While watching my Red Cherry shrimp i seen one drop dead and sink to the bottom of the tank!

[chieftain2121]

Hi All

I have a very large Red cherry shrimp tank perhaps 500 or more in a six foot tank.

I witnessed one drop dead before my eyes for the first time,

I don't get many dead shrimp but with so many i suppose some are going to die through some genetic defect they had since they were born.

Never the less i tried to think if i had recently done some change that had caused this, I had in fact just installed an RO filtering system to my tap water and had done a 20% water change and used RO water dechlorinated of course.

All the other shrimp looked in better form than i have ever seen them very active and quicker moving.

I was just a bit freaked out that they would all start croaking it ! lol

It might have been the improvement in the quality of water that was too much for that shrimp, even though i staggered the change over a few hours using a large fish food pot with a hole drilled in the bottom to slowly add the RO water., i was using rainwater mostly before but now im done with that its RO all the way now.

I definitely recommend the RO system it cost 32.99, link below if you are interested.
My tap water is 460 ppm after i installed the filter the water i get is 000ppm!
And my shrimp and fish are thriving better than i have ever seen, It must be the pure good old H20 they are getting.

Good for drinking water too.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Finerfilt...408998&hash=item4d56e4022f:g:ujsAAOSw5SZZkuQh


Any ideas if this can happen because of parameters changing even when done slowly?

Many thanks for any advice on this :)

 

[fluttermoth]

Are you remineralising the water?

Straight RO water should never be used in a tank (and you're not supposed to drink it either) as its too pure; all living things need some minerals in the water, even if it's only a trace.

Shrimps are very sensitive to changing water conditions, so the addition of the RO water could well be responsible for any deaths you're seeing. Most shrimp also prefer quite hard water.

 

[StevenF]

RO water is no different than rain water and it is safe to drink. RO water has a filter that will removed dissolved minerals. Rain water is natuarlly distilled water and typically has fewer dissolved minerals in it than RO water. Rain water, distilled water and RO water are all safe to drink. I have a RO system at home and have been drinking it for years. There is no need to add a declorinator or water conditioner to RO water since the filter has already removed the harmfull substances.

However your shrimp do need some minerals in order to molt properly. If there is not enough calcium and magnesium in the tank they cannot molt and will die. Typically it would take a few days it is possible for it to happen suddenly. If you were using rain water previously you tank may now be depleted of Calcium and the death you saw may the first of many. I would recommend getting Seachem Equilibrium a GH booster and use it ti maintain a GH of at least 2 degrees. You fish also have a GH requirement but how much varies with the species. Some will do well at 2 degrees while others need more.

 

[hobby5]

Health risks of drinking RO water by the World Health Organisation:

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf

 

[chieftain2121]

Thanks for your input guys!

Heres a link to a vid of the shrimp tank in question

Yes i am remineralising the water with a pinch of baking powder and additionally i have small pieces of cuttle fish bone in the tank, I can see that from time to time the shrimp go and eat small pieces of it and after a day or two it's gone.
I think i will just start adding small bits of cuttle bone to the RO water a day before a water change and skip the baking powder.

Because i have so many of these little guys its sort of hard to increase to the correct amount of food for them without over feeding.
My rational was that i need to feed more because the colony has grown so big, I think i over did it, Plus the change to RO water may have been too sudden even though i staggered it over a few hours.

They are doing fantastic now i see so many baby shrimp now, a lot more than before.

There are conflicting views about whether RO water is good for drinking.
I personally see it like this, How much calcium and trace elements does a human get through water? i'd say not much, So if you have a balanced diet you should be getting them from food. I prefer to drink RO even though it is stripped of any good stuff because it gets rid of a lot of nasty stuff as well that over time much put pressure on the immune system one way or another.

 

[StevenF]

Yes i am remineralising the water with a pinch of baking powder and additionally i have small pieces of cuttle fish bone in the tank, I can see that from time to time the shrimp go and eat small pieces of it and after a day or two it's gone.

Baking powder is not proper remineralization. You should be remineralizing with calcium and magnesium in at a ratio of 3 parts calcium and one part magnesium. Also it is a good idea to also have some sulfur iron and potassium with calcium and magnesium. Sachem Equilibrium will do a much better job remineralizing the water.

If your cuttle bone ( calcium carbonate) is gone in a couple of days your water is quite acidic and has very low levels of calcium and magnesium present in the water. It should last a lot longer. What is your PH?

 

[chieftain2121]

Thanks for the advice,
I will buy some Sachem Equilibrium and give that a try,
I don't know my PH right now my meter has packed up im afraid. No more deaths im happy to say, so i must be doing something right
Truth is that if one died in the night it would be gone in the morning because it would get eaten owing to the fact that there are so many of them they would have no problem scoffing one shrimp over night.