Shrimp dying need help asap

[Jeeperscreepersmyth]

Been keeping neocardinia about a year and only found a couple dead in that time, ive found at least 5 this week and need advice. Kh 8 gh 13 78°f amonia 0 nitrates 10ish tds 575 heavily planted liquid rock tap water safe declorinator powder co2 injection 2 sponge filters and a marineland 350 55 gallon feed omega one freshwater flakes and occasional peas and zucchini. Havent done a water change in probably 6 months because  my nitrates stay at zero unless i fertilize ans i use easy green easy iron and excel to help control algae, consulted with my lfs earlier and he reccomended a 10% water change in the meantime but suggested seeking further advice because his expertise is saltwater and he doesnt want to steer me wrong with shrimp.

[Fish Folk]

Has your tank water temperature taken a dip at all? How often do you recheck parameters?

Shrimp notoriously love undisturbed, natural tanks. Yours looks awesome! It’s possible something has built up that only a water change can alleviate.

I see you’ve got fish. Outside possibly… maybe you’ve got an aggressor??

[Samanthabea]

How old were they

[Tihshho]

On 9/5/2021 at 8:14 PM, Fish Folk said:

I see you’ve got fish. Outside possibly… maybe you’ve got an aggressor??

This ^^^ 

You might want to watch the tank intently and see if anyone is preying on the shrimp.

[KentFishFanUK]

@Jeeperscreepersmyth I think @Samanthabea might be on to something

On 9/6/2021 at 1:24 AM, Samanthabea said:

How old were they

You said you've been keeping them a year? Isn't a year roughly about right for their lifespan? If it's just the original ones dying maybe it's that? Unless it's juveniles as well then maybe not. 

[Jeeperscreepersmyth]

Temp varies from one end of the tank to the other but is stable and it only varies a couple degrees from end to end. I forgot to mention the ph at the co2 end is 7.4 but the opposite end was 8.5. They hang out in the hortwort on the left a lot and its right beside the heater and in front of the filter so flake food gets pushed down in hornwort for them.

Dont know exact ages, some were mid size and couple adults. Some babies might be getting eaten but i only have guppies, oto cats, and snails with them and im finding bodies not just noticing them missing. 

 

What water change regiment would you change too? I was under the impression shrimp prefer stability over frequent changes so i just top off and semi regularly check nitrates and amonia to make sure my fertilizing is still keeping me in what i assume is best range of 10-20ppm and nothing is out of whack. 

[Jeeperscreepersmyth]

Sorry i thought i replied right after yall but apparently it was stuck here in the reply box. 

 

Are powerheads shrimplet safe or would they be a vacuum/blender? If they are is there a very inexpensive model available on Amazon that is reliable and safe?

[JettsPapa]

Is is possible that the pH fluctuated too quickly with the CO2?

[Littlefish]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:20 AM, JettsPapa said:

Is is possible that the pH fluctuated too quickly with the CO2?

I think it is excel or some "powdered" co2?  Maybe the OP could clarify it is not bottled co2?

[Patrick_G]

I generally don’t do water changes unless Nitrates get to high, but I’ve been advised by more experienced hobbyists that minerals and compounds can build up to toxic levels over time. Since we’re talking shrimp I’d be inclined to do several 20 water changes to remove any potential toxins without stressing the shrimp too much. 

[Jumbo Slim]

Beautiful tank. Shouldn't all those plants help take any minerals out of the water? Might be something else. Any chance of insecticide on the zucchini? I once lost an entire tank of shrimp after someone sprayed insect spray on the other side of the room to kill bugs!

[JettsPapa]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:10 AM, Patrick_G said:

I generally don’t do water changes unless Nitrates get to high, but I’ve been advised by more experienced hobbyists that minerals and compounds can build up to toxic levels over time. Since we’re talking shrimp I’d be inclined to do several 20 water changes to remove any potential toxins without stressing the shrimp too much. 

I've seen multiple recommendations to change 15% to 20% weekly from people who've been successfully keeping ornamental shrimp since before I ever heard of them.  I don't always follow that advice, but I try not to go longer than 2 weeks.

[Jeeperscreepersmyth]

No idea what powdered c02 is unless it would be crushed dry ice and no i dont use that. Have gas co2 injected via a diffuser with a regulator and 5lb bottle. Do use excel to help control algae but dont count that as c02 .

On 9/6/2021 at 10:29 AM, Littlefish said:

I think it is excel or some "powdered" co2?  Maybe the OP could clarify it is not bottled co2?

 

[Jeeperscreepersmyth]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:20 AM, JettsPapa said:

Is is possible that the pH fluctuated too quickly with the CO2?

Been running co2 in that tank about as long as its had shrimp but i probably dont have it dialed in ideally because i rely on a  drop checker as an alarm and just increased the flow rate  of co2 until it started turning yellow during the day then backed off until it started getting that lighter green that comes before yellow near the end of the day and called it good.

[Odd Duck]

On 9/6/2021 at 3:26 AM, Jeeperscreepersmyth said:

Sorry i thought i replied right after yall but apparently it was stuck here in the reply box. 

 

Are powerheads shrimplet safe or would they be a vacuum/blender? If they are is there a very inexpensive model available on Amazon that is reliable and safe?

I’ll let more shrimp experienced people answer your other questions, but a powerhead would absolutely be a blender.  BUT, you could put a sponge or metal mesh prefilter on it and it would be safe to use as long as you weren’t sweeping them off their feet with current.  I’ve heard some report that the ACO extra coarse prefilters will still let shrimplets get through to the blender.  It appears to be the only drawback for them.  Maybe try to find something more like 30 ppi instead of ACO’s 20 ppi.  You can always go even finer, but it increases chances of clogging and would need more frequent rinsing.

[Tihshho]

If you go with a powerhead, you have to use a prefilter as well as block any venturi ports to make sure they don't get sucked in through there. Aquarium CO-OP just released a nice powerhead that mates up to their own sponge filters (non nano filters) and that combo looks to be safe for shrimp. Their sponges are course, but not course enough to be a risk for babies. The main concern with powerheads with shrimp or small fish is when you have power outages. No matter a prefilter sponge, if the power goes out and some curious critter decides to go into the outlet of the offline pump... Well you get the idea when the power comes back...

[Jeeperscreepersmyth]

I can stick that down the tube of one of my sponge filters and seal it with silicone if it doesnt stick in the full depth of the cage and have it power it instead of the airstone in it now and not have to worry about baby shrimp right?

[Tihshho]

You could do that, but based on maintenance I wouldn't recommend siliconing or gluing parts of a pump to an uplift tube on a sponge. Plenty of pumps out there fit a majority of the sponge filters out there. As for that AquaNeat one, that looks like it has 2 outputs, the blue part and the one after the venturi. Either find a pump with a single outlet, or IMO just go with the COOP pump as it doesn't even have the venturi built in to worry about. 

[Guppysnail]

Just want to throw this out. Perhaps there are some micronutrients/minerals that have been depleted to far that are not replenished with fertilizer. I do not use co2 so I can’t speak on that. I have kept prolific shrimp colonies in community tanks that get large water changes regularly without issue but they have always been in that wc situation so I don’t know how it will affect a colony that is not adapted. But the trace depletion is something you may wish to consider. Good luck. 

[Jeeperscreepersmyth]

I think i mis explained what i meant, the part of that conical intake cage that doesnt fit into the tube could be sealed so they cant climb through the gaps. Planning another 10% water change tomorrow. To top off my shrimp deaths lost 2 of the 5 otos i recently got in the last day. Couldnt quartine like normal since they need something more established to feed so hopefully no disease. The body i found had a pretty bloated belly and the other dissapeared. I floated them and added little tank water to their bag every hour or so for about 8 hours before releasing them in the tank since the store told me to transition them slowly, i really need them for string algae control on my plants.

[Littlefish]

" 575 heavily planted liquid rock tap water safe declorinator powder co2 injection 2 sponge filters and a marineland 350 55 gallon feed omega one freshwater"

there is the "powder" co2 😉

I'm guessing "pressurized" got auto-changed.

Yes, you can buy powdered co2, common in smaller co2 outfits, or diy.

Anyway, I too lose about 25% of otos I add.  They are notorious for coming in weak, so it may be unrelated to the shrimp death.

good luck!