Cherry Shrimp

[showjyr]

I have about 35 to 40 cherry shrimp. Sveral males but mostly females. I had 2 females carry eggs for about a month but haven't seen the eggs in about three weeks. I assumed they hatched out but have yet to see a single young. I have 2 descent size chunks of java moss in the tank and no fish. The tank has a weak filter and a nylon screen wrapped around a 4 inch intake to keep any young from getting sucked in. my water parameters are as follow; Ammonia-0, Nitrate-10, Nitrite-0, GH-150, KH-80, PH 7.2. Is there something wrong or am i just not seeing the young? Also i occasionally(once every month or two) I find a dead shrimp, usually a female juvy, dead. Could this be a sign of somthing wrong?

 

[Invader Xan]

Hmmm... It likely is a sign of something wrong. Is your filter sufficient for your tank size? For that matter, how big's your tank? Personally, my first suspect would be water pollution somehow. Try running some carbon in the filter -- just to be safe. Alternatively, if you only have a weak filter, a more effective filter medium like Rena Biochem Zorb or Purigen might be a worthy investment.

Alternatively, could there be something near there tank that's stressing them out? Some source of loud noise, perhaps? I've heard of people keeping their fish tank next to their hi fi speakers and not realising why their fish were stressed...

 

[GoldLenny]

I recently started keeping Cherry Shrimp as well and a couple of my females are carrying eggs. My understanding from all that I've read is that the eggs will be not always be fertilized. Apparently, when fertilized, they will change colors... I think from green to orange and then they will be more likely to hatch. It could be that your males are not of breeding age. So far, I have not seen any color change on my egg holding females. I could be wrong about this since there is so much contradicting information out there on the net.

I like and currently use Purigen since it can be recharged and used over and over... but the Bio-Chem Zorb has zeolite and carbon in it and the zeolite merely soaks up ammonia and then once it is filled up, the entire package has to be discarded since carbon cannot be recharged.. at least not by home users.

While I don't like using zeolite in my fish tanks on a regular basis, since it interferes with the nitrogen cycle, if you want to use it in your invert tank to keep nitrate levels lower, then get the separate purigen and zeolite filter packs which can be recharged and used over and over.

Do NOT add salt to a tank that has zeolite in the filter system as salt can cause the ammonia to be released causing severe ammonia spikes.

 

[Liam]

As the shrimp carried the eggs for about a month, you can take it that they were fertile, when they are not the females drop the eggs after carrying them for a day or so. The chances are that the young hatched, but I would expect you to have seen the babies by now they are usually flying about after three weeks. Even if they got into the filter they survive in there and find lots to eat. Your ph and water stats are fine for them. I can’t see a reason from what you said for the young not to survive. If the tank is not set up very long then there may be untraceable ammonia, which even in tiny amounts is enough to kill the shrimp. How big is the tank, if its too small the shrimplets wont find enough food and die, they live on the invisible micro food in the tank for the first few weeks, though even in a five gallon with 40 adults some should be surviving. My guess would be that the tank is still not mature enough, usually with cherries you will see all the females carrying eggs if all is as it should be for them, as soon as the shrimp are born they start carrying again within a week. Don’t worry about a strong current as long as it isn’t blowing them around well filtered water is what’s important I think. Also don’t clean the entire filter media at the same time and just shake the muck off the sponges.

 

[showjyr]

As the shrimp carried the eggs for about a month, you can take it that they were fertile, when they are not the females drop the eggs after carrying them for a day or so. The chances are that the young hatched, but I would expect you to have seen the babies by now they are usually flying about after three weeks. Even if they got into the filter they survive in there and find lots to eat. Your ph and water stats are fine for them. I can’t see a reason from what you said for the young not to survive. If the tank is not set up very long then there may be untraceable ammonia, which even in tiny amounts is enough to kill the shrimp. How big is the tank, if its too small the shrimplets wont find enough food and die, they live on the invisible micro food in the tank for the first few weeks, though even in a five gallon with 40 adults some should be surviving. My guess would be that the tank is still not mature enough, usually with cherries you will see all the females carrying eggs if all is as it should be for them, as soon as the shrimp are born they start carrying again within a week. Don’t worry about a strong current as long as it isn’t blowing them around well filtered water is what’s important I think. Also don’t clean the entire filter media at the same time and just shake the muck off the sponges.

My tank is 10 gallons(US). I said a weak filter but it's not really "weak" it will do a 30 gal tank but i keep it turned down and there is still a good current. I also have 2 air stones in each back corner to keep plenty of oxygen in the water and keep it aggitated. The tank has been set up for like 5 months and almost never needs cleaning. I just do weekly water changes and constanly test the water. I change my media every month and it has carbon in it. I never change the coarse mesh, just rinse it in tank water. Still no babies as of today......i'm stumped

 

[GoldLenny]

When you said you saw a dead shrimp, could that have just been the shell from one that molted? When shrimp grow, they break out of their old shell and live without a shell for a few days while their new shell hardens. The other shrimp eat the old shell as a calcium source. Maybe that is all you saw and your shrimp did not actually die.

When you do your water changes, how are you removing the water? I'm not sure if weekly PWC's are needed since shrimp have such a small bioload. Test your water and do PWC's as the test levels indicate. Is your water hard enough? If not, you might want to feed them calcium rich foods.

 

[showjyr]

When you said you saw a dead shrimp, could that have just been the shell from one that molted? When shrimp grow, they break out of their old shell and live without a shell for a few days while their new shell hardens. The other shrimp eat the old shell as a calcium source. Maybe that is all you saw and your shrimp did not actually die.

When you do your water changes, how are you removing the water? I'm not sure if weekly PWC's are needed since shrimp have such a small bioload. Test your water and do PWC's as the test levels indicate. Is your water hard enough? If not, you might want to feed them calcium rich foods.

Nope. They are without a doubt dead shrimp. I regularly see molts and shrimp eating. These are not molts they are like i said usually well colored juvies. I use a hand start syphon with a piece of very fine nylon mesh zip tied over the end and i only suck the water from right near the filter flow to avoid shrimp. I change my water weekly or close to it because i have several MTS, 2 small red ramshorn, and lots of tiny pest/pond snails and i don't want to take a chance on waste building up and creating problems. My GH stays around 80 so prolly not high enough. What foods are rich in calcium(they don't pay much attention to food but are always picking at algae). I've heard putting a little crushed coral in the tank can help too....?

 

[GoldLenny]

Below is from a page on Applesnail.net about Calcium rich foods. I've also seen people put pieces of cuttlebone (used for parakeets, etc.) in their tanks and snails would eat it... and it would also leech into the water column raising the KH levels. Here is a little more info on cuttlebone. http/www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1529.asp (I always thought it was man-made until I read this article but I guess there could be man-made products out there also.)

Here is the Applesnail.net list:

Vegetables Calcium per 100 gram serving:

Dill Weed 208 mg
Turnip Greens 190 mg
Collards 145 mg
Parsley 138 mg
Kale 135 mg
Watercress 120 mg
Beet Greens 119 mg
Chinese Cabbage 105 mg
Mustard Greens 103 mg
Chicory Greens 100 mg
Spinach 99 mg
Okra 81 mg
Leaf Lettuce 68 mg
Cilantro 67 mg
Purslane 65 mg
Endive 52 mg
Swiss Chard 51 mg
Broccoli 48 mg
Cabbage 47 mg
Rutabaga 47 mg
Brussel Sprouts 42 mg
Celery 40 mg
Sweet Potato Leaves 37 mg
Green Beans 37 mg
Romaine Lettuce 36 mg
Parsnips 36 mg
Head Lettuce 32 mg
Alfalfa Sprouts 32 mg
Squash (winter, all varieties) 31 mg
Turnip 30 mg
Carrots 27 mg
Kohlrabi 24 mg
Sweet Potato 22 mg
Cauliflower 22 mg
Asparagus 21 mg
Pumpkin 21 mg
Squash (summer, all varieties) 20 mg
Beets 16 mg
Cucumber (with skin) 14 mg
Red and Green Peppers 9 mg
Tomato 5 mg
White Corn 2 mg


Fruits Calcium per 100 gram Serving:

Seedless Raisins 49 mg
Orange 40 mg
Lime 33 mg
Blackberries 32 mg
Kiwi 26 mg
Lemon (no peel) 26 mg
Papaya 24 mg
Raspberries 22 mg
Sweet Cherries 15 mg
Strawberries 14 mg
Tangerine 14 mg
Apricots 14 mg
Grapefruit, White 12 mg
Grapefruit, Red & Pink 11 mg
Pear 11 mg
Cantaloupe 11 mg
Grapes 11 mg
Mango 10 mg
Watermelon 8 mg
Persimmon, Japanese 8 mg
Pineapple 7 mg
Apple (with skin) 7 mg
Cranberries 7 mg
Banana 6 mg
Honeydew Melon 6 mg
Blueberries 6 mg
Casaba Melon 5 mg
Nectarine 5 mg
Peach 5 mg
Plum 4 mg

 

[Invader Xan]

Personally, I just have a few seashells in my shrimp tank (half buried in the substrate). They leach calcium into the water, keep both the GH and KH fairly high and generally look nice. My shrimp often sit on them and pick at the algae that grows there, too.