Water Killing Shrimp.

I lost ANOTHER ghost shrimp!! I’ve kinda figured out that anything more then a 25% water change and I end up with a dead shrimp. My tap naturally has .25 ammonia. So, how can I minnimalise water changes. I want to eventrally get cherry shrimp but not if my ghost keep dropping like flies.

That’s the eventral tank, it’s not cycled yet. Working on it. 15g, 80 degrees, ph of 8.2 ish

 

Where did you get your ghost shrimp? I bought a batch of 10 at Petsmart and they started dying the next day and was down to 3-4 within a couple of weeks. Did everything right as far water changes, testing, etc. meaning nothing obvious should have killed them.

Moving forward I bought another batch of 15 this time and put 5 back in that tank and put the other 10 in another 10 gallon tank that I have and they have been pretty hardy as far as ghosties go. I think out of both tanks I've lost 2-3, which is amazing since they aren't very hardy as they are bred as feeder shrimp at the big chains.

My point is that it might be the batch that you go bought this time. Might be worth buying another batch of 10-15 and see if you have better luck. I do 50% water changes on each of my 10 gallon and I haven't had any issues with them dying after wc's. With the fact that they are only 39 cents it's certainly not a huge investment to try another batch of them and see if they hang around longer.

 

Are the shrimp living with fish, or is it a shrimp-only tank? If it's shrimp only, their bioload is so tiny you could probably go some weeks between water changes.

You might have other options such as to look into diluting your tap water with RO (possibly with added buffer) to reduce the ammonia and see if that makes a difference? Maybe you could use bottled spring water to try it out before investing in an RO unit? Or your LFS might sell bottles or casks of RO to give it a try?

I've seen folks on here getting around all kinds of tap and well water problems with a bit of trial and error. Good luck finding a solution. Shrimp are fun!

 

Where did you get your ghost shrimp? I bought a batch of 10 at Petsmart and they started dying the next day and was down to 3-4 within a couple of weeks. Did everything right as far water changes, testing, etc. meaning nothing obvious should have killed them.

Moving forward I bought another batch of 15 this time and put 5 back in that tank and put the other 10 in another 10 gallon tank that I have and they have been pretty hardy as far as ghosties go. I think out of both tanks I've lost 2-3, which is amazing since they aren't very hardy as they are bred as feeder shrimp at the big chains.

My point is that it might be the batch that you go bought this time. Might be worth buying another batch of 10-15 and see if you have better luck. I do 50% water changes on each of my 10 gallon and I haven't had any issues with them dying after wc's. With the fact that they are only 39 cents it's certainly not a huge investment to try another batch of them and see if they hang around longer.

Maybe 6 batches over the last 6 months? Usually groups if 3-5 or so, and they will last anything from 2 months to 2 weeks, all ages are dying. But usually one will die after a water change. They are with fish in all the cases, but this tank is gonna be just the shrimp and a betta. (Hence the 80 degree temp)

Are the shrimp living with fish, or is it a shrimp-only tank? If it's shrimp only, their bioload is so tiny you could probably go some weeks between water changes.

You might have other options such as to look into diluting your tap water with RO (possibly with added buffer) to reduce the ammonia and see if that makes a difference? Maybe you could use bottled spring water to try it out before investing in an RO unit? Or your LFS might sell bottles or casks of RO to give it a try?

I've seen folks on here getting around all kinds of tap and well water problems with a bit of trial and error. Good luck finding a solution. Shrimp are fun!

I don’t think it’s the water, it’s the water change which is why I’m wondering about the water change doing it. Most of the dying happens within 24 hours of a water change.

 

Maybe 6 batches over the last 6 months? Usually groups if 3-5 or so, and they will last anything from 2 months to 2 weeks, all ages are dying. But usually one will die after a water change. They are with fish in all the cases, but this tank is gonna be just the shrimp and a betta. (Hence the 80 degree temp)

I don’t think it’s the water, it’s the water change which is why I’m wondering about the water change doing it. Most of the dying happens within 24 hours of a water change.

One other thing I just thought of is try testing your PH before your wc. Probably good to test it 3x/day starting right after your wc then track if it fluctuates at all during the week (assuming weekly wc). But if your PH is dropping or rising enough that could be killing them. Test your KH and see if it’s really low and that would tell you why they are dying right after a wc.

Hope that makes sense. I’ve started learning about why KH is important. And I’m doing my own PH testing 3x/day to monitor mine since my KH and GH are low. You may have the same issue.

I have had 10 gallon tanks that I do wc’s quite frequently so haven’t seen any issues yet. My new 36g is where I need to be more concerned since it will be more heavily stocked and won’t be doing as frequent wc’s as I’ve done with the smaller tanks.

Hope that might shed some light. Good luck. I really like those little guys and I’m always bummed whenever I lose one.

 

One other thing I just thought of is try testing your PH before your wc. Probably good to test it 3x/day starting right after your wc then track if it fluctuates at all during the week (assuming weekly wc). But if your PH is dropping or rising enough that could be killing them. Test your KH and see if it’s really low and that would tell you why they are dying right after a wc.

Hope that makes sense. I’ve started learning about why KH is important. And I’m doing my own PH testing 3x/day to monitor mine since my KH and GH are low. You may have the same issue.

I have had 10 gallon tanks that I do wc’s quite frequently so haven’t seen any issues yet. My new 36g is where I need to be more concerned since it will be more heavily stocked and won’t be doing as frequent wc’s as I’ve done with the smaller tanks.

Hope that might shed some light. Good luck. I really like those little guys and I’m always bummed whenever I lose one.

I’ll try the ph thing. I don’t have a KH test though.

 

API makes a pretty inexpensive testing kit that you could purchase. It’s not a bad thing to own especially if you see any changes to your PH as you go through your testing.

What I was told to do was test first thing in the morning then mid day and then again right before bed. I just kept the numbers written down so I could look for any trends. My PH was .4 lower right after my wc but has stayed stable since. I’ll keep checking it until my next wc on Saturday.

 

For ammonia in tap simply use Seachem prime as your dechlorinator because it binds ammonia for 24-48 hours, and let your filter cycle it.

 

For ammonia in tap simply use Seachem prime as your dechlorinator because it binds ammonia for 24-48 hours, and let your filter cycle it.

I use prime, that’s part of the reason I’m so confused about this. I’m kinda thinking it is PH that’s the issue.

 

What do the shrimp look like when they die? Is the shell broken with a band around the middle? If so, could this be a failed molting problem? In my (limited) understanding water changes can often induce molting in shrimp, which is always a hazardous time for them.

I'm sadly better at killing shrimp than keeping them alive, but as I understand it molting issues are often about a lack of calcium (and maybe iodine?)

 

What do the shrimp look like when they die? Is the shell broken with a band around the middle? If so, could this be a failed molting problem? In my (limited) understanding water changes can often induce molting in shrimp, which is always a hazardous time for them.

I'm sadly better at killing shrimp than keeping them alive, but as I understand it molting issues are often about a lack of calcium (and maybe iodine?)

Intact and snow white. No bands that I know of.

 

Well that's a shame, another theory bites the dust. My other possible theory for irregular unexplained shrimp deaths is suffocation (especially as I don't see a bubbler in the tank?). Shrimp are very sensitive to low oxygen levels. Its a bit hard to find a link to the water changes, but if you follow the usual practice of letting your water for changes sit around for a few days to degas and then dose with Prime as well then a big change might push the weakest shrimp over the edge, so to speak.

But in answer to your very first first question of how to minimise water changes, why exactly are you doing big water changes? If you're not fully cycled then I'm not sure cycling a tank with shrimp in is ever going to end well, they're too sensitive to water conditions. If it is cycled, then you shouldn't really need more than minimal water changes for a planted shrimp only tank? They have a very minimal bio-load themselves, so you shouldn't see any real nitrate buildup, so you just want to do enough to stop trace elements building up too much.

 

Well that's a shame, another theory bites the dust. My other possible theory for irregular unexplained shrimp deaths is suffocation (especially as I don't see a bubbler in the tank?). Shrimp are very sensitive to low oxygen levels. Its a bit hard to find a link to the water changes, but if you follow the usual practice of letting your water for changes sit around for a few days to degas and then dose with Prime as well then a big change might push the weakest shrimp over the edge, so to speak.

But in answer to your very first first question of how to minimise water changes, why exactly are you doing big water changes? If you're not fully cycled then I'm not sure cycling a tank with shrimp in is ever going to end well, they're too sensitive to water conditions. If it is cycled, then you shouldn't really need more than minimal water changes for a planted shrimp only tank? They have a very minimal bio-load themselves, so you shouldn't see any real nitrate buildup, so you just want to do enough to stop trace elements building up too much.

This was when they were in with fish. I tend to do about 30ish percent on those tanks because in bad for only doing bi-weekly changes. This one is gonna be shrimp only (plus betta) so water changes can be minimal. I’m gonna go mess around with the PH tester and see what everything sits at.

 

My apologies for not reading through every post. I skimmed through them. I do weekly 20 to 25% water changes on my 10 gallon and 20 gallon tank every 7 to 8 days. The thing is, is that you'll want to make sure you add the water back to your tank very slowly so you don't shock them. This could be the reason they are dying. You also want to match the tap temp. as close as possible to what is in the tank. Shrimp can adapt and tolerate a lot I think but I don't think they can tolerate drastic big changes fast. I did see above that someone mentioned Prime. Prime is an excellent water conditioner to use for aquariums. You can read up all the good things on Prime online. When you do your water changes you'll want to add the full amount of Prime to your tank size not just add the amount of Prime to the water you took out. (If your tank is 20 gallon add amount of prime to a 20 gallon tank.)

 

Ok, just checked the ph and all I can say is my water is freaking possessed! I checked all three of my tanks now so someone help me out with this. Pre and post water change.




60g I do 60-70% water change, 20 and the 15 I’ll do about 4 gallon each n

 

Have you added anything new to your tanks? Driftwood, coral, ??? Did your town/area change something up in their water district?

 

Have you added anything new to your tanks? Driftwood, coral, ??? Did your town/area change something up in their water district?

So MikeRad89 said that’s normal, it’s the CO2 that makes it do that. When it gasses off then I’m stuck with the “true” PH of 8.4 ish.

 

Glad you figured it out. I didn't know you had a CO2 unit for it wasn't mentioned.

 

So MikeRad89 said that’s normal, it’s the CO2 that makes it do that. When it gasses off then I’m stuck with the “true” PH of 8.4 ish.

Glad you got it resolved as well...That's a good learning that a CO2 unit will alter the PH that much.

 

Glad you figured it out. I didn't know you had a CO2 unit for it wasn't mentioned.

Glad you got it resolved as well...That's a good learning that a CO2 unit will alter the PH that much.

I don’t! It’s the CO2 in the tap that’s throwing it off. Though considering I did want to dose the wanna-be shrimp tank with CO2 that is a handy bit of knowledge.

 

I don’t! It’s the CO2 in the tap that’s throwing it off. Though considering I did want to dose the wanna-be shrimp tank with CO2 that is a handy bit of knowledge.

Did you ever get the KH/GH test?

 

I don’t! It’s the CO2 in the tap that’s throwing it off. Though considering I did want to dose the wanna-be shrimp tank with CO2 that is a handy bit of knowledge.

Thanks for letting us/me know.

 

Did you ever get the KH/GH test?

Thanks for letting us/me know.

No, my pet store dosen’t stock the kits or test for it so I’m gonna have to hit the city for it. That or I’ll talk to the owner’s kid and see if he can test it for me. He has a wack load of tanks at home including salt water.

No problem. Now I just have to figure out how to work around it.