Lots and Lots of Dead Stuff

CeruleanSilver

CeruleanSilver

AC Members
Apr 12, 2011
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The title says it all. I'm having some serious invertebrate woes. First of all, I'd like to apologize for a lack of more specific water parameters, I don't have it tested very often at all.

Okay, so it's a ten gallon tank. I currently have five bamboo shrimp (less than 1") who have been breeding. I have one giant ghost shrimp who never dies, and I have one freshwater clam. There's also a large amount of malaysian trumpet snails and ramshorns. Living for the moment peacefully, are four small platy fry. I feed them algae wafers. I currently have two coral life replacement freshwater bulbs 13w, and just yesterday I put those in to replace two reptile bulbs (tropical 5.0) of similar wattage. I have a aqua clear 20 and a large in-tank foam filter. I had algae problems for the first month of it being set up, but since the Malaysians and Ramshorns have moved in, I don't see a spot. They even starved out the pitbull pleco I used to have in there (poor guy didn't take to the wafers).

I usually don't do water changes more than 25% every three weeks. I did 50% two weeks ago because there was foam forming on the top. Now, granted, the foam is gone, but suddenly on of my anubias is dying. On top of that, a mystery snail died the moment I put it in other week, and at least three bamboo shrimp have died. They were having huge spawns of baby shrimp and everything, and now they are just flat out dropping like flies. I had three clams originally, and two have died. This tank has been up for over a year. The only things that I remember doing recently that was out of the ordinary was I added half the recommended amount of fertilizer tabs for my sparse wendettis.This tank has always been a fry tank that incidentally was better with invertebrates then fry, and so the fact that my platies are fine and everything else is dying is really weird.

What I Do Know About Water Parameters (honestly)
Nitrates: Suck (but not anywhere near the point where they could crash the ph)
Ph: Acidic (roughly 4 due to water softener, and that is out of the tap and in the tank)
Hardness: 8

I really need some help. I just don't know the best way to go about this. Don't be afraid to give me some tough criticism, I'd rather you guys tell me I'm killing it by doing such and such, then say it might be this or that. I love these little guys, and they always amaze me with the efficiency that they take care of this tank themselves, and just how awesome it is to see this ecosystem at work.
 
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Hi cerulian, sorry to hear of your recent difficulties. We don't have a lot to go on here but if I had to take a guess at the most likely culprit it would be that 50% water change. Please do not take offense if I describe your usual regime as "benign neglect." It's pretty much my routine as well--water changes few and infrequent, ferts little to none, feeding pretty minimal as well. Like you I like to think of the tanks as being as self-supporting, or at least self-regulating as possible. And so heavily planted that the spousal unit complains they look more like terarriums than aquariums and you can hardly see the inhabitants. :)

And it works...as long as you don't make drastic or sudden or large changes. I wonder if that's what the big water change did. Inhabitants can get used to just about any water condition as long as it is stable and consistent. You probably have , not quite "old tank syndrome" but at least middle-aged, due in part to your case to the use of the water softener and the rest to small and infrequent water changes. And as you note everybody seemed to get along in it fine. Then a big water change and in a short time trouble comes to visit. Sometimes it is a case of "don't just do something, sit there." :)

So I would not recommend anything drastic now. Stick to the 25% water changes but maybe up them to every 2 weeks for a month or two, then every ten days for another couple of months, then to once a week and stay there. It can't hurt in a small tank to do a nice light substrate vac and some fresh water but it has to be brought on slowly.

Only other suggestion would be to start varying the feed a little more. Not more OF it, just more different kinds. Shrimp at least are scavengers and some pellets, flakes or whatever with more varied contents might help them. And add a few more plants, stem plants ideally; they grow fast, help keep the nutrient balance growing, form a base for shrimp to climb and graze and play on. If you don't like stems then some basic guppy grass or java moss or the like. Can't hurt and will almost certainly help. Best of luck.. :)
 
The very first thing I can ask or mention is to post up results from a water test. A full gambit to include water temp. That will really be helpfull.

Also, 26w of light over a 10g is alot of light. Unless you are dosing ferts and maybe CO2, I can definately see issues with plants here.

Clams are big waste producers. 25% water change every few weeks is rough. My initial thought on this is going to be a high NH3 level. Which will also explain the sudden death of the mystery snail as soon as you put it in there.

I'm very interested about your comment with the Bamboo shrimp spawning and having babies being that they are a low order breeder.
 
Ceruleansilver, You need to know the exact requirements for each type of animal in your community tank. It is also vital that regular water checks are performed (monthly, if healthy, more frequently in your case). You mentioned that your tap water comes from a water softener. Are all sinks linked to it? The normal practice is to leave the cold water in the kitchen unsoftened. It is best not to use softened water to water plants, or use in aquariums. It is easy to acquire filtered water from any number of sources. You can get it from a water service, get a high quality R/O filter, from a fish store, or from a supermarket. You do not want water that has just been deionized, it will not remove bacteria, or other organics from the water. Most places sell water that has had a combination of filtration processes applied.

Ok, before I continue here's a quick vocab lesson.
Benthic layer/zone: is considered to be the bottom layer of an ocean, or lake. It is also used to refer to shores and tidal pools. So any any animal that spends most of it's time in those environs is part of a benthos community. Fully developed shrimp are considered benthic.
Pelagic layer/zone: is a general term that refers to multiple water layers, usually referring to open water. Young shrimp that are not fully formed are generally considered pelagic.

As for the bamboo shrimp, I personally know of one person who has attempted to breed them. What James said is true, they considered to be a low order, or more primitive than shrimp species who's hatchlings are benthic, or have much abbreviated larval stages (usually 1-2). The low order shrimp have hatchlings, or zoes, that are pelagic. They go through something like 7-9 larval stages. At each stage, the larvae need decreasing levels of salinity. In nature, the freshly hatched zoes are washed down stream to an estuary. As the young grow, and molt, they become better swimmers, and move up the estuary. Until finally, they molt from the last larval stage, and are fully formed shrimp. At that point they live exclusively in fresh water.
 
coincidentally or not, just after reading this thread I happened to click on an ad and discovered a sale on API freshwater test kit , regular $23.99 marked down to $16.79, at Foster&Smiths joint. In conjunction with a free-shipping-on-orders -over $49 at the moment. Sale good through May 2 so I shall be ordering mine on payday this friday.

when the fish gods send you a message this clear, do not make them shout. You will not like it when they shout. :)

oh, and to add to pixl8r's excellent advice, when you do start changing to un-softened or bottled or other source water, do it in conjunction with my advice about making changes slowly. Surest way to kill anything aquatic, particularly shrimp, is to make too big a change too fast, even if the change is from sub-optimal conditions to better ones.
 
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Thank you so much guys! I really appreciate it. I'll test the water as soon as possible, but I lost my job very recently so I'm kinda in a bind for the moment on the test kit. I do however have an r/o system, but no buffers. Should I mix that with the tap?

Also, I'm not sure how my bamboo shrimp bred. They are the variety that is only supposed to get 3", and they are bright red with a tan stripe. I first thought they were for sure the spawn of the ghost shrimp, but the babies were pink and I can see their little tiny filter feeding hands. When I first saw them, they were microscopic snacks for the clams. Their length was the width of a penny or less. There's only one out of at least twenty, and he's quadrupled in size. Its certainly not because I take such good care of them. I assumed it was a combination of a established system and the fact that there was over twelve of the parents. They were fry themselves when the breeding happened. They also seem to love the bubbler/sponge filter systems, if that helps your friend at all.
 
Cerulean, I'll try to be clearer. IF your shrimp are successfully hatching young, and if the young are maturing, you do not have Atyopsis moluccensis (Bamboo/Wood shrimp). The only way that Atyopsis moluccensis larvae can mature is via an estuarine environment. They must have varying degrees of salt or brackish water.

Low order shrimp do have larvae that are extremely tiny. The larvae exhibit positive phototaxis. That is, they are all attracted to light. That's because they feed on free floating algae and other microscopic life that live near the surface of the water. When the light is gone, they will float downward and disperse.
 
Hm. Well then, I'm sure this is just a simple misunderstanding on the part of the pet store. They were sold as baby wood shrimp. Perhaps they are cherry shrimp then? Still doesn't explain the filter feeder hands though. The little "pom poms" if you will.
 
Another possibility, re the fert tabs.

I can't tell if you mean you added half of what you usually dose, or a half dose when you normally add none.
If you normally add none, it may be copper of something else in the tabs that is hurting your inverts.
 
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