Where did my NEW SHRIMP go?!!!

[Minanora]

On 1/13/2024 at 1:32 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I see at least 2! 🙂

I recently got into keeping neocaridina shrimp as well and it's been an adjustment. I've just gone past the one year mark. There's a few things that I try to do in my own setups based on my own intuition and my own experiences keeping amano shrimp for a longer time.  I cherish my shrimp.  I adore them and I have definitely had my own struggles as well, especially when first getting started.   @Shadow is undergoing similar experiences as I've been and it's great to have the plethora of shrimp keepers we have on the forums because there is such a range of care and such a difference in what we are seeing.  Some lines like different water than others.  Shrimp can be regional, certain colors can be more temperamental, but the bottom line is always going to be that base care and understanding exactly what works well.  @Minanora has a journal for orange shrimp and I think it would be a great one for you to check out and enjoy.  I believe that yellow and orange lines are extremely similar and it might give you an interesting perspective on strengthening a line over time to your care and your water/habitat.
 

 

 

My best piece of advice I can give you is to understand the method of care and to focus on that method.  Everything else is based on that one notion.

I have read things saying that if you have a GH over 6 it's cruelty and that I needed to sell my animals and get rid of my tank.  There's all kinds of mindsets out there and there is a ton of bizarre information that seems to get repeated often.  My one source of video information has been youtube's infamous shrimp keeper.... Mark's Shrimp Tanks.  I also love the content by Chris Lukhaup (aka shrimp king, yep... the guys who made that food), but he does not make content as often as others.  My other source of information has been looking at research articles and studies about the shrimp in nature.  Trying to understand their care and contrast that against what I know/experience with my amano shrimp.  I know amano shrimp come from cooler rivers and that is the setup I tried to follow for my neocaridina shrimp.  That was my start.

There's always going to be someone saying that you must do things this way or you run into issues and there's going to be that extra effort as a beginner shrimper to try to find perfection.

Alright.... so, the thing here to keep in mind is that mantra of "good food takes time" and that sometimes you have to just let the shrimp do their thing.  You will likely lose some shrimp (sometimes a lot of shrimp) at first or in the first couple of months, but understanding what is really going on can be key... back to that care technique and how they function.  The most common misconception with shrimp is about water changes, molting issues, and specifically with what you're seeing in the tank and what that means.  When you first add shrimp to the tank they are adapting and acclimating to a very different environment.  It might be an older shrimp that couldn't handle the stress and that caused a death (it's just that basic and simple) or it could be a shrimp that wasn't getting enough food before they were in your care.  But, let's just try to keep things very, very simple and understand the rhythm of the shrimp.  They need nutrients in order to molt properly, they expend that energy when they molt, and then they have to repeat that process.  For female shrimp it's a bit more complicated because they have to handle molting as well as raising the shrimplets.  They molt, need to get energy to recover from molting as well as store energy for their next hatching cycle, then they have to generate the eggs, deposit them on their swimmerets, and then carry those eggs to term over ~28 days.  In that time it is the mother shrimp's nature to try to hold off as long as possible and prohibit the molting process.  They will and can often exhaust themselves for the sake of raising those eggs to term. 

These are some of my oldest amanos and they go through that cycle of raising  their zoes (amano babies).  That sort of brownish color, almost mahogany at times is their shell getting thicket and thicker and harder and harder.  The longer they wait to molt, means that it might get to a point of them not being able to escape their shell and they will die from that stress.

So... if we expand back to that base theme of trying to understand the method of care, then we focus purely on giving the shrimp every advantage to be able to molt on rhythm and to be able to keep their energy levels consistent through those various stages. 

What this means is that as soon as there is any change at all, stress happens.  Consistency being the key, but that is why you're not seeing those shrimp.  They are acclimating to the new environment, trying to map out where things are and find food.  They are trying to find their favorite spaces, hide from predators, find the flow spots they like, and several other things.  They might molt right away or in the first week.  That cycle starts and the key being to just make sure they are eating and make sure they have what they need.  One of the best ways you can "check on them" is to use a feeding dish.  This lets you see them every other day or every few days and it gives you the ability to see how they are handling that food.  If there's a lot of food leftover, then you might be feeding too much, or you might have an issue where they can't break down the food too!

 

I added 12-13 amano shrimp to my tank on wednesday and I've seen 2-3 in that entire time span.  I was sitting there watching the tank for a few hours a day and trying hard to find them, I couldn't.  I checked at night and I still couldn't see them.  I think I did finally find them hiding behind the moss wall on the back of the tank cleaning behind it.

As long as you are seeing them, just give them time.  I wouldn't worry too much and I would just try to be patient and test water as you see fit.  I'm willing to bet they love the wood surfaces too, not just the plants.

 

Before feeding.

A few minutes After:

 

I'm sorry for being absent for so long. Our lives have been full of things that have kept me so busy that I don't even read on Kindle. I spend.... 42 minutes a week on average on my phone/computer. Keeping shrimp.... you really just need a few to survive from your original shipment. I always order 20+ shrimp when I am starting a new color of neos. That way, more live, and I can adjust their babies to the water of the tanks I keep them in. It's all about the goal.

 

Alll about the goal.

 

What water parameters do you keep full time. Do you want your shrimp to live in that, or something else. Shrimp are a pretty expensive investment outright, but the more you can afford in the first batch, the better off you'll be getting the colony to establish in your setup. Don't make more work for yourself if you don't have to. That's my thought. I

 

I have Orange neos, and Yellow neos. They are in entirely different water parameters. My orange are at 7.8PH in both of their tanks, plus an odd tank I keep at 7.2~. My yellows are at 6.4. I will move some into higher pH eventually, when I want to sell them to the local store, but for now, my plants are in charge. Plus all of the Panda Cory babies. <3.

 

I keep amano in a tank that is 7.8 pH without the CO2 running. (yes, running CO2 changes your pH so keep that in mind if you are going to go higher tech.

 

My yellow shirmp btw, I got 80 to start. just to make sure I had a robust colony in the beginning. I have well over 300 atm. 9+ months later.

 

You got this. Shrimp are very hard to find in a seasoned/ planted tank.

[Minanora]

On 1/15/2024 at 7:58 PM, Minanora said:

I'm sorry for being absent for so long. Our lives have been full of things that have kept me so busy that I don't even read on Kindle. I spend.... 42 minutes a week on average on my phone/computer. Keeping shrimp.... you really just need a few to survive from your original shipment. I always order 20+ shrimp when I am starting a new color of neos. That way, more live, and I can adjust their babies to the water of the tanks I keep them in. It's all about the goal.

 

Alll about the goal.

 

What water parameters do you keep full time. Do you want your shrimp to live in that, or something else. Shrimp are a pretty expensive investment outright, but the more you can afford in the first batch, the better off you'll be getting the colony to establish in your setup. Don't make more work for yourself if you don't have to. That's my thought. I

 

I have Orange neos, and Yellow neos. They are in entirely different water parameters. My orange are at 7.8PH in both of their tanks, plus an odd tank I keep at 7.2~. My yellows are at 6.4. I will move some into higher pH eventually, when I want to sell them to the local store, but for now, my plants are in charge. Plus all of the Panda Cory babies. <3.

 

I keep amano in a tank that is 7.8 pH without the CO2 running. (yes, running CO2 changes your pH so keep that in mind if you are going to go higher tech.

 

My yellow shirmp btw, I got 80 to start. just to make sure I had a robust colony in the beginning. I have well over 300 atm. 9+ months later.

 

You got this. Shrimp are very hard to find in a seasoned/ planted tank.

Oh yeah, and my hardness is THROUGH THE ROOF. Holy moly. Even with adding only soft water/ RO water (depending on the tank) I don't add any minerals aside from KH.

[Flipper]

On 1/13/2024 at 3:32 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Consistency being the key, but that is why you're not seeing those shrimp.  They are acclimating to the new environment, trying to map out where things are and find food.  They are trying to find their favorite spaces, hide from predators, find the flow spots they like, and several other things.  They might molt right away or in the first week.  That cycle starts and the key being to just make sure they are eating and make sure they have what they need.  One of the best ways you can "check on them" is to use a feeding dish. 

Nabo, you ROCK!

My shrimp are beginning to come out more.  Once my fish got over their initial curiosity (about 24 hours) they are leaving the shrimp alone.  It did take several days but they seem to be doing pretty well, as far as I can tell.  I had 1 death the first day.  I've since found 4 good looking molts.  I was pulling them out, but someone said leave the molts there and the shrimp will eat them.  I still can only find 5 out of the remaining 9, at any one time, so I'll just do my best and see what happens. 

I did just get a new sponge filter from the Co-op and will set it up today.  I hated the sponges before because the bubbles shot up on my glass lid and caused white stuff that was impossible to remove, even with vinegar and a razor blade.  Now, with the new extensions and curved top section on the sponge filters, I can keep that film off the lid.  Hallelujah! 

My dead shrimp and 2 successful molts.  Who knew the molts would have antenna attached 🤔

 

[lefty o]

leave the molts behind. they can eat them etc to help with calcium etc (note , im no shrimp guru).

[Lonkley]

On 1/16/2024 at 1:14 PM, Flipper said:

Who knew the molts would have antenna attached

I saw my amano molt and was surprised by that. At first I thought the amano had died.

[Flipper]

On 1/17/2024 at 9:20 AM, Lonkley said:

I saw my amano molt and was surprised by that. At first I thought the amano had died.

The first molt I found, I thought it was a dead shrimp, too.  Just plumb freaky to see the antenna still attached.  I mean, the antenna is so thin.  Thank you, Mother Nature, for figuring these things out. 

[Flipper]

On 1/13/2024 at 3:32 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Consistency being the key, but that is why you're not seeing those shrimp.  They are acclimating to the new environment, trying to map out where things are and find food.  They are trying to find their favorite spaces, hide from predators, find the flow spots they like, and several other things. 

Today is two weeks and a couple of days since I first added the yellow shrimp to my tank.  They are getting used to their new home and I'm seeing them more often.  I think I have more males than females, but I'm sure I have at least 2 females, hopefully more.

A few days ago, I saw a female up close and it looked like she might have some eggs.  It looked like she was washing over them.  But I haven't seen her since.  Maybe false alarm or she's hiding.  It would be nice to see the females more often.

Since I put them in the tank, I've added a small sponge filter,  more hiding places to make them feel comfortable and more botanicals.  Fingers crossed 🤞

@Tanked