Losing shrimp! Help a kid out here 😩

[Alexander1702]

Hello hello one and all, I'm calling in for some much needed assistance. I'm relatively new to the hobby, but have been keeping aquariums (poorly) on and off since I was young. But these days, I'm trying to take things a bit more seriously.
I've had my little 4 gallon aquarium at the foot of my bed for a while now, and I've been keeping amano shrimp in it for about 2 or 3 months. I figure they have a lower bio load, so they would be a little more forgiving when it comes to cleaning (not to say I don't already do weekly water changes. I love my children) They have been happy and healthy for a long while now, molting well and eatin good. They bring me great joy
I've also recently (within the last 2 weeks or so) been attempting to add in a few cherry shrimp. I had them relatively successfully when I was younger and I'd love to keep em again. I haven't had luck acclimating all of them, but a few have stuck around so far. I think I really just need to home the skill set of shrimp acclimation, they're so damn fragile.
I realize this post is already drawing long, but I'm just trying to cover all my bases here. Long story short, they've all been happy and healthy for the last week or so. One of the cherries even molted without any complications, so things were looking good. Notice how I use the past tense there?
It's not the shrimp-pocolypse or anything, but I lost a cherry overnight. Not too shocking. But I lost an amano as well! One of my treasured, well lived and well loved big boys. I was deeply concerned to say the least.
So here I am. I did a bunch of obligatory water measurements this morning, but nothing looks out of the ordinary. All seems to be well, and so I'm wondering if anybody could help me out here in diagnosing my issue. Seems beyond my knowledge of tanks so far. I haven't made any large changes, I did a 1/3 water change on Thursday that's about all I can think of. The only thing that comes to mind as noticeable is that my copepod population, who usually keeps to the substrate, seems to have exploded over the last day or two. All over the glass and my dragon stone. I don't know why, and from what I heard they're not dangerous, but it's the only change I've seen. I trimmed some of my crypts last night as well, but I'm not sure what effect that would have. Anybody who might know how to stop this happening again when I return from work tonight? It would be devastating to find another one of my big amanos had passed alongside his brother.
Any and all help is appreciated. I'll provide as much of my tank specs as I can below. Thank you for reading my excessive and rambling concern post.

(The amano is still alive, but just barely. I separated him just to be safe, as I'm not sure he'll make it in the end anyway.)

3.7 gallons
Ammonia: 0.0-0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.0 ppm
Nitrate 0.0 ppm
pH: ~7.4
GH: ~140
KH: ~180
Temp: 76° F
(I don't have anything currently at my disposal with which I can test for chlorine or anything of that nature. Currently working on it)

Meds and ferts:
-Tetra Easy Balance Plus
-Seachem Acid buffer
-Seachem Equilibrium
-Seachem Neutral Regulator
-Aqueon Aquarium plant food
-Seachem Flourish advance
I haven't made any sudden changes to my water parameters, and to my knowledge there haven't been any Temperature snaps. All is being treated as just another water change, just another cleaning, just another feeding.

Any and all help is deeply appreciated. Many, many thanks

-Alexander, a deeply grateful fish keeper

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF

ANY ammonia is not good....what kind of test kit are you using?....what kind of water conditioner?

That sure is a long list of chemicals you've been adding to the tank....the more chemicals, the more complicated it becomes in keeping water params in check...especially in such a small tank

 

[Colin_T]

I would stop adding everything and do daily water changes and gravel cleans for a week to remove anything in the water. Clean the filter too if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Then see how they go. If they stop dying then it's probably an overdose of fertiliser or something else in the water. If they keep dying, then post pictures of the dead shrimp.

 

[Alexander1702]

I use an API master test kit for most of my testing, and the same brand as strips for KH and GH. I don't have very hard water so I use the equilibrium for that, plus the plant food. The acid buffer and easy balance I do use sparingly, but they're in there. The flourish excel is just being used right now to help establish some new stem plants that need a bit of a boost.

Ashamed to admit I don't know If I even use a water conditioner. I'm not even sure I know what that is to be honest, it hasn't come up thus far.

 

[Alexander1702]

I would stop adding everything and do daily water changes and gravel cleans for a week to remove anything in the water. Clean the filter too if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Then see how they go. If they stop dying then it's probably an overdose of fertiliser or something else in the water. If they keep dying, then post pictures of the dead shrimp.

What % should I be doing for these daily changes? Many thanks

 

[Slaphppy7]

What is the source of your tap water? municipal, well water, etc...?

Water conditioner is used to render any chlorine/chloramine in your tap water non-toxic...if you use city water, I can almost guarantee it is treated, probably with chloramine, since you are in the States...and if so, I'm surprised you haven't lost more shrimp than you have already

How often do you change the water in the tank?

 

[Colin_T]

I would change 30-50% each day for a week

 

[Slaphppy7]

Get either some Seachem Prime, or API Tap Water Conditioner, and do weekly WC's, as suggested above, treating the new tank water per the directions. Match the tap temp to the tank temp, as closely as possible

Stop adding all of those other chemicals/ferts, use water conditioner only for the time being

Test your tap for ammonia....chloramine will register as ammonia with the API kit...and post those results here

 

[Alexander1702]

What is the source of your tap water? municipal, well water, etc...?

Water conditioner is used to render any chlorine/chloramine in your tap water non-toxic...if you use city water, I can almost guarantee it is treated, probably with chloramine, since you are in the States...and if so, I'm surprised you haven't lost more shrimp than you have already

How often do you change the water in the tank?

It is municipal indeed. I realize this isn't exactly a water tight source of information, but my uncle has kept fish since he was around my age and I heard from him that if your water is just left open for 12-24 hours before you treat/use it, it helps with chlorine, something about evaporation. I don't know how true this is, but I've been doing it for a while and it hasn't done me wrong so far, but I'll certainly pick up a bottle of conditioner somewhere.

 

[Alexander1702]

It is municipal indeed. I realize this isn't exactly a water tight source of information, but my uncle has kept fish since he was around my age and I heard from him that if your water is just left open for 12-24 hours before you treat/use it, it helps with chlorine, something about evaporation. I don't know how true this is, but I've been doing it for a while and it hasn't done me wrong so far, but I'll certainly pick up a bottle of conditioner somewhere.

Also, I do a 25-30% water change at least once a week

 

[Alexander1702]

Get either some Seachem Prime, or API Tap Water Conditioner, and do weekly WC's, as suggested above, treating the new tank water per the directions. Match the tap temp to the tank temp, as closely as possible

Stop adding all of those other chemicals/ferts, use water conditioner only for the time being

Test your tap for ammonia....chloramine will register as ammonia with the API kit...and post those results here

I'll test some as soon as I'm home. I've tested it before and it reads 0 for Ammonia and nitr(i/a)tes but I'll test again to be sure

 

[Slaphppy7]

It is municipal indeed. I realize this isn't exactly a water tight source of information, but my uncle has kept fish since he was around my age and I heard from him that if your water is just left open for 12-24 hours before you treat/use it, it helps with chlorine, something about evaporation. I don't know how true this is, but I've been doing it for a while and it hasn't done me wrong so far, but I'll certainly pick up a bottle of conditioner somewhere.

Stand by for a sec...in the middle of a WC, as a matter of fact, lol

 

[Slaphppy7]

It is municipal indeed. I realize this isn't exactly a water tight source of information, but my uncle has kept fish since he was around my age and I heard from him that if your water is just left open for 12-24 hours before you treat/use it, it helps with chlorine, something about evaporation. I don't know how true this is, but I've been doing it for a while and it hasn't done me wrong so far, but I'll certainly pick up a bottle of conditioner somewhere.

Chloramine has taken the place of chlorine for the last several years, in most if not all of the States, for use in tap water, to make it potable

Your uncle was right, chlorine will "gas off" after several hours, in a bucket or bin, then be safe to use the next day, or so

Not true with chloramine...it does not gas off, so needs to be treated before adding to aquariums

 

[Alexander1702]

Chloramine has taken the place of chlorine for the last several years, in most if not all of the States, for use in tap water, to make it potable

Your uncle was right, chlorine will "gas off" after several hours, in a bucket or bin, then be safe to use the next day, or so

Not true with chloramine...it does not gas off, so needs to be treated before adding to aquariums

 

[Alexander1702]

Learn something new everyday. I'll be picking up a bottle of water conditioner with haste