I am new to fish and to shrimp, and I have a few of each in a 10 gallon tank. Because the tank is small, I am religious about water changes and keeping nitrates and nitrites at zero as close as I can. I did a gravel vacuuming and water change tonight (about 20 - 25%) and later noticed that the shrimp were swimming all over the aquarium. They are way more active than before. Did I do anything wrong? Are they distressed? Will they be okay? If so, in the future, should I do a smaller change, like maybe 10%? Poor critters. I'm worried about them. Thank you!
Shrimp Very Active After Water Change. Are They Okay?
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Yes, I do use a dechlorinater, although it's funny you should ask. It was the first thing I thought of, "did I forget the dechlorinater?" But I did remember.
I am so relieved to hear that others experience the same thing and that I haven't somehow harmed them. Has anyone noticed a difference with smaller vs larger water changes?
I am so relieved to hear that others experience the same thing and that I haven't somehow harmed them. Has anyone noticed a difference with smaller vs larger water changes?
Yes this is pretty normal after water changes that shrimps zoom about the tank for various reasons to do with the fresh new water and minerals.
One other reason you may see shrimps zooming around, this is especially true with cherry shrimps, you did not mention which species of shrimps you have btw.
Is that the male cherrys shrimps (easily identified as smaller and more transparent in colour than females as well as slightly different body shape, males are slimmer in abdomen) are excited that a female may be ready to start having eggs (berried as we call this) and getting ready to fertilise.
One other reason you may see shrimps zooming around, this is especially true with cherry shrimps, you did not mention which species of shrimps you have btw.
Is that the male cherrys shrimps (easily identified as smaller and more transparent in colour than females as well as slightly different body shape, males are slimmer in abdomen) are excited that a female may be ready to start having eggs (berried as we call this) and getting ready to fertilise.
Thank you, Ch4rlie. I have 1 ghost shrimp and 2 that were called"fancy shrimp" so I take to mean that the pet shop doesn't know. One has a red head with a clear body, and the other is a peachy-orange color. I originally bought 3 ghost shrimp (that was all they had) and 4 "fancy" shrimp, but 1 molted and died on the way home (I only live 5 minutes from the store and i was very careful during transit, so that shouldn't have happened) and 3 more did not make it through the night. I will never buy from that store again. I went a couple of days later to tell them about it, and they said, "oh, yeah, all our fish are under quarantine right now. Something got in the pumps and all our stock is sick." Great. I feel so awful about the 4 that died but considering that all of their remaining fancy shrimp died as well, maybe it was good that at least my surviving 3 got a new clean home.
Not sure what 'fancy' shrimps are but am assuming they may be varients of cherry shrimps or possibly crystal shrimps. Anyway, shrimps that cannot properly moult their skin do unfortunately die.
Your LFS were at least upfront about what the problem could have been that may have conttributed the the shrimp deaths
As for your original question about water changes, sorry, i forgot to add this to my earlier post, despite the bioload in your shrimp tank is probably pretty low, ie no other fish in the tank, then I would still advise you do your weekly water change at very least 25% but preferably nearer 40 - 50%.
Shrimps are usualy quite fastidous about water quality and they will be the first to let you know if they are not happy with water quaility. Some shrimps have been known to jump from tanks in extreme cases if theres soemthing like too much copper in the tank, they can cope with trace amount of copper. Generally if the water is bad for shrimps, in the tank they will rush about the tank looking for escape.
Always remember to add dechlorinator when doing water changes in shrimp tanks, also they like having catappa leave (indian almond leaves), marimo moss balls and lots of plants to hide in and to munch micronutrients from as well as some algae
Your LFS were at least upfront about what the problem could have been that may have conttributed the the shrimp deaths
As for your original question about water changes, sorry, i forgot to add this to my earlier post, despite the bioload in your shrimp tank is probably pretty low, ie no other fish in the tank, then I would still advise you do your weekly water change at very least 25% but preferably nearer 40 - 50%.
Shrimps are usualy quite fastidous about water quality and they will be the first to let you know if they are not happy with water quaility. Some shrimps have been known to jump from tanks in extreme cases if theres soemthing like too much copper in the tank, they can cope with trace amount of copper. Generally if the water is bad for shrimps, in the tank they will rush about the tank looking for escape.
Always remember to add dechlorinator when doing water changes in shrimp tanks, also they like having catappa leave (indian almond leaves), marimo moss balls and lots of plants to hide in and to munch micronutrients from as well as some algae
They are back to normal today and are peacefully picking at the plants and driftwood. I have a moss ball for them but they like other things in the tank better, it seems. I have lots of hiding places for them, so they seem to enjoy scooting about from place to place. They are cute little critters.
Not sure if this picture will come through. It is of the red and clear one. Apologies for the blurriness. I just can't seem to get a good shot of anything in my tank.
Not sure if this picture will come through. It is of the red and clear one. Apologies for the blurriness. I just can't seem to get a good shot of anything in my tank.
You may find this link useful.
http/www.discobee.com/blogs/news/17030569-dwarf-shrimp-water-parameters
http
/www.discobee.com/blogs/news/17030569-dwarf-shrimp-water-parametersThat link is great. Thank you! I have a question about their kh and gh levels. They say rili shrimp like kh of 2-5 and gh of 6-8. I think mt test kit measures on different scale. They measure in increments of 0, 30, 60, etc for gh and 0, 40, 80, etc. for kh. My kh reads between 30 and 40. My gh is usually 30-50. I don't think the kits are terribly accurate, but it does look I might have soft water. I read mixed things about whether or not I should put crushed coral in the tank. What do you guys think?
I used srips with pads to get the earlier readings. I just bought an api liquid kh test kit. According to this one, my tap water measured 3 dKH or 53.7 ppm. My tank water measured 2 dKH or 35.8 ppm. I'll have to research why the level is falling in my tank. As far as whether this is suitable for the shrimp, according to the website mentioned in the previous post, my water is within acceptable parameters. Please let me know if you disagree. Thank you!
Cherry shrimp (and your lovely rili shrimp is a variety of cherry shrimp) are very forgiving in the water department. Generally the basic run of the mill solid red cherry shrimp are the hardiest (unless you start getting into some of the super reds -the hardiest of them all is the brown wild type) and then its a sliding scale of hardiness vs colour variety and quality. The high grade super inbred to develop and establish a new strong colour strian are generally genetically weak thanks to the limited gene pool that was used to establish the varient.
The deaths of the "fancy" shrimp may not have been entirely the shops fault. Although I have some ideas they may have contributed.
Many shops never know what the water parameters of where the fish/ shrimp/ snails where bred was and just do the standard temperature acclimatisation when adding new stock, and I have witnessed it first hand often the acclimatisation is rushed. This is bad news for creatures that are already sensitive to fluctuations and to have the stress of being caught and moved perhaps in the space of only a day can really spell the beginning of the end for certain delicate species.
I have had the heartbreak of losing some much wanted and expensive shrimp, I now know that without a chiller and setting up a dedicated tank just for them I will never be able to keep crystal red/ black shrimp or many of the Tibee varieties. I know my water is fine for normal red cherry shrimp and even black cherry shrimp but I fail miserably with yellows and have not dared try orange. I even manage to keep and breed many Australian native shrimp that other people can really struggle to keep let alone breed. And it all comes down to water (and sometimes temperature).
My advise is when getting shrimp sure look at the ones in the shop to see what you like then have a hunt around for anyone local who maybe able to supply you with their offspring or even nice culls. At least somebody who has locally bred the shrimp is likely to have very similar water to you unless they are using stored rain water and or RO water. But by talking directly to the breeder you can find out exactly what they are doing to their water, and that will go a long way for your own success. Once your shrimp are successfully breeding the offspring thankfully will be better suited to your actual tank conditions and their colour and vigour will generally improve. And when adding new shrimp to a tank, always drip acclimatise them, this can take a few hours but it prevents pH shock killing your new prized gems.
The deaths of the "fancy" shrimp may not have been entirely the shops fault. Although I have some ideas they may have contributed.
Many shops never know what the water parameters of where the fish/ shrimp/ snails where bred was and just do the standard temperature acclimatisation when adding new stock, and I have witnessed it first hand often the acclimatisation is rushed. This is bad news for creatures that are already sensitive to fluctuations and to have the stress of being caught and moved perhaps in the space of only a day can really spell the beginning of the end for certain delicate species.
I have had the heartbreak of losing some much wanted and expensive shrimp, I now know that without a chiller and setting up a dedicated tank just for them I will never be able to keep crystal red/ black shrimp or many of the Tibee varieties. I know my water is fine for normal red cherry shrimp and even black cherry shrimp but I fail miserably with yellows and have not dared try orange. I even manage to keep and breed many Australian native shrimp that other people can really struggle to keep let alone breed. And it all comes down to water (and sometimes temperature).
My advise is when getting shrimp sure look at the ones in the shop to see what you like then have a hunt around for anyone local who maybe able to supply you with their offspring or even nice culls. At least somebody who has locally bred the shrimp is likely to have very similar water to you unless they are using stored rain water and or RO water. But by talking directly to the breeder you can find out exactly what they are doing to their water, and that will go a long way for your own success. Once your shrimp are successfully breeding the offspring thankfully will be better suited to your actual tank conditions and their colour and vigour will generally improve. And when adding new shrimp to a tank, always drip acclimatise them, this can take a few hours but it prevents pH shock killing your new prized gems.
The Red Cherry Shrimp in my Betta tank breed faster than the Malaysian Trumpet Snails, I am for ever scooping up shrimp and MTS and putting them in the 6 foot tank, Where my Firemouth Cichlid and 5 clown loaches appreciate them.
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