Oh no

wendyjo · Post by **wendyjo** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 5:30 pm

I just found my largest female dead

Crud.

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 5:33 pm

wendyjo
Sorry, to hear about your loss.

That is the bad part about our Hobby.
Some times the bad news, out ways all of the positive progress.

Good Luck
With the rest of your Shrimp

John

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 5:44 pm

wendyjo, did this happen in the 2.5g tank with the shrimp out of sight?

wendyjo · Post by **wendyjo** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:16 pm

NeonShrimp:

Yes, that's right. I've noticed that I am not seeing many of the babies that hatched last month. When they first hatched I was seeing at least a dozen at a time, now I only see 2 or 3 if I look for them. I'm new at this hobby and just sort of figured die-off of babies was normal. I just did a partial water changed and sucked out a dead baby too.

Water params seem OK - I just checked a few minutes ago and ammonia and nitrite are both at 0, nitrate is at 5 and the Ph is steady at 7.4 which is normal for that tank. I've not added anything new to the tank other than a plant that I put in last week, didn't like, and removed about 2 hours later. The other shrimp *seem* OK I guess - meaning they are not dead or anything.

I've only ever had ghost shrimp before and for that reason I guess I figured a dead RCS would turn white! Duh!

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:29 pm

Sorry to hear thing's aren't going well. How long has the tank been established? I lost some of my first shrimp, quite likley because the tank was newly set up. I used an established sponge filter, and ammonia, etc. all tested fine. There were also live plants that had been shipped w/the shrimp. Even that much preparation wasn't sufficient to prevent losses. Since then, I haven't seen any problems, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for the transfer from the 10 to the 30 though.

wendyjo · Post by **wendyjo** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:40 pm

I've had them for about a month now - I got them from bulrush and he said they are probably about 5-6 months old now. This is my first death

Here is something odd. I have 3 small peices of cuttlebone in the tank that I put in when I set it up. I added a fourth last week. I just noticed that this 4th peice has turned black - yuck. I just took it out and it stinks too and left black residue on my fingers. Any idea what the deal is with it? The other 3 pieces are still white.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:47 pm

No clue, though whatever turned the cuttlebone black may be related to the dying shrimp. I would suspect some sort of bacteria is responsible, and may be releasing toxins into the water. I use crushed coral to maintain pH and KH in my tank, never tried cuttlebone.

wendyjo · Post by **wendyjo** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:51 pm

You'd think it would affect all the cuttlebone and not just one peice. I dunno what I should do at this point - I guess just wait and see. I only have 4 adults now and a very few babies so if I lose many more I won't have any

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:06 pm

Are the shrimp eating when you feed them or have their feeding behavior changed. I remember Mustafa saying that if the shrimp slow down or stop using their legs for scavenging then their is something wrong.

wendyjo · Post by **wendyjo** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:14 pm

My guys have never been ones to get all excited at feeding time. They have never swarmed a piece of a vege or anything, so it's hard to tell. Or like if I put flakes in the tank the shrimp will many times just skip right over them in their scavanging, but then the next day the flakes are gone. I think they are still eating but since they do it at their leisure it's hard to say, but I'm not seeing alot of food leftover.

Post by **Mustafa** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:47 pm

wendyjo wrote:I just noticed that this 4th peice has turned black - yuck. I just took it out and it stinks too and left black residue on my fingers. Any idea what the deal is with it? The other 3 pieces are still white.

I deleted the new thread you started with the same question. One question is enough...you don't want to duplicate things. What you are seeing is most likely algal growth..probably diatoms.

Your case sounds like a perfect example of overfeeding. If you continue like this, more shrimp will die...one by one until they are all gone. If your shrimp are not coming to get the food, then you should not feed more. Also, if they are not running around picking at all kinds of surfaces, then there is something wrong. The food sitting around in the tank is not helping water quality. Even suspended bacteria blooms, which cannot be measured can hurt your shrimp. The shrimp need to be picking pretty much constantly. Perform a water change and stop feeding....then go ahead and read the article about why shrimp might be dying in the article section. If you have already done so, do it again...slowly. There is lots of information that could be missed if one just takes a quick look through it. While you're at it...read the other articles again...especially the first one. If you set up your tank as described in that first article, things should work out just fine.

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:50 pm

Wow, i'm sorry to hear that Wendyjo

-John

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:22 pm

wendyjo- you need a bigger tank. Little tanks just have issues, period.

Also remember these are not goldfish. They just don't eat all that much. Unless you have loads of shrimp once every other day is plenty of food.

zapisto · Post by **zapisto** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 2:54 am

badflash wrote: Also remember these are not goldfish. They just don't eat all that much. Unless you have loads of shrimp once every other day is plenty of food.

agree
i have hundred shrimps and only feed half of a algae wafer each day
the food disapear in less than 15 mins.

i dont think i starve my shrimp....

and i know when something happen wheni feed and only few shrimp come to eat.

wendyjo · Post by **wendyjo** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 2:13 pm

Mustafa, I have read the articles *again*. I feed my shrimp every other day - I was not aware that I was overfeeding - I figured this was a good schedule for a newly established tank. The shrimp don't "come running" when I feed - they have never ever done that. But when I feed them at bedtime the food is gone in the morning. I normally break up a few flakes into very tiny peices, which then sink. I can see the peices on the driftwood and in the plants - which is how I can tell they are gone by morning. How often would you suggest I feed them?

I don't think any of the other issues in your articles apply here since I use room temperature bottled water in the tank, which is unheated and stays at about 76 degrees. So it's not a water quality, temp, shock issue. Could be a plant I put in and then removed a few hours later I guess.

As far as algae - yes, there is some in the tank - some green algae on the rock and a bit of brown diatoms on the tank itself. Do you really think the black on the cuttlebone was diatoms? I thought they were brown?

I cannot get a bigger tank for the shrimp - period. I just don't have the room.