29G Shrimp Tank
- Thread starter myswtsins
- Start date
Thanks Joel! Good thinking and something not before suggested by anyone. But there is no heater at all in this tank. Room stays pretty warm and consistent, last night it was 10F outside and the tank remained at 71F (normally about 71-72F). Higher temps are supposed to accelerate any problems and increase breeding and molting which may have killed them faster if molting is what is killing them. But with that said maybe I will try increasing the temp a bit. I don't wanna change too many things at once though and I've already added GH booster and some trace ferts. Got wood and leaves coming too. Ugh, round and round. I am floundering, can you tell!? lol
Not sure which thread to put this on....
4 days ago the big female in the 58g looked like this with the split in her back and saddled.
And then this is her yesterday.
Now if you can see through the dirty glass (and it is dark under all that usteriana making it even harder to get a clear shot) yes, those are eggs! So obviously she had 2 successful molts in this tank AND breed. The other female I have not seen in 3 days so she might also be molting/breeding.
So what does this mean? Well, the only thing I know for sure is that something in the 29g is making them unhappy...or more precisely dead. What exactly that is I am just not sure! If it was a pollutant I would think the snails would mind too and I can't find anything to indicate that a pollutant would cause molting difficulties which definitely seems to be when they are dying. It seems more like a lack of something to me. But I have observed more of a protein film in the 29g then in my other tanks (to repeat, all my tanks get a film no matter what I do). I even put my HOB with surface skimmer (a mobile "skimmer" I only use from time to time) on there a couple times and the film just comes back. Now of course the 58g has an overflow so no film develops but that doesn't mean it's not in there, it just can't collect on the surface for me to see. There is a small amount of film in the sump area where the overflow comes in though (before the pads).
There are still a couple shrimp left in this tank (29g). The 2 original males are still alive which just makes me more confused. lol Plus at least 2 juvis. But since there are no micro babies anymore maybe I will dare to run a skimmer 24/7 to see if that helps. But more importantly what is causing the film!? I have not feed this tank anything in weeks and before that it was super lightly fed anyways. It's got to be something in my water since it is on all my tanks. Round and round I go!
So as of right now I don't think I've actually lost any shrimp since I found that dead one. At my last WC (which it's time for again) I did add the full regiment of ferts including metricide and GH booster. So maybe that's all I needed to do. They are no mature females in this tank so of course there can't be a breeding to show me things are going well but they shrimp are still alive. Blah blah blah, just putting all my thoughts down.
Been awhile since a picture and here's why! lol
The hair algae is winning! When I dose the metricide I apply it directly to the HA but so far no difference. All the crypts I put in from the 58g are still alive though so that makes me happy.
4 days ago the big female in the 58g looked like this with the split in her back and saddled.
And then this is her yesterday.
Now if you can see through the dirty glass (and it is dark under all that usteriana making it even harder to get a clear shot) yes, those are eggs! So obviously she had 2 successful molts in this tank AND breed. The other female I have not seen in 3 days so she might also be molting/breeding.
So what does this mean? Well, the only thing I know for sure is that something in the 29g is making them unhappy...or more precisely dead. What exactly that is I am just not sure! If it was a pollutant I would think the snails would mind too and I can't find anything to indicate that a pollutant would cause molting difficulties which definitely seems to be when they are dying. It seems more like a lack of something to me. But I have observed more of a protein film in the 29g then in my other tanks (to repeat, all my tanks get a film no matter what I do). I even put my HOB with surface skimmer (a mobile "skimmer" I only use from time to time) on there a couple times and the film just comes back. Now of course the 58g has an overflow so no film develops but that doesn't mean it's not in there, it just can't collect on the surface for me to see. There is a small amount of film in the sump area where the overflow comes in though (before the pads).
There are still a couple shrimp left in this tank (29g). The 2 original males are still alive which just makes me more confused. lol Plus at least 2 juvis. But since there are no micro babies anymore maybe I will dare to run a skimmer 24/7 to see if that helps. But more importantly what is causing the film!? I have not feed this tank anything in weeks and before that it was super lightly fed anyways. It's got to be something in my water since it is on all my tanks. Round and round I go!
So as of right now I don't think I've actually lost any shrimp since I found that dead one. At my last WC (which it's time for again) I did add the full regiment of ferts including metricide and GH booster. So maybe that's all I needed to do. They are no mature females in this tank so of course there can't be a breeding to show me things are going well but they shrimp are still alive. Blah blah blah, just putting all my thoughts down.
Been awhile since a picture and here's why! lol
The hair algae is winning! When I dose the metricide I apply it directly to the HA but so far no difference. All the crypts I put in from the 58g are still alive though so that makes me happy.
Gee whiz, I have no idea...but I'm tending toward your water...in some way I don't understand. How's the whole house filter thing working? Seasonal issues?
Other than the HA (& I've had my share in 1 tank but not so much now), what is causing the film? Lack of surface agitation? No guesses, but I too am happy your crypts are happy
Other than the HA (& I've had my share in 1 tank but not so much now), what is causing the film? Lack of surface agitation? No guesses, but I too am happy your crypts are happy
So.... The RCS have bred and released babies in the 58g, yay! But what does that mean exactly? Here are my observations in these past few weeks. I have not been feeding the tank at all and I only dosed it twice at WCs. The few shrimp I left in this tank are still alive, one may be female but still kinda small so I wouldn't expect her to breed. But the snail population has diminished to almost nothing. The surface film remains, never did add a skimmer. The hair algae likes the dosing, even the metricide applied directly to it. But the moss is finally growing! And I have discovered some, I believe, subwassertang wedged into the wood (hitchhiker). All crypts are still alive but not nearly as nice as the ones in the 58g (dosed, medium light).
So if it was a contaminate I would think all the critters would be dead, right? Why would certain shrimp (like one of the original males but also the tiniest newest baby) and snails be unaffected? The snail population decrease could just be due to lack of food (although that is not working in the 58g)
Ugh I just don't know! Do I throw the whole tank including contents out just to be sure? Seems a bit over dramatic. I guess I will try to make it more like the 58g by....increase dosing, add a surface skimmer and see where that gets me.
Here is the current algae situation....
So if it was a contaminate I would think all the critters would be dead, right? Why would certain shrimp (like one of the original males but also the tiniest newest baby) and snails be unaffected? The snail population decrease could just be due to lack of food (although that is not working in the 58g)
Ugh I just don't know! Do I throw the whole tank including contents out just to be sure? Seems a bit over dramatic. I guess I will try to make it more like the 58g by....increase dosing, add a surface skimmer and see where that gets me.
Here is the current algae situation....
No, I wouldn't pitch everything just yet. Things don't look so bad except for the hair algae & lack of shrimp breeding. Is there a difference in KH & GH between the 2 tanks? That can affect both snails & shrimp shells & reproduction...& plants & algae.
pH, KH and GH are all the same between tanks. Both get the same exact water out of the same barrel with the same hose. Only difference (in water parameters) is that the 58g gets dosed so it has higher TDS, nitrate and phosphate levels. Even the temperature is the same.
Hummm, is that a sign to dose at least, at a lower level? I dunno, it seems the only variable...
So this poor tank was ignored for months and the algae took over, blocking light to several plants. Last week I started working on it again, this week nothing happened though. I wish I had taken a picture before I pulled the massive clump of algae out of there but you've seen algae before. Due to neglect the water level fell a couple inches a couple times and left hardwater stains on the glass. I have since razored the front glass only. I added a HOB with skimmer and started lightly dosing. The plan is to just dose once a week at WC with GH booster, micros and maybe potassium just to try to make sure I am not missing any crucial minerals.
Of the 2 shrimp that were left in here, a really red male and an offspring from the QT tank, it seems only the really red male survived. The java fern is all but completely gone. Some moss and subwassertang (not added intentionally) actually grew in random places. The crypts adapted and started growing smaller, greener leaves. All the extra crypts from the 58g are doing fine, they've adapted a lower light form but are growing fine. I will remove the Usteriana for sure though.
I recently added a berried Sakura back from the 58g. She dropped the eggs. Could just be the stress of the move (even though the water is about identical as you can get. Although I want to note she didn't have a full batch of eggs to begin with.
Pictures are from last week
Of the 2 shrimp that were left in here, a really red male and an offspring from the QT tank, it seems only the really red male survived. The java fern is all but completely gone. Some moss and subwassertang (not added intentionally) actually grew in random places. The crypts adapted and started growing smaller, greener leaves. All the extra crypts from the 58g are doing fine, they've adapted a lower light form but are growing fine. I will remove the Usteriana for sure though.
I recently added a berried Sakura back from the 58g. She dropped the eggs.
Could just be the stress of the move (even though the water is about identical as you can get. Although I want to note she didn't have a full batch of eggs to begin with. Pictures are from last week
I moved my 9 Amano shrimp from the 58g to this tank while trying to catch all the RCS from that tank to bring them back over here. Since adding them they are WAY less active and not grazing much, certainly not taking care of the algae like I've seen amanos do, just hanging out mostly on the substrate. Females have not dropped their eggs though. Again, these tanks get the same exact water and now similar ferts so they should be just as happy here but they don't seem to be. I am going to keep observing for a day or 2 but I am now pretty certain that something in this tank must be contaminated. Best guess is either the tank itself or the substrate since they were stored in the basement. Just for clarity (and the fact that I spent a long time testing) here are the tests from both tanks today before WC...
29g/58g
pH - 8.2/8.2 (got a cheap digital pH monitor recently, yay)
TDS - 233/251
Temp - 72/72
GH - 10/10
KH - 9/9
Ammonia - 0/0
Nitrite - 0/0
Nitrate- 0/5
Phosphate - 0/0
Copper - 0/0
Iron - 0/0
So other then showing I am slacking on my dosing and my plants are doing a perfect job at sucking up nutrients everything looks good. Ferts are slacking cause my pill containers I use for dosing fell under my QT tank and I just haven't gotten down there to dig them out. lol
If the shrimp don't perk up I guess I will move them all back to the 58g and dismantle this tank. But what to toss and what to keep?? Maybe I will further try to eliminate problems by removing the substrate (and plants) and run it bare bottom....
29g/58g
pH - 8.2/8.2 (got a cheap digital pH monitor recently, yay)
TDS - 233/251
Temp - 72/72
GH - 10/10
KH - 9/9
Ammonia - 0/0
Nitrite - 0/0
Nitrate- 0/5
Phosphate - 0/0
Copper - 0/0
Iron - 0/0
So other then showing I am slacking on my dosing and my plants are doing a perfect job at sucking up nutrients everything looks good. Ferts are slacking cause my pill containers I use for dosing fell under my QT tank and I just haven't gotten down there to dig them out. lol
If the shrimp don't perk up I guess I will move them all back to the 58g and dismantle this tank. But what to toss and what to keep?? Maybe I will further try to eliminate problems by removing the substrate (and plants) and run it bare bottom....
