Dead Shrimp

[Clairepriest]

My shrimp died over the weekend . I don't know why. He/she didn't act wierd beforehand. I added a load of plants so maybe that disturbed him/stressed him or maybe my water params didn't suit him . I'm trying to research what might have caused his death but I can't even find out what type he/she was.

Water params: 0 Nitrite, 0 Ammonia, 7.2pH, medium soft/hard water, 100mmg nitrate.


He was a lovely blue colour with pink nodules on his main claws. I inherited him in March with the tank (my friend had owned him about a year) and he shed around June. He hid alot except when it was feeding time then he was lovely to watch and he was perfectly friendly with all my other fish (see sig). When he died he measured around 2-3". No pics I'm afraid. I was too upset at the time. Any ideas?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Well you have 2 types of predatory fish in your tank, ghost knife and butterfly fish- here's some profile info on keeping them;

Black ghost knife

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile66.html

Butterfly fish

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile6.html

Either one of these could have realised what a tasty snack the shrimp could be.

The ghost knife will far outgrow your tank is not suitable for it as is the butterfly fish- you many fish exactly do you have in your tank?

 

[Clairepriest]

I know the tanks too small for my knife fish. He's only 6"/15cm at the mo. My LFS told me he wouldn't grow much bigger but when I researched him on the net (i know, too late after buying him ) ) I realised he'd grow too big so we've decided to buy a 48" tank (my christmas pressie) and split the population.

The butterfly fish is about full grown. From head to tail base he's about 4" and I must be really lucky 'coz he's really placid and completely ignores all my little fish. He just floats on the surface all the time.

I've got 1 x African Butterfly
1 x Black Ghost Knife (will be moved over Christmas)
1 x Pleco
4 x Garnet Pretty Tetras (will be moved over Christmas)
4 x White Cloud Mountain Minnows
1 x Black Neon (will be moved over Christmas)
3 x Corydoras Julii
2 x Khuli loaches (about 2" long at the moment - really tiny- will be moved over Christmas)
2 x Glass Ghost Catfish

I really don't think he's was harmed. He always hid in rocks & crevices so he didn't get bothered much and he was completely intact and undamaged when I fished his body out. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Are you positive he hasn't just shed his shell and is still hiding somwhere you just found the shell? Shrimp shed their shells on a regular basis to allow them to grow.

 

[Clairepriest]

Positive. He just shed in July which is why I was somewhat surprised that he died as he seemed to be doing so well. Besides, I checked him over good and proper for damage and it was definately ALL shrimp, not skin.

By the way they shed in 'bits' the main shoulder/back part is one piece and the lower abdominal multi-sections is another piece. I assume his claws shed also?! but I never found anything resembling them.

I've no idea how long they live or what size his species would have reached as I still can't find a shrimp on the net like him. Do you think my water parameters were ok then? Maybe he was just old.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Your nitrates are high but i do not know how sensitive shrimp are to nitrates in general- is the tank planted and does your tap water have any nitrates coming out of it?

 

[Clairepriest]

The tank is fairly heavily planted (well to me it is anyway). I've only just put most of the plants in so I'm planning on posting a picture tomorrow to see what advice I can get. I wondered if shrimps are easily stressed as this may have done it.

As for my nitrates I know their high. I've been doing 10% water changes twice a week to bring them down and I've reduced their feed as well although I am checking that ALL are eating. Again, maybe this increase in water changes affected him.

As for nitrates in my tap water - I've never checked to be honest. I'll do a test tonight and let you know.

Thanks for all your help. I'd like to buy a couple of shrimps but only if I can find out where I went wrong with shrimpy.

 

[jflowers]

I know the tanks too small for my knife fish. He's only 6"/15cm

Thats big enough to eat most shrimp and much too big for the tank its in, specially with another 4" fish, I am not berating you, just offering suggestions.

Get that big tank sooner than christmas, shrimp are food for most fish over an inch.

Jon

[EDIT: knowing the area you live in - Agricultural fen land - high nitrate tap water, 40ppm+ out of the tap. A mix of 50/50 RO and tap should help.]

 

[comedykicks]

I found a site that lists lots of different shrimp with pictures. There's 2 different blue shrimp listed there, you might want to look at it to see if yours was any of them, maybe you can replace him

http/www.franksaquarium.com/freshwatershrimpfarm.htm

Hope this helps

 

[Clairepriest]

Thanks comedykicks. Very useful. He looked similar to a midget shrimp or Amano Shrimp or a blackline shrimp but blue and really sturdy-looking. It says a midget shrimp comes in various colours, so maybe...

Thanks jflowers. I guess I'd better wait until I get my new tank before I get any more shrimps.

I checked my tap water and your right it is fairly high in nitrates but then your not far from me so I guess yours is the same.

I've looked into the 'reverse osmosis'. Do you think the high nitrates killed shrimpy? Is RO it something your familiar with? Does it take up much room? Is it expensive? Is it easy to install? Should I buy an RO system at the same time as my new tank or is it easy to install in a settled tank?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Basically an RO filter removes everything from the water- oxygen, minerals, chlorine, chemicals and other toxins- everything.
The problem with this is that you have to replace a certain amounts of minerals and salts lost through the process so your fish don't get malnourished and it also removes alot of the tiny organisms that live in the tank water that many shrimp feed on and it can also change the PH of your tank; but it does create the purest water you could posibly get and many fish breeders use RO water to breed fish that would otherwise not breed in normal tank water. Many people who own an RO filter also have a TDS test kit which basically tests for the total disolved solids in the water so you know what to add back in after the process- RO filters are basically very fine filters.
I wouldn't use RO water personally in your scenario, live plants take up nitrates especially when they are growing well so adding more to your tank will help lower them .

 

[paulioo]

I wouldn't think nitrate of 40ppm would kill shrimp. They're fairly common in planted tanks, many of which people dose nitrates to achieve 30-40ppm.

As far as i'm aware copper is the main killer of shrimp. Have you added any plant fertiliser in the last few days. Maybe this contained some levels of copper. Even the smallest percentage of copper will be enough to kill them.

On a side note i have amano shrimp (algae eating shrimp) in my tank. They're very nice to watch and do a good job of eating most of the algae that appears.

Paul.

 

[Clairepriest]

I BET THAT'S WHAT IT WAS!!!!

I recently planted the tank up and added a new plant feed in a 't-bag' type of device which lasts 3 months. He died about 2 days after. I'll check the ingredients but I'll bet it's got copper in it. Is this likely to affect any of my other fish (see my sig below)?

 

[paulioo]

As far as I know copper is only dangerous to shrimp.

Paul.

 

[nino]

ditto on the copper. i was once told by an LFS employee while buying shrimp that i need to remove them when medicating my tank, because some meds contain COPPER.