RCS die off

The problem with boiling the driftwood or throwing it in the dishwasher is the java fern that's attached. I guess I could remove it, and attach it to something else, or let it float in the 55 for a bit.

That said, I got *really* smart, and reached out to Rachel O'Leary, so maybe I can make some progress.
 
So, after some correspondence with Rachel, going to try more frequent but smaller water changes, to see if that'll help stabilize chemistry, because the large weekly swing could be causing issues. I've placed some polyfilter (not polyfill, as it seems is the common misunderstanding I found when researching polyfilter) in the filter, and am waiting for it to work its magic. If you're not familiar, polyfilter is expensive ($13 for a 4x8 inch sheet, about half that online before shipping) and is chemically treated to change color depending on what you have an excess of in the water. It's pretty cool stuff. I used about 2x4 inches of it, so I have some extra for future usage. Since I did about a 35% change on Sunday, I'll start today with 10-15% every other day water changes.

Last night I counted 18, and this morning 16, but the actual number must be higher because 6-8 of the ones I saw last night were tiny juvies, and I don't see those during the day.
 
The other issue i see is the co2, obviously injecting it during the day lower the ph, turning it of and adding the oxygen to the water over night is then swinging it the other way, this is far too stressful, consistency is the key with shrimp.
 
fortunebrass said:
The other issue i see is the co2, obviously injecting it during the day lower the ph, turning it of and adding the oxygen to the water over night is then swinging it the other way, this is far too stressful, consistency is the key with shrimp.
Click to expand...

To what CO2 injection are you referring?
 
Well, for an update, I've done a ~15% water change Tuesday, and will do one today (every other day, basically) when I get home, and will actually end up with more water changed per week. So far this week, I think I saw a one dead Monday morning as I was leaving for work, but I couldn't find any sign of it when I got home. I've also found some encouraging signs. I found a molted shell Monday night and this morning, *and* I saw one of the large females is berried this morning.

The polyfilter still hasn't changed color noticeably, so I presume that means I either got a defective product, or there isn't enough of anything it measures in high enough concentration to cause any color change that I can see. It's in the filter, so it's definitely got water going over/through it. I'll give it till next week before I get too worried.

Saw 14 last night, but none of them were the big (now berried) female, and saw 10 this morning. Still don't know exactly where they're hiding, but there are lots of options, including under the driftwood or in the java fern, let alone the hiding that can be done in the peacock moss.
 
About 10 days and 4 (5 will come after I get home today) water changes, haven't seen another death. I'm consistently seeing 8-12 RCS, and I think I've seen a couple tiny molts. Haven't seen the berried female since last week, but I don't know if it's because she was the one I thought had died, and I just couldn't find evidence 9 hours later, or if the tiny juvies are hers.

Polyfilter is still looking the same, so, I've apparently got nothing seriously out of line. It's looking more like the single weekly ~40% was the problem. Thanks to Rachel O'Leary for the resolution.
 
Well, still no deaths, and another large molt. It may be time to start rescuing more RCS from my 55. It looks like the rams have gotten big enough that they're able to take on adult RCS, since they're not as easy to find in there as they used to be.
 
Yeah, rams will go after any they can find. Glad the population seems to have stabilized.
 
So, about three weeks after talking to Rachel, and I haven't seen any deaths, and I'm seeing visible growth in the some of the smaller shrimp. This morning, I saw 9, which is still well in the 8-11 range that I've been seeing. So, starting tonight, I'm going to start moving some RCS from the 55 into the 10. Polyfilter is still the same color, so it seems I have no hidden metals or organics that are fouling things up. And then, I'm going to order some additional RCS from her, to diversify the gene pool a bit. And then, maybe some other sources, but yeah, I'm really feeling chipper about it.
 
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