Dejitaru_Davis
11-28-2009, 6:29 PM
Nope, the only thing new with the water is it's coming from a different tap. Normally I do a 10% or so change each week, but I've been doing it every couple days because of the recent deaths. Keep in mind, though, they lived in water from this tap for months...and they were fine.
I haven't added any new ferts or foods. I know copper is an issue with inverts, so I'm mindful of what goes in their tank....
psyche
11-28-2009, 6:34 PM
If they all arrived adult and a similar age they might just be dying off. Are they breeding?
Dejitaru_Davis
11-28-2009, 6:42 PM
I started with six tiny babies, they multiplied to about three dozen. When I put them in the tank last week a couple were berried, and some were saddled; it's hard to tell how many are left, since they're hiding. I just keep finding dead males floating around, being torn up by my fish. I have no idea if they're eating entire corpses before I get there...or if they're just picking at the ones I see.
It's hard to take a good census on these lil guys :/
blue2fyre
11-28-2009, 6:43 PM
What type of fish do you have with your shrimp?
msjinkzd
11-28-2009, 7:00 PM
i would add some extra aeration.
Dejitaru_Davis
11-28-2009, 7:30 PM
Three feeder guppies, a fathead minnow, and an otocinclus catfish.
sullest
11-28-2009, 7:38 PM
Keep in mind that most plumbing are copper, traces of copper or very little or even non-existent. This would be the last place I do or even think of but if it come to it, I would advise once in a while testing it for copper or when you do a water change, make sure your system is flushed.
Steverd
11-28-2009, 8:13 PM
They only think I was thinking of, is the tank that they where moved to old? Maybe it had something used in it in the past that are hurting your shrimp now?
I don't know who much copper you will get from using hot water (Copper pipes), but I only use cold water and let it set out for a day to reach room temp..
Not sure if I really need to do that or not.
Steve
I always use warm water from the tap when doing water changes (tuned to the right temperature with my infrared temp gun). I don't add any treatment either since I'm on well water. I have happily breeding colonies of RCS, Malawa, and blue pearl / snowball shrimp with zero issues so far. I'm pretty sure I have copper pipes... my place was built in the mid 80s.
Dejitaru_Davis
11-29-2009, 1:53 PM
The tank is the same tank they were in before, except marginally cleaner (algae wiped from glass) and with new water -- so there's nothing left in it to poison the shrimp
I'm just not seeing them come out anymore. This morning I found two cherries laying on their back, not moving. I feel like crying; I watched these little guys grow up and now I don't know what to do as they slowly die.
I forgot to mention, I've got a couple ghost shrimp in this setup. Unlike the cherries, they're swimming around, crawling over things, etc. There's also a snail who. He also appears to be fine (moving around, eating, etc).
I bought a batch of 6 blue pearl shrimp a while back that all arrived in great shape but died off within 2 days of being put in one of my tanks. To this day I have no idea what killed them... it was pretty frustrating, but I just moved on. I have fry in that tank now and some assassins, but no more shrimp.
I also keep golden clams in all of my tanks. I find that they keep the water cleaner and reduce algae on plant surfaces. I don't know if they help improve shrimp health by gobbling up possibly nasty bacteria and protozoans, but I'm cautiously optimistic. :)
Dejitaru_Davis
11-29-2009, 6:57 PM
Could temperature be enough to kill them off? I'm stretching for answers, but I'd like to save my remaining stock. I suppose the room they're in is a little cooler than where they were before; it could be lowering the temperature.
I have less than a dozen left, and only two or three are male (good from a breeding perspective, I guess, but I'm worried I'll lose my only remaining males).
I'm gonna see if the LFS will test my water for me tomorrow.
Sudden, large temperature changes are very bad, but gradual changes won't hurt them as long as it stays in the 70s to low 80s I would think. What is the tank at now?
Sounds like a good time to invest in a test kit :)