First Loss...

[Wycco]

I had my first loss last night since I began fish keeping again after a decade + absence...

Not a totally unexpected death. One of my 22 ghost shrimp died last night. I know ghosties are notorious for dying in the first few weeks because of the rough handling they get due to usually being sold as feeders- so the fact only one has died (at least one that I know of) might be a good thing.

It was "red stripe", naturally the dead one was the only one I had named.

He was unique in that he had a red stripe going across his back width-wise about 2/3rds down his body, mainly on one side- none of the others had this marking and I always wondered if it was some kind of scar- if he had been hurt at some point in the past before I got him.

Anyhow the loss of a ghost shrimp isn't really the reason I'm writing as much as what happened next. I tried to fish him out... but he disappeared. I've no idea where the corpse has gone. I spent 15 minutes this morning (making myself late) trying to hunt the body down.

It's like he is a ghost and just disappeared!

When I woke up- the body was stuck to the filter intake- turned the filter off- the body fell off and I never found it again... removed half the decorations trying to hunt it down.

I felt bad leaving a dead animal in the tank hoping it wouldn't pollute the water too badly.

I'm assuming one dead shrimp left in a 55gallon is not going to cause too much of an amonia spike is it?

 

[DarrylR]

I'm assuming one dead shrimp left in a 55gallon is not going to cause too much of an ammonia spike is it?

Nope. Even in shrimp tanks such as 10 gallon tanks with RCS, a few bodies die every few months but that is not enough to crash the aquarium.

 

[Wycco]

OK thanks... didn't think it would make much difference.

Bizarre how the body just disappeared though after it fell off the filter intake... I'm still going to see if I can hunt it down and remove it when I get home. (if the other shrimp don't eat it first).

 

[kyryah]

It will probably be eaten and you will find little bits of chiton in the tank later.

What did it look like? Was it pink or clear?

Kristina

 

[Wycco]

It was mainly white- no longer clear- beginning to turn a little pink- don't think it was dead long as it wasn't very pink yet.

Not a moult- although I did see my first shed skin this morning too in the corner of the tank.

 

[Hebily]

my ghost shrimp will eat dead anything very quickly. (sometimes, they will completely ignore a corpse, which will make me wonder why it died - if maybe it was some sort of poison or infection. Of course, that was before I started QTing hard core. Since then, I've been fortunate enough to not have anything die in my main tank.) Anyway, it's possible they devoured the body that quickly.

 

[Wycco]

Anyway, it's possible they devoured the body that quickly

The 15 minutes between me discovering it- and me heading off to work were spent with my arm in the aquarium moving caves, plants and rocks trying to hunt down the dead body.

I'd be very surprised if they ate their fallen comrade whilst my arm was flapping around in there...

It's possible I guess, but I doubt it. I imagine if all 21 ganged up on the dead body they might be able to do it! (that's assuming I have 21 and others haven't died and been consumed without me noticing)- they hide so well and only 3 or 4 are out in the open at any one time- except feeding when I see a few more.

I think I put too many caves in my aquarium... too easy for them to hide!

I called my wife- she's going to get my son to hunt down the body when he get's off school... if anyone can spot the dead shrimp a 5 y/o can. He's usually better at finding the living ones than me.

 

[Hebily]

you've got sand, right? could it have gotten buried?

 

[Wycco]

you've got sand, right? could it have gotten buried?

That is a possibility I suppose- especially since before I completely removed the caves I tried slowly pushing them. (didn't want to reposition them in case a shrimp was attached and I crushed one). Shifting objects tends to make hills in the sand- shrimp could have got covered I suppose.