Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

It was a sad weekend... 9 of my 17 cherries died in a matter of two days.

I checked for ammonia with a new test and the readings were 0. I did a couple of 50% water changes after I removed the dead guys to dissolve whatever was in the water that created this disaster.

To tell you the truth I'm really flabbegasted. I have been keeping fish for many years now and have kept shrimps before, albeit not cherries, and I never had anything like this happen before.

I don't know what else to do or what to think. 7 shrimps remained, a couple of them pregnant females.

Let me give you the tank specs:

10 g, planted tank with a sponge filter, driftwood and fluorite (red) as substrate. 78 F temp. Feeds: spinach leaves, spirulina flakes, shrimp pellets, spirulina wafers, cyclopeeze, golden pearls. I feed three times a week. Water changes of 15% are performed weekly.

I got my first batch of shrimps around 3-4 months ago and they are doing great. I had a couple of casualties due to the hurricanes (I was hit 3 times by Charley, Frances and Jeanne) so I decided to get some more. I got my second batch of cherries (all from Mustafa) just 3 weeks ago. Unfortunately though, this just happened this past weekend.

If anyone have any suggestions as to improve the current set up or to why this came about, please, chip in. As I said, I have kept tanks for many years now and you sort of expect an eventual death but not a wipe out like this one.

Thanks.
Maria.

Is there any chance any fish meds got into the water? Most can be deadly to invertebrates...you're lucky you do have some left though I hope they reproduce a lot for you and such disaster doesn't happen again.

No... unfortunately no as I have not medicated anyone in the last year, thanks God. I have another tank (a planted 20g) and two smaller quarantine tanks that house a bunch of endler's fry and a small pleco I just purchased. I have not used any meds in any of the tanks.

So... no...

But yes, it is a good thing some survived and two are pregnant.

Thanks!

M.

HI M

Sorry to hear about them, but thank God, the others are doing well.

Thank you, Amber.

The ones that survived are doing well, in fact, beautifully. If all goes well, I'll have some babies to show off soon.

Thanks again.

Maria.

This, unfortunately, is not uncommon in shrimp. If something is wrong with their environment, they die en masse. Have you checked nitrites and nitrates? Too much feeding can cause sudden mass deaths also (as I had to sadly find out). Shrimp are much more sensitive than fish and once they get affected by something it's pretty much over for them. I bet you that something was wrong with the water.

Or, a second possibility is that you added plants recently. Plants are treated with all kinds of chemicals that happen to kill shrimp, so if you get new plants from the store it usually means mass death for the shrimp.

Mustafa

I like to wash my plants in a lime/water mixture and then rinse well or soak and run water slowwly inthe container then I take the plants and place them in a bin and leave them there for a few days. So in case anything I missed comes out I dont have to introduce it into my tank. I once got an infestation of baby shrimp even after doing all this. I still dont know how the shrimp got into my plants but they did they were rainbows.

I too guess it had to do soemthing with the water. Did you use a different source of water? ie bottles instead of tap or? or any new chemicals you started using?

An infestation of rainbow shrimp?? Geez...I'd pay extra for those plants!! hahaha

I agreed with Mustafa. I fed a lot to my cherries twice daily.

After a week, the Nitrite(NO2) level increase from 0.3mg/l to 0.9mg/l !!

Mustafa: How much nitrite(NO2) can a shrimp tank takes ?
I know that we are trying to acheive 0mg/l. Beside changing water frequently. What other method can you recommend ?

If you can measure the nitrIte, there is too much. It will kill the shrimp. It may be a slow death, but it will come.

If you have an active biological filter, squeeze it and collect the 'juice'. Add the juice to the aquarium. It is full of bacteria that will begin converting the nitrIte to nitrAte.

Also, fast-growing stem plants are great for using up nitrites (and nitrates and ammonia).

Do you have any plants in your tank? What kind?

As Brad already said, you really want to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0. Even nitrate at higher concentrations (i.e. you fed too much) can kill shrimp. Some shrimp are more sensitive than others. Crystal Reds, Bumblebees start dropping like flies at high nitrites, where Red Cherries and most indian algae eating shrimp still hang on. You don't want it to come to that, though.

And as Amanda suggested, plants are really needed if your population of shrimp gets really large. I have some tanks that have their bottoms completely covered with Java Moss. It does the job of keeping all water parameters perfect and it provides food (algae and other microorganisms grow on the Java Moss) for the shrimp.

Thanks to all for your input.

After reading your posts and tracing the actions of last week, prior to the disaster, I am inclined to think that this was caused by overfeeding, unfortunately. Last week, I remember I got some new feeds and I guess I did not watch myself in terms of the amount or the frequency I fed the little guys.

I feel bad...

Anyway... one has to live to learn and tell the tale.

Thanks to all.

Maria.

Petshrimp.com wrote:Too much feeding can cause sudden mass deaths also (as I had to sadly find out).

My shrimp are always eating non-stop. Does the over-feeding cause a problem because they eat too much? Or is it the nitrates present as a result of the excess food?

Excess food.