My Neocardina shrimp are dying!

[WyoTrucker]

Hey!

We have a 10gal with danios and dwarf gourami and a 25-30gal(dunno the exact capacity, old pet store tank, 36x12x12) with nothing but guppies in it.

Both tanks have been setup for about a year with very stable water parameters. But over the past week, nearly every single shrimp in both tanks have died, we went from hundreds to single digits in less than a week. No new fish have been added and nothing has really changed. The only thing that has changed is I started dosing Easy Iron. Prior to that it was only Easy Green and potassium with the occasional Prime once every few months when they require a water change. We feed spirulina wafers, Xtreme krill and live baby brine to both tanks.  Both tanks have exactly the same parameters.

Ph: 8-8.4, GH/KH: maxed on the test strip)(Wyoming has liquid rock), ammonia: 0, nitrites: 0, nitrates: 20-40 at all time. 

Is it possible I dosed too much Easy Iron? I know it's shrimp safe and I only dosed exactly what the bottle said and I only dose once a week. That's literally the only thing that has changed is the introduction of the iron. Kinda grasping at straws here. 

 

Thanks for looking! ✌️

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JettsPapa]

I wish I had a definitive answer for you, but I don't.  I haven't used Easy Iron, but I do use Seachem Iron in all my tanks without any problems, and they all have shrimp, so I doubt that's it.

You statement about ". . .every few months when they require a water change" makes me wonder if that's the problem.  How large was the last water change?  Many experienced shrimp keepers recommend limiting water changes to 20%.  Shrimp can be more sensitive to changing water parameters than fish, so if the water was too far off from the existing water in pH, temperature, etc it can cause problems.

It's also possible you just need to change water more often. 

[WyoTrucker]

On 3/28/2022 at 11:56 AM, JettsPapa said:

I wish I had a definitive answer for you, but I don't.  I haven't used Easy Iron, but I do use Seachem Iron in all my tanks without any problems, and they all have shrimp, so I doubt that's it.

You statement about ". . .every few months when they require a water change" makes me wonder if that's the problem.  How large was the last water change?  Many experienced shrimp keepers recommend limiting water changes to 20%.  Shrimp can be more sensitive to changing water parameters than fish, so if the water was too far off from the existing water in pH, temperature, etc it can cause problems.

It's also possible you just need to change water more often. 

Typically we only change water if the nitrates begin to buildup in the tank and that only really ever happens between the 30-45 day mark. But even then it's only about a 20-30% change. Our tap water basically mirrors the tank waters, maybe sightly lower pH o 7.8 but it's normally pretty close. 

 

It's just perplexing. The tanks have been absolutely thriving for the past year with no deaths anywhere. But I add iron and poof, they're all dead. By no means am I blaming Easy Iron or that there's anything wrong with it, it's just mind boggling that the first time I add it to the tank, all my shrimp die. Which is why I'm wondering if I screwed up somewhere cuz I know AC makes sure they're putting out a quality product that's been tested through the ringer. 

 

Idk 🤷‍♂️

[Guppysnail]

I’m sorry for your loss. My experience is shrimp just do not like change of any type. I seldom lose shrimp.  I added 1/4 dose of potassium and lost 3 shrimp in 1 evening.  Afterwards no losses even with further doses. I increased to 1/2 dose and lost 2 more. Now I don’t lose any with dosing.  

[Anon]

On 3/28/2022 at 11:16 AM, WyoTrucker said:

By no means am I blaming Easy Iron

I would. You made a deliberate change and these are the results. 

Here's something I've been thinking about, and please don't think I'm trying to attack the product or company for no reason:

Cory has mentioned a few times that other people swear his fertilizers kill shrimp or sensitive fish. And if you read the lower-star reviews on Easy Green, you'll see plenty of people with the same story as you--stable tanks of 1+ year experiencing mass death after dosing fert.

I suspect that drastic changes in water chemistry after long periods of stability is killing things. While these fertilizers are "safe," I suspect it's unsafe to change your water parameters so quickly... kind of like how a fish can safely live at 70 or 78 degrees but experiences stress if the temperature changes too fast.

[WyoTrucker]

On 3/28/2022 at 1:13 PM, Anon said:

I would. You made a deliberate change and these are the results. 

Here's something I've been thinking about, and please don't think I'm trying to attack the product or company for no reason:

Cory has mentioned a few times that other people swear his fertilizers kill shrimp or sensitive fish. And if you read the lower-star reviews on Easy Green, you'll see plenty of people with the same story as you--stable tanks of 1+ year experiencing mass death after dosing fert.

I suspect that drastic changes in water chemistry after long periods of stability is killing things. While these fertilizers are "safe," I suspect it's unsafe to change your water parameters so quickly... kind of like how a fish can safely live at 70 or 78 degrees but experiences stress if the temperature changes too fast.

You know.. that's a good point. A more spread out change of water chemistry probably would of worked alot better. I didn't even think of that. You may be on to something! 🤘

On 3/28/2022 at 12:25 PM, Guppysnail said:

I’m sorry for your loss. My experience is shrimp just do not like change of any type. I seldom lose shrimp.  I added 1/4 dose of potassium and lost 3 shrimp in 1 evening.  Afterwards no losses even with further doses. I increased to 1/2 dose and lost 2 more. Now I don’t lose any with dosing.  

Another member also brought up this point. It's entirely possible the drastic change in water chemistry by adding a full dose of iron is the culprit. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

First I am very sorry. I have lost many shrimp over the last 3 years it is never easy. The other thing is did your municipal water source change something and that along with these other things cause this. Water districts worry about people not pets so they often seasonally change things which can swing water chemistry in ways we don't see. You can give them a call and see if they recently added something to the water. 

Marks Shrimp Tanks and many breeders add iron so I am not sure that it alone is the issue. I am of the opinion in these situations it was part of but not the whole picture and could be a scapegoat for more things going on. This totally sucks and I am truly sorry. 

[CAB]

WyoTrucker, I had a similar experience with an established tank housing a group of a dozen blue dream shrimp and a dozen amanos. I added the recommended dose of Easy Iron and  the next day six of each died. No water change associated with the dosing, until after the die-off. A few more died over the next days. I couldn't find any other problems, just stopped using Easy Iron. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/28/2022 at 8:30 AM, WyoTrucker said:

Is it possible I dosed too much Easy Iron? I know it's shrimp safe and I only dosed exactly what the bottle said and I only dose once a week. That's literally the only thing that has changed is the introduction of the iron.

because of the time of year it is, water could be affected before your tap and it's the type of situation where it could be very sensitive shrimp or it could be a fluke event.

I've used easy iron with my amanos and no issues.

PH issues, I would expect the shrimp to molt early or often and cause some deaths.

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/28/2022 at 11:16 AM, WyoTrucker said:

Typically we only change water if the nitrates begin to buildup in the tank and that only really ever happens between the 30-45 day mark. But even then it's only about a 20-30% change. Our tap water basically mirrors the tank waters, maybe sightly lower pH o 7.8 but it's normally pretty close. 

what's the word for it.... old tank syndrome?  I would think this is a pretty big nod in the issue and something I've personally ended up happening. Shrimp need minerals and water changes. Stick to weekly or bi-weekly changes if you can. even if it's just 15%. 
 

 

[Streetwise]

I try to keep my shrimp tanks as boring as possible: only water top-offs, and continuous algae and biofilm.

[Widgets]

A 36x12x12 calculates to ~22.4g, probably 20g or less once you account for hardscape. If you dosed it as a 30g you were probably 50% over. That does not explain tho 20g.

Echoing @nabokovfan87, there could have been a uptick in the sanitizer used at the water plant for some transitory event, the increase in sanitizer would necessitate an increase is conditioner to counteract. You could have underdosed the conditioner.  This could explain both tanks together.

[BF McUmber]

I had a nice thriving colony at work.  Then two of my amano shrimp died over the weekend and my nitrates went to 40ish (i am not sure if before or after the death).  Then I got to watch like 6 shrimp die a day. I was thinking it was just fallout from the high nitrates until I saw my fish with a throat full of shrimp.  Now our working theory is that the danio is just killing them for fun. He may get his own personal bucket for a few days while we see if more death happens. I don't have good help for you but at least your not alone with the shrimp deaths.