I started a cherry shrimp tank from a well seasoned tank that I've had for a couple of years- 15 gallon Fluval Flex. I've posted a few things about it. Y'all, my shrimp are dying. Not all at once and I don't see any obvious signs of stress, but I saw the crawdad eating another dead one today!
The water parameters are fine, the water is crystal clear, the shrimp act normal, there is no "white ring of death" on any of them, they're not hanging at the top or acting funny, but either they are unbelievable at hiding or the numbers are dwindling.
I think I have found the problem: I am doing big water changes. I change 5 gallons at a time about every 3 - 4 days in the tank. I add Bacter AE here and there (only a couple of times thusfar). I keep an eye on the GH and will add some Aquavitro "Shrimp GH" when needed to keep it at the right level (my water is soft), and, of course, I add Prime. I only feed every other day and even then only a few grains of Shrimp Cuisine. I have tons of plants in the tank and I have recently added a guava leaf and a GlasGarten "Crispy Cave" which is edible and encourages bio-film. I also add a piece of cucumber here and there (mostly for the oto- he loves it, but the shrimp do too).
I've read and read and I found an article that talked about doing water changes small and often. They said that bigger water changes will shock the shrimp and can kill them. I've been doing big and often. That's the only thing I can think of that would be causing this. Any thoughts? Man, these are supposed to be the EASY shrimp to keep! BTW the 3 amano shrimp I have in there are doing great and growing. The Mexican Dwarf Crawdad is also thriving- obviously...he's eating the dead ones...
What am I missing??? @MaloK - I think you posted what you do and I remember thinking it sounded excessive- can you revisit what you did? Obviously I'm not doing enough....
The water parameters are fine, the water is crystal clear, the shrimp act normal, there is no "white ring of death" on any of them, they're not hanging at the top or acting funny, but either they are unbelievable at hiding or the numbers are dwindling.
I think I have found the problem: I am doing big water changes. I change 5 gallons at a time about every 3 - 4 days in the tank. I add Bacter AE here and there (only a couple of times thusfar). I keep an eye on the GH and will add some Aquavitro "Shrimp GH" when needed to keep it at the right level (my water is soft), and, of course, I add Prime. I only feed every other day and even then only a few grains of Shrimp Cuisine. I have tons of plants in the tank and I have recently added a guava leaf and a GlasGarten "Crispy Cave" which is edible and encourages bio-film. I also add a piece of cucumber here and there (mostly for the oto- he loves it, but the shrimp do too).
I've read and read and I found an article that talked about doing water changes small and often. They said that bigger water changes will shock the shrimp and can kill them. I've been doing big and often. That's the only thing I can think of that would be causing this. Any thoughts? Man, these are supposed to be the EASY shrimp to keep! BTW the 3 amano shrimp I have in there are doing great and growing. The Mexican Dwarf Crawdad is also thriving- obviously...he's eating the dead ones...
What am I missing??? @MaloK - I think you posted what you do and I remember thinking it sounded excessive- can you revisit what you did? Obviously I'm not doing enough....
