Tank died

[ozs]

Hello,

Sadly all of my shrimp just died, and it looks like the snails are dying too.

My tank was doing very well, snails multiplied a few times and I had one berried shrimp.
It's been getting significantly colder and all my shrimp started hiding constantly, so I decided to add this heater and set it to 74f: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075YSTW32/
I also added some small cholla logs after soaking and briefly boiling.

Everything was fine for a few days. Then either the heater or logs didn't agree with the tank. I had 12 shrimp and now they must all be dead. I can only spot one, the berried female sadly, who is dying on the bottom right now. All others must have turned completely white and died as I cannot see them.

I ordered an API freshwater test kit, so I will know more about the water in a few days.

Should I expect this tank to be completely scrapped, or is it possible to try and save it?

[AnotherKevin]

Too bad.

If it were me, I'd remove the logs and replace about 80‰ of the water. Good luck!

[SuperProofer]

If you physically can't see them or account for the bodies, don't count them out yet. I had one that was so good at hiding I didn't see him for months at a time.

I would blame the wood before I blamed the heater. Wood seems to not work well in these tanks from my reading. Take it out, get the water cleaned up, see if any shrimps come out of hiding.

[shrimpy4]

That’s really sad, especially that dead berried shrimp. I actually just had a big shrimp larvae die off the past few days too. Only noticed about an hour ago. I don’t see any adult corpses but also don’t see many adults, so they seem to be hiding.

I was also concerned about the cold weather, tanks was hovering just below 60 F so I bought a heater and set the temperature to stable 66 F.

I didn’t add anything else at all, so one potential similar factor in each of our tanks is the addition of a new heater. I’m guessing that may be to blame, not sure how.

Mine’s a 50W Aqueon i kept submerged. I’ve removed it and my tank is no longer near my window so shouldn’t get as cold. we’ll see if that helps the remaining shrimp and if the shrimp that are still berried successfully birth them.

Should I remove the small larvae corpses? They’re hard to reach. I’ve never done a water change either, but also don’t want to shock the tank any more than it is.

[Mustafa]

Ok, people...unless your room temps dip into the 40s (under 10 degrees Celsius) for prolonged periods of time there is NO NEED to buy a heater...especially not a 300W heater that could heat an 80 gallon tank. If that thing malfunctions, the water will be almost boiling in a small Supershrimp tank! Also, heating up the temperature of a tank suddenly from really cold to really warm can affect the biological balance in the tank and also directly affect the shrimp/snails etc.. I don't see a thermometer in the pictures. Are you sure you didn't boil your shrimp to death?

Barring any boiling accident, in this case, however, the most likely culprit is the cholla wood. I've been telling everyone here for a long time to not use any driftwood, leaves, cholla wood or really anything organic in a closed Supershrimp tank for years. I guess I should write an article about it finally. As others have already recommended, I would have done a 80+ percent water change after taking that cholla wood out. And then just leave it alone. Hopefully there are some survivors.

Any updates on this? Did any of the shrimp survive?

(shrimpy4...just leave the corpses in there and leave the tank alone)

[Malikta]

Ok, people...unless your room temps dip into the 40s (under 10 degrees Celsius) for prolonged periods of time there is NO NEED to buy a heater...especially not a 300W heater that could heat an 80 gallon tank. If that thing malfunctions, the water will be almost boiling in a small Supershrimp tank! Also, heating up the temperature of a tank suddenly from really cold to really warm can affect the biological balance in the tank and also directly affect the shrimp/snails etc.. I don't see a thermometer in the pictures. Are you sure you didn't boil your shrimp to death?

Barring any boiling accident, in this case, however, the most likely culprit is the cholla wood. I've been telling everyone here for a long time to not use any driftwood, leaves, cholla wood or really anything organic in a closed Supershrimp tank for years. I guess I should write an article about it finally. As others have already recommended, I would have done a 80+ percent water change after taking that cholla wood out. And then just leave it alone. Hopefully there are some survivors.

Any updates on this? Did any of the shrimp survive?

(shrimpy4...just leave the corpses in there and leave the tank alone)

When you say, don't use wood or leaves, can you elaborate on leaves? Besides the macroalgae and mossball I purchased from petshrimp.com, I have put in 3 live plants. 2 small dwarf hair grass and 1 tape grass/eel grass. It's been a couple weeks, my shrimp seem happier than ever but when you said, shouldn't add leaves, I got worried. Please advise.

[Varanus]

Its my understanding that leaves and such are not something these shrimp benefit from. Many shrimp do like them but these guys like very spartan conditions. The more nutrients you add to the water the more you risk overdoing things (and adding a lot of fuel for the growth of micororganisms is one thing decaying leaves do), as these shrimp are adapted to thrive under very low nutrient conditions, and this combined with their tiny size means they need very little food.

[Malikta]

Its my understanding that leaves and such are not something these shrimp benefit from. Many shrimp do like them but these guys like very spartan conditions. The more nutrients you add to the water the more you risk overdoing things (and adding a lot of fuel for the growth of micororganisms is one thing decaying leaves do), as these shrimp are adapted to thrive under very low nutrient conditions, and this combined with their tiny size means they need very little food.

Thank you!

And I'm sorry to hear about your tank. I hope you are able to rebuild in no time.

[Varanus]

Thank you!

And I'm sorry to hear about your tank. I hope you are able to rebuild in no time.

I think you confused me with this topic's author, my tank is doing fine.

[Malikta]

Thank you!

And I'm sorry to hear about your tank. I hope you are able to rebuild in no time.

I think you confused me with this topic's author, my tank is doing fine.

Ah scratch that! But thank you for the leaves response!

[SGTSHEW]

When I was cycling my tank I experimented with it since there was no snails and no shrimp in it. Several times I added organic matter to try and stimulate algae growth and each time after a day my water levels would get all out of wack. So I finally decided to just leave it alone and let it do it’s thing and all is well. Point is keep the extras out of the tank except for a chaeto and some snails which has worked great for me so far. Hope you are able to right the ship.

[Mustafa]

Also these shrimp don't like the tannins and other organics leaching out of leaves and causing bacteria blooms. I've tried it in the past...every time my shrimp felt miserable, stopped reproducing and just sat there "moping." Some even died.

By the way, how's your dwarf hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula) doing? Even though freshwater aquarists have been growing it forever it seems to be a plant that primarily grows emersed (above the water in case anyone is wondering) in brackish habitats in nature.

[Flippers]

Also these shrimp don't like the tannins and other organics leaching out of leaves and causing bacteria blooms. I've tried it in the past...every time my shrimp felt miserable, stopped reproducing and just sat there "moping." Some even died.

By the way, how's your dwarf hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula) doing? Even though freshwater aquarists have been growing it forever it seems to be a plant that primarily grows emersed (above the water in case anyone is wondering) in brackish habitats in nature.

Is dwarf hairgrass appropriate for brackish tanks? If I got some and grew it above the water, would it survive? Is it a good idea to add to my tank?

[Mustafa]

Is dwarf hairgrass appropriate for brackish tanks? If I got some and grew it above the water, would it survive? Is it a good idea to add to my tank?

Since you're just starting out with your tank, I wouldn't do it. Just get your tank going for a while so that you know what's "normal" and "abnormal" and get a hang of things with what's been proven to work, THEN you can try experimenting by putting just one or two dwarf hair grass plants in there and see if they grow and multiply. Malikta is trying that right now, so nobody can tell you how well these plants are eventually going to do under the very low nutrient regime the Supershrimp are kept at.

[Flippers]

Is dwarf hairgrass appropriate for brackish tanks? If I got some and grew it above the water, would it survive? Is it a good idea to add to my tank?

Since you're just starting out with your tank, I wouldn't do it. Just get your tank going for a while so that you know what's "normal" and "abnormal" and get a hang of things with what's been proven to work, THEN you can try experimenting by putting just one or two dwarf hair grass plants in there and see if they grow and multiply. Malikta is trying that right now, so nobody can tell you how well these plants are eventually going to do under the very low nutrient regime the Supershrimp are kept at.

Thank you!