Help Shrimps Are Dying

[superman1]

Hello

i have 4 shrimps in my tank with all peacefull fishes. i dont know the exact species but 2 of them have small claws on while the other 2 are more of a see through colour but with smaller claws. both are about 5 cms long.

neway 2 of them molted and died..

while the other 2 with the bigger claws successfully molted and survived. but one of them molted last night and now that one is dead.. is there anything i can do to stop them dying while molting..

the shrimp is in the tank and molted during the night and is not on its side looking dead and not moving.. is this still alive

as it successfully molted before but unfortunately i wasnt there to view it so dont know what happens to them straight afterwards.

thanks

 

[saltynay]

Need to know more details. Do they look like any of these species?
Have you got some water stats like nitrate, nitrite and ammonia levels?
How often do you do a water change?
Do you know how much calcium is in the water?
Have the shrimp got any caves to hide in which are innaccesible by fish?
How long have you had the shrimp?

Molting is a very strenous time for a shrimp and they become susceptible to all sorts of illnesses, predators and more sensitive to water quality.

 

[superman1]

well ammoni is zero. ph is ABOUT 7.8
nitrites are zero
nitrates are about 20ppm

the water according to my test kit is hard

i have alot of rockes n plants and hiding spots but they just always site on the plants just below water level.

ive had them for about a month.

i do about 40% water change once a week. and tank is well established. its quite empty actually.
calcium i dont have a clue on

the first 2 shrimps that died were american ghost shrimps
and the last 2 doesnt look like its on that list but looks like the ghost shrimp but is slightly small but has larger claws as is light blue colour

 

[saltynay]

Due to the hardness and ph of your water you probably have high calcium levels, which should mean they have good shell development . Your nitrate levels are a bit high given the tank is planted I would do a 20% water change right now. Here is another link on species i suspect your shrimp a normal clawed shrimp which is the second list or long armed shrimp which is the 3rd list. What temp are you keeping the tank at? What are the exact fish being kept with the shrimp?

 

[superman1]

well ive just done a 40% water change. the shrimp that molted yesterday night has died. although the other one that is left successfully molted earlier on while i was at work and is out and about eating.. all seems fine with that one.

i keep the temp at 26 c although i have a thermometre in the tank which says its at 24c

currently i have 7 dwarf rainbows
2 black mollies
4 ottos
8 khulli loaches
8 micro corys... not sure on exact name and
a mix of 5 other cories

for a 180litre tank i think the tank could cope with alot more.

 

[saltynay]

The khuli loaches and cories could be stealing the shrimps food which I assume you are adding as they will not survive on just the algae in the tank. The khuli loachs may also be attacking the shrimp just after molt when they are relatively defenceless due to there exoskeleton being soft.

 

[Hiya70310]

Oh no, Shrimp molt when and how often does that happen?

 

[saltynay]

Depends on the age, species, diet of the shrimp. If some shrimp species are starved they will molt to a smaller form and eat there own exoskeleton for sustanence until they eventually die others will just die from lack of food. They will molt whenever they are fed well and will grow to a larger size they may still eat there discarded exoskeleton to regain the minerals lost. Normally when a shrimp molts it will find a ave to hide in and won't come out for 1-2 days whilst its exoskeleton hardens.

 

[superman1]

in a month my only surving shrimp has molted about 3 times.. although i always see it eating food.. the spot where the shrimp chills has about 6 khullis chilling with it..

although ive moved the decor around a bit and now the shrimps hiding in a cave.. i tend to put food where the shrimp is..

fingers crossed this one is ok... ill try get a piccy for identification..