Shrimp not moving

[Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics]

I recently moved 10 of my orange neocaridina shrimp from my 10g guppy tank down to a different 10g tank that had nothing in it anymore.

After moving them I noticed that they weren't really moving around or grazing constantly like my other shrimp, they kinda just sit completely still and move very slowly. After I noticed this I tested all my water parameters and it was identical to the previous tank they were in, and in that tank they were doing really well and constantly breeding.

Then the next thing I tried was adding a filter with carbon for 24 hours to remove anything that might be in the water that I'm not able to test for. But still no difference in behavior.

3 of the shrimp have molted well so I feel like there is not a water parameter problem but I still can't figure it out. Also the tank was running for a bout 6 months prior to adding the shrimp because I was raising some cichlid fry in it so its decently well established.

I also have lots of java moss, ,wood, indian almond leaves and I put a little Bacter AE in the tank before they went in, so they have plenty of food.

If anyone has any ideas on what this could be I'd love for some help, or if you just have any other ideas on things I could try it would be greatly appreciated.

WATER PARAMETERS:

PH: 8.2

DGH: 13

DKH: 7

NH3: 0

NO2: 0

NO3: 5-10

TEMP: 76F

 

The tank that the shrimp were previously in, doing very well and breeding.

 

The new tank that I moved them to where they aren't moving around much.

[Guppysnail]

No two tanks of water are exactly alike. Even if 1 only had one extra flake. The shrimp will sit still until the pressure of water going into and out of their body equalize to the new water. This often produces molts quickly.  They are immobile through a good portion of their molt as the exoskeleton breaks loose.  Kind of like taking off a sweater. The arms of the sweater are no longer animated once your arms leave but there is a lot going on underneath to get the sweater off. 

[Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics]

@Guppysnail so are you saying it will just take some time for them to settle in and then they should start acting normal again?

[Guppysnail]

On 1/24/2024 at 8:46 PM, Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics said:

@Guppysnail so are you saying it will just take some time for them to settle in and then they should start acting normal again?

Yes. Just like fish they get scared moving to new tanks and adjusting to new water.  They may hide for awhile to be sure there are no predators. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/24/2024 at 5:22 PM, Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics said:

PH: 8.2

DGH: 13

DKH: 7

NH3: 0

NO2: 0

NO3: 5-10

TEMP: 76F

Everything seems fine. PH might be high.  That aside, I understand the shrimp are accustomed to your water.

I wanted to cover the basics with a few question.

1.  How did you acclimate the shrimp / move them to the new tank? Did you drip them, or just move them?
2.  Can you turn up the airstone on the sponge filter? The air output seems a bit lower than what I would prefer to see.
3.  When it comes to the shrimp themselves, how long have you had them in the guppy tank?

For the sake of full clarity, if you can take a video of the shrimp for a few minutes it might help to understand their behavior.

[Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics]

On 1/24/2024 at 7:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

1.  How did you acclimate the shrimp / move them to the new tank? Did you drip them, or just move them?
2.  Can you turn up the airstone on the sponge filter? The air output seems a bit lower than what I would prefer to see.
3.  When it comes to the shrimp themselves, how long have you had them in the guppy tank?

For the sake of full clarity, if you can take a video of the shrimp for a few minutes it might help to understand their behavior.

I just acclimated them for temp and in a specimen container and then dropped them in. no drip acclimation because I didnt do that before and they were all good last time I used the plop and drop method.

 

I have the air on max, I'm using a dual outlet airpump so its not as much air because its being used for 2 tanks. But I feel like its enough for my  shrimp.

I've had the shrimp in the guppy tank about 2 months.

 

here is some video, sorry if its bad quality.

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/24/2024 at 9:26 PM, Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics said:

I have the air on max, I'm using a dual outlet airpump so its not as much air because its being used for 2 tanks. But I feel like its enough for my  shrimp.

I've had the shrimp in the guppy tank about 2 months.

2 months is pretty new.  They've essentially molted 2-3x.  The first ~30 days is something I would still consider as acclimation to your water parameters from the source.  The following molt which is the following 1-2 molts after they arrive in your tank is when they either make it or don't.  They looks to be pretty good size neocaridina shrimp.  Female shrimp will stay in place a lot more than males.  They conserve their energy and try to graze a lot more at certain stages.  Holding eggs, they do this a lot.

Essentially what I see in the video is the shrimp just grazing.  It's a bit difficult to tell just because of the size and clarity.  They are in the plants, in cover, and that's pretty normal given that the tank (and the shrimp) are pretty new.  If you had something like a feeding dish and you drop in some food, I would expect them to go after the food in a healthy colony.

I don't know if this helps, but here's a video up close of how the shrimp graze and interact with the surfaces for feeding.  You can see it more clearly on a species like bamboo shrimp, but it's all very similar.
 

On 1/24/2024 at 9:26 PM, Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics said:

I just acclimated them for temp and in a specimen container and then dropped them in. no drip acclimation because I didnt do that before and they were all good last time I used the plop and drop method.

General advice with Neocaridina / Caridina shrimp would be to never plop and drop them.  Snails, Amano shrimp, I also don't plop and drop them.  I do tend to do slow acclimation, but a drip is just a lot easier to handle for me.   I just mention it as a heads up in future.

 

[Guppysnail]

On 1/25/2024 at 12:26 AM, Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics said:

I've had the shrimp in the guppy tank about 2 months.

 

On 1/25/2024 at 4:15 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

General advice with Neocaridina / Caridina shrimp would be to never plop and drop them. 

I’m not trying to be contrary but my experience is much different.  
I’ve been keeping neocaridina for roughly 5 years.  
They are prolific in all my tanks to the point I use them as live food for my fish.

they travel in my sponge filters to every tank I set up for growout, hatching, new fish and Qt.  
 

If I move them intentionally I net and walk with net net to the other tank and drop them in.  Temperature varies 76-81 in my tanks 

Once they have babies in your tanks they are like cockroaches on the hardiness scale.  The originals may adjust slower to settle in new tanks though. 
 

After they molt the first time in your water they rebuild their shell using whatever minerals are in the water they are in.  It’s like tailor making a custom fit suit.  
 

Going from different water sources is the only time I see issues. I am GUESSING that is because of things other than straight H2O different water sources contain. Ex more copper, arsenic uranium (yes those nasties are all on my municipal water report 🤢)

Anyone local I give my shrimp to I recommend just floating the bag to temperature and dropping them in. No one has had issues doing it that way.  
 

Your shrimp look great. Just like when we move houses it takes us time to feel comfortable in the new place. 

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/25/2024 at 3:40 AM, Guppysnail said:

If I move them intentionally I net and walk with net net to the other tank and drop them in.  Temperature varies 76-81 in my tanks 

Once they have babies in your tanks they are like cockroaches on the hardiness scale.  The originals may adjust slower to settle in new tanks though. 

I have tanks about 2 foot apart and I have what is generally a strong line of genetics. They aren't sensitive and I do large water changes without issue or losses often.

This isn't an established colony. So that's where the main advice comes from. If I was ever taking a colony and splitting it, I would always recommend and drip them.  If we are talking culls, then I almost never do.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 1/25/2024 at 6:40 AM, Guppysnail said:

I’m not trying to be contrary but my experience is much different.  
I’ve been keeping neocaridina for roughly 5 years.  
They are prolific in all my tanks to the point I use them as live food for my fish.

they travel in my sponge filters to every tank I set up for growout, hatching, new fish and Qt.  

I plop & dropped culls from tanks to the Walstad jar. At one point 25 shrimps were in the jar and everyone was active.

[Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics]

On 1/25/2024 at 10:31 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I have tanks about 2 foot apart and I have what is generally a strong line of genetics. They aren't sensitive and I do large water changes without issue or losses often.

This isn't an established colony. So that's where the main advice comes from. If I was ever taking a colony and splitting it, I would always recommend and drip them.  If we are talking culls, then I almost never do.

Yeah its not a super established colony but they have had tons of babies in my other tank and my friend that gave them to me had them for years in the same tap water as me.

Thanks for the advice @Guppysnail@nabokovfan87 I'll just give it some time and post an update once they settle in.