Shrimp Deaths, Help!

[justjon]

Hi all,

A few weeks ago, me and a family member decided to get a few different varieties of tropical shrimp, including Ninja's, orange shrimp, yellow sunset shrimp, green, blue, etc.. all different colors.

Mine are all doing well, however.. tonight the 2nd shrimp died in my family member's tank, I saw two other shrimps practically fighting over the dead body to eat at it.. pretty horrid... same as the one that died two days ago.

I've checked, and all water Stats are fine, there is plenty of water movement at the top for oxygen etc, and all shrimp seem generally happy... I did notice that the one who died tonight, was very "still" last night however.

Can anyone recommed what may be the problem here? The tanks been setup about 5-6 weeks now, it seems bizarre.... all mine are fine

 

[saltynay]

Is the tank 2nd hand?
Has any copper ever been in the tank?
Any Ornaments in the tank?
Have you ever run carbon in the tank?
Is the tank planted?
Did you soak the plants before adding them?
Do you dose fertilisers?
Has the tank ever been treated for pest snails/parasites?
What are your stats exactly?
What other animals are in the tank?
What are they being fed?
Are there hiding places for the shrimp to molt safely?

 

[justjon]

Is the tank 2nd hand?
No, brand new.

Has any copper ever been in the tank?
No.
Any Ornaments in the tank?
Yes, a little "House" ornament.


Have you ever run carbon in the tank?
No.
Is the tank planted?
Yes, Fake plants (silk/plastic)

Did you soak the plants before adding them?
yes

Do you dose fertilisers?
no
Has the tank ever been treated for pest snails/parasites?
no

What are your stats exactly?
Amm 0.0 nitrite 0.0 nitrate 30/40
What other animals are in the tank?
None.
What are they being fed?
Shrimp pellets, and fish food (sunk)

Are there hiding places for the shrimp to molt safely?
Yes, the little ornament. But I'd think if they molted and another shrimp came across them, they'd be ok?

I've just checked this evening, and it seems 5 of the 9 shrimps have now vanished... so any further advice would be appreciated.

Most of mine seem to be OK, although I havent seen a few in a while but I have a large amount of bamboo/moss that they hide in.

 

[saltynay]

Yes they are safe from one another when molting they will be carnivorous if they come across a dead shrimp that has recently molted. I can think of 3 possible reasons

1. There is insufficient calcium in the water column so when they reach their molt they can't properly grow a new shell
2. The house ornament is not aquarium safe and just an ornament that has been sold in a fish shop the heavy metals it is leaching are at low levels so only affect the shrimp when they reach their molt and are most vulnerable.
3. There is something wrong with the environment that is causing the shrimp to leave the tank due to a high water line they can escape which would explain the completely missing. Also check your filter intake incase they are being sucked in.