jprime84

Well I had a bamboo shrimp that I absolutely loved. Only had him for about a week. He seemed to be fine in the tank for a while. The only thing to change recently was that I did a 100% water change while I added the new seachem flourite gravel to my current quartz gravel. I also added the labled dosage of FlorinMulti from this company. Before this change, the shrimp was in there a better part of a week. It even molted.

http://www.brightwellaquatics.com/br_base.html

It does say it has trace copper in it, could that have been what did it? I thought maybe it was not lethal... If it was the copper, what plant supplemants are safe for invertibrates? If it was not the copper what could it have been? How long should I wait before replacing him?


All of my other water parameters are normal. None of my other fish seem distressed at all. An hour ago the shrimp seemed normal, and just now I found it motionless laying on its side on the bottom of the tank.

jprime84

I am not 100% sure, but I think I now know what happened to my shrimp. I think I accidentally starved the poor guy to death . When I first put him in he found a place in the current to sit and sift for food. He did this for a few days, but then began to wander around sweeping the plants and substrate for food. I had read this meant he was not getting enough food, but I did not know what to do about it. I tried crushing up flakes but it didnt seem to help.

While at the store to buy his replacement, I noticed PhytoPlan by Two Little Fishes. It claimed to be a source of phtyoplankton used to feed filter feeders. Specifically, the bottle talked about feeding corals and clams, but I knew the shrimp was a filter feeder so I bought some.

After the new guy was not shy anymore, he started looking for food. At first he was sweeping the bottom like the old shrimp, so I took some of the PhytoPLan powder (VERY small pinch) and stirred it into a cup of tank water and then poured it back into the tank. The particles slightly cloud the water, but it doesnt last long. Within an hour he found a spot under the current and filter fed there for days. When I noticed him sifting the plants for food, I added another dose of the phytoplan. In less than 10 minutes he was back at his post filter feeding.

Its only been about two weeks, but this second shrimp has outlived the old shrimp in the same water conditions. Not only that, he is more active, less shy, and much more colorful. His stripe is very bright and clear. I would recommend this stuff to any bamboo shrimp owner. One bottle should last a VERY long time.

eiginh

That's good to hear! I'm glad you found a solution for yourself

jprime84

They really should sell livestock with instruction manuals! Every time I tell someone whats going on with my tank, they say "wow I had no idea aquariums were so complicated"

eiginh

I mean that's why some people research before purchasing the stock so they'll be no misfortunes in the future