Help! shrimp mysteriously dying

[FantasyFanVII]

Hmm. It honestly sounds like you have a good set up. How quickly do they go through their food? If they completely devour it in less then 5 minutes, it might be worth adding a little more or giving them the same amount twice a day if you can. Such a small number of shrimp shouldn't need too much though. If you do increase their food, make sure it doesn't stay in the tank too long and keep an eye on your water parameters to make sure they don't get thrown out of whack.
Beyond that, my best advice is to just run general meds through them. And if you do get more shrimp, try getting them from a different source, if possible.
Sorry I couldn't be much help. Hopefully someone else can, and good luck.

 

[Inner10]

Your parameters look good, I wish I could offer more constructive advice but what is going on is beyond my level of experience.

 

[abbytherookiehuman]

I was really hoping it was something obvious that I had overlooked! *sadface* I’ve gotten the shrimp from two different places in the hopes of better luck as well. What general meds are certified Rcs safe?

I’m going into Sydney city on Monday. Can anybody recommend an aquarium or pet store that sells red cherry shrimp at a good price?

 

[FantasyFanVII]

I've only ever used the Aquarium Co-Op med trio. It consists of Ich-X (Malachite green), Mardel Maracyn (Erythromycin), and Fritz Paracleanse (metronidazole/praziquantel) Anything without copper should be ok.
Unfortunately, I'm in the US so I'm not sure exactly what you'll be able to get. Your best bet may honestly be to go to a LFS, see what they have, and talk to an employee (if you trust them) or goggle "is X shrimp safe"

 

[abbytherookiehuman]

I've only ever used the Aquarium Co-Op med trio. It consists of Ich-X (Malachite green), Mardel Maracyn (Erythromycin), and Fritz Paracleanse (metronidazole/praziquantel) Anything without copper should be ok.
Unfortunately, I'm in the US so I'm not sure exactly what you'll be able to get. Your best bet may honestly be to go to a LFS, see what they have, and talk to an employee (if you trust them) or goggle "is X shrimp safe"

Thanks I’ll look into it

 

[tjander]

Excuse me are you the same person who is having a tough go with your snails as well? Are they in the same tank?

 

[abbytherookiehuman]

Excuse me are you the same person who is having a tough go with your snails as well? Are they in the same tank?

Yes and yes. The snails only lasted about a week and the shrimp have been going for a couple of months so I figured it was something unrelated. Have I been stupid about that? If there’s a connection would that help solve the problem?

 

[tjander]

So they both are invertebrates both need calcium in there diet. Neither tolerate copper in excess... I don’t have much experience with snails but from what I know snails should be a bit less demanding. So to be honest the snails should have lasted longer then the shrimp

 

[abbytherookiehuman]

So they both are invertebrates both need calcium in there diet. Neither tolerate copper in excess... I don’t have much experience with snails but from what I know snails should be a bit less demanding. So to be honest the snails should have lasted longer then the shrimp

that's what I thought! There are no traces of copper though and they're getting calcium. I'm at a loss

 

[tjander]

I think you might really want to try and get a second opinion on your water. Something is just not adding up here.

 

[Sputnik]

Any recent bacterial blooms ( cloudy water) or did you do a recent deep clean (gravel vac/malm removal)? I have had die offs that look like yours when I let the malm in the substrate of one of my neo tanks build up too much and then did a deep clean- I suspect that stirs up bacteria buried in the substrate and susceptible shrimp get infected. I had milky looking water the day after the deep clean and had sporadic die offs over the next several days- the water stayed cloudy so I dosed with kanamycin and that seemed to take care of the issue. Not scientific, I know, but I learned to be careful not to let malm build up after that and it seemed to prevent a repeat event. Good luck!

 

[FantasyFanVII]

Have you seen your shrimp molt? Adults should do it about once every 1-2 months.

 

[abbytherookiehuman]

Any recent bacterial blooms ( cloudy water) or did you do a recent deep clean (gravel vac/malm removal)? I have had die offs that look like yours when I let the malm in the substrate of one of my neo tanks build up too much and then did a deep clean- I suspect that stirs up bacteria buried in the substrate and susceptible shrimp get infected. I had milky looking water the day after the deep clean and had sporadic die offs over the next several days- the water stayed cloudy so I dosed with kanamycin and that seemed to take care of the issue. Not scientific, I know, but I learned to be careful not to let malm build up after that and it seemed to prevent a repeat event. Good luck!

No deep cleans but I did have a pretty green tank for a while. That hasn’t been a problem recently though

Have you seen your shrimp molt? Adults should do it about once every 1-2 months.

I’ve not seen them do it but I’ve seen the molted exoskeletons lying around

I think you might really want to try and get a second opinion on your water. Something is just not adding up here.

I know right. I’ll have a poke around

 

[abbytherookiehuman]

So I MIGHT have a big sign that can help identify my problem. Today I found a shrimp on one side of the thank and on the complete opposite side of the tank I noticed a rusty coloured patch that certainly wasn’t there yesterday. I’ve seen something similar once before but it went away

I find this to be a bit alarming!

If no one can identify a problem and the shrimp keep dying, I think I’m going to let them die off then do a few changes and try get some Malaysian trumpet snails in there with some RO water (maybe) and then reintroduce the shrimp. I can’t see any other option right now

 

[Sputnik]

Regarding the red patch- does it seem like a kind of biofilm, or does it seem like something leached or from a. Object nearby. If it isn't normal in yoiur tank, I would try to carefully get it out

 

[abbytherookiehuman]

Regarding the red patch- does it seem like a kind of biofilm, or does it seem like something leached or from a. Object nearby. If it isn't normal in yoiur tank, I would try to carefully get it out

Biofilm? Maybe... I’m not sure

Both times it’s appeared it was in the same spot, right next to where I feed them

 

[Sputnik]

I wonder if its red cyanobacteria? They like areas of low flow and some produce toxins that might explain the die—off.
Aquarium Cyanobacteria
I don't have direct experience with cyanobacteria but am hoping someomne who does can weigh in...

 

[abbytherookiehuman]

I wonder if its red cyanobacteria? They like areas of low flow and some produce toxins that might explain the die—off.
Aquarium Cyanobacteria
I don't have direct experience with cyanobacteria but am hoping someomne who does can weigh in...

I thought that happened when there are high nitrates

 

[Sputnik]

I don't think its as straightforward as that with cyanobacteria
How to identify and kill blue-green algae (In just days!)

Removing Cyanobacteria From the Aquarium

I may be guessing wrong, since red cyanobacteria usually occurs in saltwater tanks, but theycan grow ( rately) in freshwater tanks, and the photos look similar to yours.

 

[abbytherookiehuman]

The thing is that it doesn’t spread. It goes away in just a couple of days