Cherry Shrimp Dying Off

[scotty]

i have lost around 10 cherry shrimp in the last 10 days and it has me stumped.

ammonia 0

nitrite 0

nitrate 5

anyone got any suggestions?

cheers

scott

 

[Baccus]

Where they large cherry shrimp? Possibly just at the end of their time?

I know cherry shrimp can handle pretty warm temps, but I find the warmer the water the quicker their lives burn out.

Could ANY spray chemicals have been used near the tank? I mean anything like even aerosol perfumes/ body sprays, household cleaning products like Glen20, or even fly spray to kill a spider?

 

[scotty]

no chemicals,mixture of adults and juviniles,temp 74

 

[Baccus]

Have you changed foods recently? Could a new food have had a higher cooper amount than previous food?

Did they show any sorts of symptoms or did you just discover them dead?

 

[scotty]

changed food recently,they just seem to lie on their sides twitching their legs

 

[Baccus]

Sounds very much like a poison possibly from the new food. Check the ingredients, I always try to get foods that are either cooper free or have really low amounts. If the food says it has cooper but doesn't state the ratio/ % and where it is listed is towards the end of the listing then its a pretty sure bet the amount is low.

 

[scotty]

i bought it from e-bay,it came vacuum packed with no label

will i need to clean the full tank and do a complete waterchange?

 

[Baccus]

I would do a pretty drastic water change if not a couple, a good vacuming of the substrate if possible and give any plants like moss a good rinse under clean water.
Was the food a flake or pellet?

If you don't have any dechlorinator you could use water straight from the tap but have it forming as much bubbles as possible as it enters either the tank or the container that you will use to fill the tank. If you have one also put in an airstone to create more bubbles. Standard chlorine evaoprates relatively quickly when exposed to oxygen, hence getting as much air into the water as possible. Usually cherry shrimp are tough, and can handle a bit of chlorione but since yours are weakened now I would try everything to ensure the water is as good as it can be.

Did the food you got have any labels? Perhaps I can do some searches on it. It was vacme sealed, when you opened it did you pit it into an airtight container? Or could moisture have got into it? The food itslef might be ok, but micro moulds may have managed to grow in the food if any moisture has somehow got into it.

 

[scotty]

no name on food,but it has this on the label

oil 8%
protein 44%
ash 8%
fibre 2%
phosphorus 1%
vitamin a 12000 iu/kg
vitamin d3 2000 iu/kg
vitamin e 100 iu/kg

if this helps

 

[Baccus]

Ok, I will do some hunting and see what I can find out. Was it suposed to be especailly for shrimp or more of just a general food?

In the meantime I will move this thread to the iverts section.

 

[scotty]

it was suppsed to be shrimp food and it is in pellet form

link to food i bought

http/www.ukfishfood.co.uk/225g_Tropical_Fish_Food_Cherry_Crystal_Red_Shrimp_Food/p480866_1711395.aspx

 

[Baccus]

Ok, I will do some back tracking from the link, I see it says in its write up that it has Spirulina but this should also appear in the list of ingredients.
Maybe you could also email the person you purchased the food from and ask them for more information on the food. I am pretty sure even if they had repackaged and vacume sealed the food into smaller packages there should have been some sort of expiry date put onto the new packaging.

 

[scotty]

expiry nov 2013

 

[scotty]

still losing the cherry shrimp,seems to be when they are due to shed their skins any suggestions how to fix this

 

[Baccus]

Do you happen to know the pH an gH of your water, trouble shedding could be down to the water chemistery although the laying on the side and twitching is usually a sign of poisoning in shrimp.
 
Is the tank by any chance a planted tank with Co2 injectors and fertilizers added? I know that people have reported swings in pH at night when the co2 injector/ infuser is turned off. Wild swings in pH can do serious harm even death to shrimp.