Lethargic/sinking shrimp

[augustus4842]

I just acquired some new shrimp and set up a bunch of new habitats. They all have been conditioned for 3 weeks per the directions here and have corals along with some some brackish moss.

Vase # 1 is 1.5 gal with rock substrate: The shrimp are mostly all clear. There are some that are barely pink, but mostly seem very unhappy (red shrimp= happy shrimp, right?) Is there anything I can do to make them happier? Or should I just leave them alone?

Vase #2 is 4 cups: The poor shrimp have sank to the bottom. They are mostly on their backs. I thought they were dead, but when fish them out, they seem to be moving. These guys are considerably redder than the ones in vase #1, but are very lethargic and well, upside down. Are they dying? Is there anything I can do to help them? I theorize the marbles I used as substrate weren't cleaned enough or they just got stuck in between them. I have since taken the marbles out.

Vase #3 is about a cup: I filled this container with the water the shrimp originally came in. There are 5 shrimp (4 of which are very red) in here. Is a cup too small for 5 shrimp?

I have tried asking my local aquarium experts but no one has any experience with brackish shrimp.
Please help.

[Kinetikx]

How long have your shrimp been in each of these vases? If its just been a day or two the light color is nothing to be very concerned about. At any given time about half of my 50 shrimp will be more pale, which i notice especially early in the morning since I get up at 6:30 right when the tank light turns on.

Shrimp on their back isn't a very good sign. 4 cups is a fairly small volume of water and if the conditions (substrate, decorations, etc.) are similar to the 1.5 gallon tank it may just be that if there is something toxic in the water it just isn't as diluted in the 4 cups. Did you happen to use any cleaners when setting up the vases?

Also possible is the fact that marbles don't have enough surface area to allow your biological filter to reproduce as much as the rock substrate. But lots of people use bare glass tanks so that may not even be a huge issue.

Mustafa will probably be along shortly to give a more educated opinion.

[KenCotigirl]

Augustus just to make sure, you have Halocaridina rubra, aka Opae ula? You placed them in brackish water made with marine salt not aquarium salt, correct. Simple mistake to make.

Vase 1 good size. Vase 2 too small. Vase 3 is also too small but these shrimp seem ok. Depending on your answer the above questions leave vase 3 alone.

Vase 1. Pale shrimp is expected when they are shipped and transfer into a new tank. Leave them alone.
Vase 2. Does not sound good. Need more info!!

[augustus4842]

I did not use any cleaners on the marbles, just scrubbed. All the vases were washed with regular dish soap and dried off with hot water. The shrimp have been in here for about 2 weeks now. Yes, these are indeed Opae ula and I did go out and buy the smallest box of reef crystals and made them exactly half salinity with distilled water.

Vase #1: when I checked on them in the morning, they were a few red ones. I will leave this vase alone. There are 13 shrimp in here.

Vase #2: There are 8 shrimp in an approximately 4 cups of brackish water. There is no substrate, a few corals and a tuft of brackish water moss floating about. I see 1 shrimp sometimes zooming around, the rest are on the floor on their backs. If they are dead, should I just leave them in there? Or will dead shrimp cloud the water? I freaked out and made another bowl of brackish water. Should I try transferring the poor shrimp here even though the water has not been conditioning for a few weeks?

Vase #3: 4 red shrimp, 1 pink shrimp. I do see them zooming around and maybe hitting the glass? There is no substrate, a few pcs of coral and a tuft of brackish moss. What size vase do you recommend for 5 shrimp? I just made this vase in case I messed up both other vases catastrophically. My control vase if you will.

Also, I have a very old (it might even be 10 years old) can of goldfish food, can I feed it to the shrimp? I won't feed them until April though, I plan on feeding them 1 flake once a month.

Thank you so much for your responses.

[KenCotigirl]

First no food! Wait a month at least even longer. Throw out the gold fish food. I would move the one live shrimp from 2 into vase 1. Transfer as little water as possible when making the move. Seven dead shrimp should be removed. Make sure they are dead. Two weeks is a long time without moving. Their color should be obviously different if dead but i would still give them a gently push with a stick. Vase 3 is small but they seem to be acting normally. I know they breed in one gallon. If you like small try 1/2 gallon. I am planning a1/2 gallon tank for work. Good luck.

[augustus4842]

Ok, I frantically fished them all out. Seems like they are all actually alive, they only move when I harass them. After they zoom around a bit, they lay there on the bottom on their side or back. They are all quite red. I put them in a small cup with water from vase #1. Should I still put them in vasse #1 or keep them in "quarantine" for a bit? The last thing I want to do is poison vase #1...

[KenCotigirl]

Very very weird. Any pictures? You moved the shrimp that are laying on their back/side into water from vase 1 correct. Leave them over night and see what is up in the morning. Being alive is positive and shows their hardiness. Laying on their back/side motionless is usually followed by death in a day or so, but two weeks? Wow weird.

How about the one that was swimming around in 2? Moved it to 1?

In the future try to avoid soap. I use hot water and table salt as an abrasive and a new sponge to clean. Several rinses later things should be ok.

Again cross your fingers maybe by morning things will better. At least you have 18 or 19 shrimp alive which is positive.

[augustus4842]

I counted wrong, it's just coming up to a week. I think I took out the marbles on day 2. And it looks like 2 were actually not moving at all. I did not transfer the 1 zooming shrimp since I can't tell which one it is...

I am so sorry shrimpy

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It is a small pyrex cup. There's maybe 0.5 cups of liquid in there now. They move around a bit and lay in that position. It looks like only their little legs move. None of them are in the upright position.

Is it really bad to have dead shrimp in the vase? Will they dirty the water? If not, I will put them into vase #1 tomorrow (if they are still alive).

[Kinetikx]

Dead anything in that small volume of water is bad. As they decay ammonia will be produced. Ammonia is pretty toxic stuff especially if it can't be diluted very much. I would remove any live shrimp from that tank and move them into the large vase.

[KenCotigirl]

Updates?

[augustus4842]

I will put all 6 lethargic shrimp into the 1.5 gallon vase later tonight.

If these do die, will there be enough ammonia produced by the 6 dead shrimp ( ) to put the other shrimp in danger?
With the substrate in the vase, I'm not sure if I can see the dead bodies.

Also, the vase might be closer to 1 gallon, I'm kicking myself for not writing it down...

Thank you so much for your support!

[KenCotigirl]

Right or wrong, I would leave the shrimp who are on their sides or back where they are. When and if they right themselves then move them. Why deal with adding dying shrimp to a good tank. Shrimp acting normal move to tank 1.

Let me revisit this. I do not want to make things worse. In the picture there are 6 shrimp. 4 are on their sides and two appear normal. There are 4 ozs in the cup from vase 1. If this correct add another 4 ozs from vase 1. Wait till later this evening and see how they are doing. Any shrimp acting normal consider moving.

Waiting for your update

[augustus4842]

Unfortunately none of them in the pyrex cup are 'normal'. They might stay somewhat upright for a few seconds then go back on their sides of back.
As of last night, they will zoom around a bit when I swish the water, then settle down in their unnatural positions.

I will rob some more water from the 1.5 (or maybe 1) gallon vase and try to find a larger (maybe 1 cup) vessel for the 6 ailing shrimp.

Should I also go get a fresh pc of coral too?
Or do you think the acidity will not be a problem?

[KenCotigirl]

Add water from 1 and that is it. No need for anything else. Cross fingers and update tomorrow.

How are shrimp in vase 1 and 3 doing?

[augustus4842]

Five of the six were still alive so I took some more water from vase #1 and moved them into a scotch glass, they are now in about a cup of liquid.

then there was 5

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It seems like a couple are staying somewhat upright. They zoom around then stay upright and slowly lay on their side.
I feel like I'm giving them a horribly slow death...

Vase #1: snuck up on them with a flash light, counted 5 very pale shrimp before they scurried off. It might have to do with the fact that I just stuck a cup in there to rob some water...
Vase #3: no change.