Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

my 9yo dd really wants to keep shrimp. So we set her up a 10g tank. Took water from my established planted tank and some plants. Today we bought 6 ghost shrimp, tonight they are all dead. I tested my tank water a few days ago and the results were good. No ammonia, nitrites, nitrates were within range for planted tank .The tank has been running for 4 years. If it weren't for being eaten they do fine in the big tank. The 10g is set up in the same way. My dd is heartbroken that her shrimp are dead. These 6 were the last ones in the tank at the store. so I need advice on how to keep shrimp. Anything different I need to do for them? We have a 75g tank with festivum, an angel, tetras, loaches, cories and a few bn cats in it currently. Thanks for any help!

Welcome to the forum!

Just a guess, but it could be copper, or some sort of other chemical that is lethal to shrimp. Things used to keep algae under control generally kills shrimp. If you are using any fertilizers for your plants, check the ingredients.

Ghosts are pretty hardy, so that is why I suspect a chemical problem.

hmmm I do fertilize the big tank. hadn't thought about that. I'll check my ferts and see what's what. Isn't copper bad for snails? i haven't had any problems with them in the big tank. Would you recommend a complete water change and then more shrimp? Will the tank cycle? We'll only get like 6-8 shrimp.

edited to add...just checked my trace mix and it does have copper in it. So to keep shrimp ina planted tank do you just not fertilize? Or is there a fertilizer without copper?

The copper in aquarium fertilizers is minute enough to not bother shrimp or snails if doses according to instructions.

What's your PH? Did you read my article "Why are my shrimp dying?" in the articles section of this website? It's a good idea to read that to get an idea what factors cause shrimp to die.

Are you sure they're dead and haven't just molted?

I use "standard" aquarium ferts in my tanks with shrimp, and haven't had any problems. I've used both Flourish and CSM+B mix with no problems (at the recommended dose).

yes I read the article....the plants put in this tank are cuttings from my tank. csm+b is the fertilizer I use. I do have very soft well water. Have a hard time keeping the ph up in the big tank so I'm guessing that it was too much of a change from what they were used to although we did aclimate them slowly. I'll work on getting the ph up and stable before we try anymore shrimp. Good to know that I can use my fertilizer though. Thanks for the help. Oh and is it ok to keep snails in the shrimp tank? The lady at the store said no way the snails would eat the shrimp.

Snails are fine. The shrimp actually will eat baby snails. R/O right is a product that can be used to increase hardness is soft water. There are also calcium additives.

Soft water alone won't kill shrimp quickly. I think there is something more. If you have access to water fleas like daphnia or moina, they are a good "canary" for water quality. If they live your tank is fine for shrimp. Of course if there are fish in there the fleas won't last a second.

All ferts are not shrimp safe, so be carefull.

8isenough wrote:yes I read the article....the plants put in this tank are cuttings from my tank. csm+b is the fertilizer I use. I do have very soft well water. Have a hard time keeping the ph up in the big tank so I'm guessing that it was too much of a change from what they were used to although we did aclimate them slowly. I'll work on getting the ph up and stable before we try anymore shrimp. Good to know that I can use my fertilizer though. Thanks for the help. Oh and is it ok to keep snails in the shrimp tank? The lady at the store said no way the snails would eat the shrimp.

Snails are often kept with shrimps as cleaning crew

I looked up the ingredients of CSM+B and it looks to be high on iron and boron. I've used boron as a safe insecticide for ants and roaches. What kills bugs often kills shrimp.

I think it is your ferts that is killing them.

I'd do a 100% water change, cycle the tank with snails for a couple of weeks and stick to something like Florish if you want to dose your plants. Florish is used by several members here and they report good results.

As your shrimps died overnight, I wonder if there were problems with the water temperature. Did you float the bag of new shrimps in your tank for about 30 minutes before introducing them into the tank?

badflash wrote:I looked up the ingredients of CSM+B and it looks to be high on iron and boron. I've used boron as a safe insecticide for ants and roaches. What kills bugs often kills shrimp.

I have used CSM+B in my tanks and it had no (immediately apparent) adverse affects on my shrimp at all just like flourish (which I have also used). The boron and copper are just too diluted to cause any damage if the fertilizer is not overdosed.

8isenough, Hi. did you remember to cycle the new 10 gal setup? if not the ammonia & no2 could be the problem. all new set ups must be cycled.

Badflash, I don't think boron (the element) and borax (ant killing chemical;sodium tetraborate) are the same.

I also use CSM+B without problems in my shrimp tanks.

I'm sure you're all correct, but something is killing them, and ghost shrimp are pretty tough. They do well in most of the tanks I've kept them in, but I don't use ferts, just fish & shrimp.

If you have enough of the living, you don't need chemicals.

its funny i cant keep ghost shrimp alive at all they all die out flat. same with the pet shops, they tell me they dont raise them to live they raise them as feeders in junk to die or be eaten fast. in fact most pet shops in my area dont even carry ghost shrimp anymore, they all died to quick. only place i seen ghosts lately is walmart lol.