Opea Ula Molting Issues?

[thetoaster]

Hi folks,
I’ve lost a couple of my Opea Ula to what I believe are molting issues. One or two shrimp are affected at a time, the shrimp lie on their side or back but are alive and jet back if I try to net them out. A couple have made it through and molted while a couple have passed. The other shrimp are behaving normally and still their normal coloration. I attributed the first time this happened to stress after introduction but did a 90% water change dripped into the tank just in case it was the easy green fertilizer (though I assume that would impact all shrimp at once).

The tank has been running for a couple months, I added cheato at setup and shrimp at a month in. I used aragonite sand, black lava rock, and a couple drops of easy green fertilizer when I set up the tank to kick start the cheato and algea (reading more I realize that was a mistake and have not added additional fert). I used coral life biocube salt mixed with distilled water mixed to 1.13 salinity . I’m thinking the mineral mix in the coral life biocube salt might be the issue. I also have some green algae growing that might be cyanobacteria - is there a possibility that could cause this? Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite all test zero.

My plan right now is to order some instant ocean and do another big water change. Any input appreciated.

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Thanks in advance!

[Mustafa]

Hi there! That's a seriously nutrient overloaded tank. That alone will cause low level ammonia issues (the type test kits won't show) but that's enough to slowly kill your shrimp. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do except do another 90+% water change and wait. Don't feed at all...for months or even longer until all that algae is gone and your macroalgae take over. You'll know when your shrimp are doing fine if they are constantly walking around (not constantly swimming circles around the tank, which is a sign of stress or disturbance) and picking at surfaces. And yes, no fertilizer...that alone can cause immense damage.