Shrimp Behaviour - Should I Be Concerned?

[Ch4rlie]

Morning,
 
This morning, i have noticed some of my RCS behaving a bit unusually. 
 
The bigger shrimps, the more redder ones are behaving as perfectly normally, eating and moving about as per normal, however the smaller more clearer shrimps, probably younger males maybe, am a newbie, sorry can't be more specific when describing them

 are running back and forth along the length of the tank.
 
Now, have tested water parameters : pH - 7.4 (a bit lower than normally at 8), Ammonia - 0ppm, Nitrite - 0ppm, Nitrates 40ppm. So all these readings are spot on really.
 
Is it normal for shrimps to be running around in the mornings?
 
Normally I have left the house by this time to go to work but today am working from home so a different time for me to be observing the tank. So this could be possible normal behaviour. Is it?
 
All the fish are fine and swimming about like they usually do, and snails are ok, not at top of water surface or buried under gravel or displaying any behaviour that would indicate something wrong with the tank water.
 
Just the few clearer shrimps, about 4, running about sort of in a panic but that could just be me though!
 
Sorry if this is a daft question 

 

[Lillefishy]

The males do this when there's a female ready to mate, they'll swim all over the tanks searching for her, mine do it regularly

 

[stanleo]

I had this happen with ALL of my shrimp. The problem was a clogged filter. CHeck your filter just in case.
 
Could also be heavy metal poisoning. Have you added anything to the tank recently? If you have, if you want to be safe, add fresh carbon to your filter and do a 50-75 % water change with detoxified water. Do the changes every day for a few days at least to get rid of it.
 
I don't mean to scare you with that. The most likely cause is this. Are your females saddled? That is do they have white patches on their backs that look like saddles? Those are eggs in the overies and it means they are ready to breed. They are releasing a hormone in the tank that is making the males hyper and ready to mate. If it is this, it is perfectly normal behavior.
 
Also, they can go crazy like that if they are hungry looking for food. Make sure you are feeding them enough.
 
I hope I didn't scare you. When this happened to mine, I didn't lose any of them. But when I posted the same question as you, the first response was "I think you will find that they are all going to die" Scared the crap out of me. Hope I was helpful.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

My amanos used to go nuts sometimes lol it's great fun to watch. My tank was healthy and they never showed any other symptoms so I just went with the "males being a bit randy" theory

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ahhh, thats such a relief!! LOL
 
And heres me racking my brain if did anything differently during last water change or added anything to water..........

 
That does sound really plausible as have had 2 shrimps who have had eggs but dropped them recently (my fault as I accidentally shocked them when shut the cabinet door too hard/loudly, have since fitted soft close hinges)
 
And yes, females do have saddles just behind their heads.
 
And no you did not scare me, just got wide eyed for a second

 lol
 
By the way, the filter is massive for this tank size, got a bargain for a second hand Tetratec EX 1200 with mature media (was fishless cycling at the time and grabbed the bargain!!

 ) and its mahoosive! lol, but have turned control valve way down and water flow is pretty much perfect with the spray bar.
 
I do regularly feed them algae wafers so it won't be them running around for food.
 
And that advice is most helpful, great to know for future.
 
Anyway, that really does sound interesting and will be watching the shrimps behaviour.
 
Thanks

 

[bigcheed]

classic mating behaviour. one of the main differences in sex with red cherry shrimp is the colouration. females are larger and a deeper red. the mating process begins when a saddled female is ready to molt. she releases a chemical signal into the water that lets the males know shes ready. this is what causes the crazy behaviour.as she molts the eggs are released from the saddle in her back and drop under her swimmerets where the lucky male who finds her gets to fertilise them. so nothing at all to worry about. if all of your shrimp were flying round the tank and going to the surface a lot then id be concerned.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Thats all good.
 
Lets hope I'll never see ALL the shrimps running about and going to water surface. That would be nightmare scenario for me!
 
But this is just down to randy males as AlmOstAwsome said.
 
Learn something new everyday don't you?! Nice one!