Tropical Fish Forum

Tropical Fish Keeping => Invertebrates - Shrimps and Snails => Topic started by: AdyDnt on August 04, 2015, 11:39:39 PM

Title: The last shrimp
Post by: AdyDnt on August 04, 2015, 11:39:39 PM
Since starting with shrimp about 2 months ago I have steadily lost my shrimp to unknown causes, now I have 1 shrimp left in my tank and a small fish that was caught with my last batch of shrimp I bought. I have hikari shrimp food, bacter AE and beta g, also I have a medium Kapata leaf in the tank. All my water parameters seem normal for keeping shrimp but I must be missing something. Anyone got any suggestions or is this going to end up a fish only tank
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: Diz1 on August 05, 2015, 10:32:07 AM
Hi AdyDnt

I'm by no means an expert, but things that come to mind are:

calcium stones/blocks – shrimp maybe failing to moult if these are not in the tank;
water hardness – too hard or soft;
traces of copper or other meds in the tank – shrimp seem to be very sensitive to these.

Also, if you have one of the more sensitive species, these can be more demanding in terms of water/substrate – I mean crystal reds or blacks etc. Ordinary red cherries should be much hardier.

Sorry if this isn't much help. I suppose the other possibility is that they were just a weak bunch of shrimp?
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: Sue on August 05, 2015, 12:34:47 PM
When I first got cherry shrimp a couple of years ago, they all died one by one too. The bodies all had a white line across their backs which it turned out was a sign of a failed moult, commonly due to specific bacteria in the tank. I was told that there are medications to remove these bacteria but they are harsh and if you can get away without them, so much the better. Beta g was recommended as a better alternative, which I see you are using.

I was also told that problems can arise if the water is too soft, which is why Diz mentioned calcium stones.

I finally had a thriving colony because the last shrimp to die was a female carrying eggs. She died but the baby shrimps survived.
Did you have both males and females in the tank? If you want to try again, see if you can find a berried female (or two or three) as they will release babies before long and you might have the same success that I did.
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: Skittler on August 05, 2015, 03:40:17 PM
Hello AdyDnt,

It is also two months since I too stocked my Shrimpery. In that time I have lost 5 of my original 8, and another one looks ropey. These shrimps were bought in 2 batches of 4, from two different MA's. They were bred somewhere in Asia, and by the time I put them into my newly cycled tank, they had already experienced at least 3 different water qualities in their short lives. It seems to me that Cherries don't like being moved - perhaps it's the stress? Also, check any shrimp breeder's website, and read their complex acclimatisation procedures! To me, this alone indicates a concern.

 Like Sue, I am fortunate in that about 30 shrimplets have been left behind, and they are thriving and growing rapidly. Perhaps, having a "mature" tank is also important, so that the microscopic life that they enjoy can develop?

Keep on trying, we will get there eventually,

                                                  Skittler
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: AdyDnt on August 05, 2015, 05:29:42 PM
Thanks for your replies, I live in a hard water area so i don't think the issue is there but the white bands Sue mentioned could be a clue, most of mine (I have red cherry shrimp) did end up with a white band around there body. Is it possible to overdose with bacter AE at all, and I think I need to get some plants other than the 2 small moss balls I have, to help combat nitrates as I noticed this can be high out of my tap. How much light do shrimp need, I don't have the light on all day, couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the evening. Am trying to cover all bases as I don't want to give up just yet. I do have a carbon filter I could put in for a week or 2 just to try remove anything that shouldn't be there.
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: Sue on August 05, 2015, 06:53:58 PM
I would try the carbon just in case there is something the shrimps don't like. I assume your dechlorinator also removes metals? They all seem to do that, but I need to check.

I was told the white line is a failed moult, either lack of calcium or shrimp-specific bacteria in the tank. Since my GH of 6 is high enough for them, you hard water should certainly be OK. It's things like crystal shrimp that need a low GH.
I didn't find out about beta g until after the last shop bought cherry shrimp had died so I can't say for certain that it is responsible for my now thriving colony. Bacter ae is supposed to help the growth of the biofilm so that would be good to use in a new tank. My shrimps went into a tank that had been running a couple of years with fish (which were moved to another tank so they didn't eat the shrimps)

In your position I would go and find a shop with berried females ie females carrying eggs (or maybe two different shops as they should be from a different gene pool) and get two berried shrimps, one from each shop. With cherries, the eggs are easy to see. Since two of us have had success with tank born shrimps, it is worth a try.


I have hornwort draped through a piece of redmoor wood in my tank, the shrimps love climbing through it.
But unless you are 100% certain that any plant you buy is shrimp safe, you need to run a carbon filter with the plants for several days before putting them in with the shrimps. A bucket is fine for this if you don't have quarantine tank. A number of plant breeders treat their plants with snail killer which also kills shrimps. Carbon will remove it.
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: Sue on August 05, 2015, 07:07:18 PM
Just had an idea!

You could look into getting some indian almond leaves, or oak leaves (Ebay etc) as they grow micro-organisms on them which shrimps like. Add just one to start with, then add more slowly so you don't make any large changes at one go to the water. The shrimps will eat the leaves as well and you'll end up with a leaf skeleton - just take it out and replace it. They do stain the water very slightly brown; I can only tell when I'm doing a water change with a light grey bucket.
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: AdyDnt on August 05, 2015, 07:39:26 PM
I did test for Gh an Kh and the result was higher than what the instructions state for shrimp keeping so I'm pretty sure I can rule out water parameters. Off the top of my head my dechlorinator is King British, I'm sure it says it removes metals. I have a large catalpa leaf in the tank but to be fair I don't think they've been eating it that much, I was thinking of swapping it for pieces of bark from one of the mail order shrimp places.
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: Sue on August 05, 2015, 07:46:11 PM
Anything sold by a shrimp specialist will be fine. They know what they are doing much more than me  ;D
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: AdyDnt on August 05, 2015, 11:34:18 PM
Lol you are a goldmine of information though for us newbies
Title: Re: The last shrimp
Post by: AdyDnt on August 20, 2015, 01:15:04 AM
Just a quick update, I have put a carbon filter in the tank and I am pleased to say I still have my last shrimp alive and well, along with my female guppy tank mate that came free when it was caught with my last batch of shrimp. I think I may now invest in some more shrimp and see if I can keep these ones alive.