2 Dead Shrimp (10g)

[Buckshot122]

The cherry shrimp that I had ordered arrived on Friday. I slowly drip acclimated them and added them to the tank. Yesterday I noticed one dead shrimp and today I noticed another. I’ve also noticed a shed.

Water Parameters:
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm (Planted)
pH - 7.4
Temperature - Steady 78°F

They have plenty of algae to munch on. I’m not sure what’s wrong. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Jessie J.]

If you dose your planted tank with c02, that may be the problem; shrimp are highly sensitive to high levels of it. At night the plants do not absorb very much c02, and there is an immense quantity until the plants can photosynthesize to aid in the process of absorbing it.

 

[Buckshot122]

If you dose your planted tank with c02, that may be the problem; shrimp are highly sensitive to high levels of it. At night the plants do not absorb very much c02, and there is an immense quantity until the plants can photosynthesize to aid in the process.

I don’t inject c02 into the tank, but I do dose with Thrive. Could that be the problem?

 

[Jessie J.]

If it has copper in it, that's probably the problem. All invertebrates are sensitive to heavy metals, but above all copper. You should relocate the remaining shrimp as soon as possible, because once copper/heavy metals are added to the tank it can take a while to get them out. Sorry about your shrimp!

 

[Buckshot122]

Could bright light be causing stress which then causes death? I just darkened the light a bit and a few of the shrimp immediately became more active. I have a Finnex Planted Plus on this tank which is quite bright.

If it has copper in it, that's probably the problem. All invertebrates are sensitive to heavy metals, but above all copper. You should relocate the remaining shrimp as soon as possible, because once copper/heavy metals are added to the tank it can take a while to get them out. Sorry about your shrimp!

I read that Thrive was shrimp safe. Looking at the ingredients it has 0.0002% copper. Thanks for the help! I feel really bad that these little guys are dying.

 

[Jessie J.]

Can you post a picture of the tank? Shrimp are stressed easily, and in addition to being stressed from their move to a new tank, the bright lights may be causing them even more stress. Try dimming it if you can or put some floating plants on the surface to help.

 

[Buckshot122]

Can you post a picture of the tank? Shrimp are stressed easily, and in addition to being stressed from their move to a new tank, the bright lights may be causing them even more stress. Try dimming it if you can or put some floating plants on the surface to help.

Not the best picture, but this is the tank. I have crushed Indian almond leaves lying around to help reduce stress. Some of the shrimp spend all day in the moss and cabomba.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I’d also add some driftwood. Lower your temp to 74F. You really don’t have too many plants so a 0 nitrate reading surprised me. How long was your tank cycled before adding the shrimp? Do you know your KH/GH? What do you feed. How often and how much water change?

 

[Buckshot122]

I’d also add some driftwood. Lower your temp to 74F. You really don’t have too many plants so a 0 nitrate reading surprised me. How long was your tank cycled before adding the shrimp? Do you know your KH/GH? What do you feed. How often and how much water change?

Tank has been set up for several months. It previously housed a betta. Most of these plants were put in a month or two ago. I don’t know what my KH/GH is. I feed them shrimp pellets and some of the Shrimp King pellets. I change water weekly with 10-25% changes.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Sounds good. Try lowering the temp a little and look into the driftwood. Good luck! By the way, I never worried about my KH/GH either until I got shrimp. It’s really something you should check.

 

[Buckshot122]

Sounds good. Try lowering the temp a little and look into the driftwood. Good luck! By the way, I never worried about my KH/GH either until I got shrimp. It’s really something you should check.

How do I test the KH/GH?

 

[FishGuest5123]

You can order a KH/GH test kit on Amazon. Mine is an API brand. Works just like the API Freshwater test kit for Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Very easy to use.

 

[Essjay]

Works just like the API Freshwater test kit for Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.

There have been a few members in the past who were confused by the GH and KH testers. The testers for ammonia, nitrite etc require us to add a certain number of drops, wait 5 minutes then compare the colour to a chart. GH & KH testers work differently. You add drops one at a time, shaking after each drop, until the colour changes. The number of drops it takes to get the colour to change is the hardness in dH. Other brands work the same way but may involve a simple calculation to convert the number of drops to the hardness measurement.

With soft water/low KH it only needs a few drops to change colour. The reagent is still quite dilute and the colour change especially for GH can be hard to see. In this case, stand the lidless tube on a piece of white paper and look down into the tube - because you are looking through a greater depth of water, the colour appears more intense than looking through the side of the tube.