I recently made a biosphere with both Java moss and Java fern with aquarium gravel (which I thoroughly cleaned before putting into the tank) at the bottom and I have filled it with fresh spring water. The water temperature is at 70 degress Fahrenheit. However, within two hours of introducing red cherry shrimp to the tank they all died and I am at a loss as to why. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
All shrimps dead in home made biosphere
- Thread starter Elwood107
- Start date
tanker
Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
Tifftastic
"With your powers combined . . ."
Tifftastic
"With your powers combined . . ."
Ok, so there's no chance of cleaners being on the gravel then.
Even if the water was too soft, it shouldn't have killed the fish in that short of time. Spring water varies, based on the source of the spring, so there's no way to say for sure that it was too soft or too hard even for that matter. What is possible, is that the bottle could have been chlorinated as some companies will do this. There could have also been an ammonia spike somehow.
I'd recommend using a water conditioner even if you're using bottle water, just to make sure there is no chlorine or heavy metals. Test the tank for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and double check that your thermometer is working properly and the tank didn't over heat without the thermometer reading the spike.
Even if the water was too soft, it shouldn't have killed the fish in that short of time. Spring water varies, based on the source of the spring, so there's no way to say for sure that it was too soft or too hard even for that matter. What is possible, is that the bottle could have been chlorinated as some companies will do this. There could have also been an ammonia spike somehow.
I'd recommend using a water conditioner even if you're using bottle water, just to make sure there is no chlorine or heavy metals. Test the tank for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and double check that your thermometer is working properly and the tank didn't over heat without the thermometer reading the spike.
Shrimp react very poorly to sudden changes in water hardness. Going from hard water to very soft water will kill them pretty quickly. Fortunately, one of yours managed to adapt.
What makes your tap water poor quality and is "infecting" it specifically? What may be undesirable for humans to drink may not be bad for fish and aquariums at all.
Andy
What makes your tap water poor quality and is "infecting" it specifically? What may be undesirable for humans to drink may not be bad for fish and aquariums at all.
Andy