Neocaridina playing dead?

[Nells250]

HI folks - I am new to shrimp and would like to know if they ever play dead??

This morning when I turned on the light for one of my plant-test-tanks, my one large blue shrimp was floating on its side on the surface of the water, motionless. I was disappointed because I always wanted a blue one, and would rather one of the low-quality culls die than that one.

So I took my trusty bamboo skewer to fish it out. And wadayaknow?? The thing darted away! It sure looked dead to me!

Then when I came home and took a peek to see how it was doing, every shrimp in there was darting around having a grand-old-time. For the last two days they all were barely active!

I obviously have a lot to learn about these little guys...

 

[Colin_T]

Check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. If there is any ammonia or nitrite, or a nitrate above 20ppm, do a big water change.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the aquarium.

TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish and shrimp don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

If the light unit is programmable, have it on a low setting for the first 30-60 minutes and increase the brightness over time. Do the opposite in the evening and gradually reduce the light for the last 30-60 minutes before lights out.

If you don't have live plants in the tank, you only need the light on for a few hours in the evening. You might turn them on at 4 or 5pm and off at 9pm.

If you do have live plants in the tank, you can have the lights on for 8-16 hours a day but the fish and plants need 8 hours of darkness to rest. Most people with live plants in their aquarium will have the lights on for 8-12 hours a day.

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LIGHTING TIMES
Most aquarium plants like a bit of light and if you only have the light on for a couple of hours a day, they struggle. If the light doesn't have a high enough wattage they also struggle. Try having the tank lights on for 10-12 hours a day.

If you get lots of green algae then reduce the light by an hour a day and monitor the algae over the next 2 weeks.
If you don't get any green algae on the glass then increase the lighting period by an hour and monitor it for a couple of weeks.
If you get a small amount of green algae then the lighting time is about right.

Some plants will close their leaves up when they have had sufficient light. Ambulia, Hygrophilas and a few others close their top set of leaves first, then the next set and so on down the stem. When you see this happening, wait an hour after the first few sets of leaves have closed up against the stem and then turn lights off.

Plant lights should have equal amount of red and blue light and a bit less green light.

 

[MaloK]

I never seen anything like that, it is possible that you scared it when lightning up the tank and it was playing possum...

While shrimps can't truly feign death, they might exhibit a brief period of stillness when threatened. This is an evolutionary tactic that many living thing uses to confuse predators for a moment, allowing them a chance to escape when the predator loses focus. Your touch could have broken this stillness and triggered the escape response.

I don't think I ever felt that sudden changes in light startle them an instant. But my room is never in complete darkness when the light comes on in the morning.

The shrimps darting around the tank. If your water quality is all good, it can be a lady calling for a romantic evening

 

[Nells250]

Interesting info. Thing is, the tank in question is in an upstairs room that only gets totally dark at night. As the sun comes out, the entire room brightens up. So daylight has appeared well before I ever get in there to turn on the lamp.

So the shrimpies already have a chance to see light before I get to the light switch.

 

[Nells250]

If your water quality is all good, it can be a lady calling for a romantic evening

INCIDENTLY, funny thing you should say that... the shrimp that was playing dead is now "with child"!!!

 

[seangee]

A small fact you should know. If you mix different colours you will end up with a tank full of wild type shrimp (i.e. brownish / reddish) within a few generations. If you are set on the blues keep them in a separate tank.

 

[Nells250]

Yeah I know that. I started with what I think is a red rilli. Then the rest are culls I bought to learn, then I bought two good blue and one yellow. The cull seller was nice enough to send along two (to me) nice red ones as well. So there's a mix. I find them all interesting! ;-)

 

[Nells250]

I have to confess... it sorta freaks me out

 

[gwand]

I have to confess... it sorta freaks me out

Fertile Myrtle

 

[Nells250]

OK... how do I know if Blue had her babies??? When I can actually find her she doesn't look like the last pic anymore. I don't really see anything in that area. Has it been long enough for the babies to have hatched, or whatever the correct term is?

 

[MaloK]

That would be a little fast, but possible, if it occurred between the 11 and the 17.

What is the tank temperature ?

Look out if you have mini shrimps swimming around, the first week they are less than 1/16 inch , they are not that easy to see. after that, they grow consistently each week and reach 1/2 inch in around 3 weeks.

 

[StevenF]

My experience with blue dream ship is that they typically turn orange when they die. I have never seen one floating at the surface motionless.