Shrimp Looking Ill?

[mike455555]

okay back story.

planted tank filter cycled
dosing ferts macro and mico
co2 injection
shrimp, are blue pearls started with 3. 2 died have 1 left and ordered 8 more online. they arrived today and compared to my last surviving shrimp they are much more active and the 1 i had before is almost white and slow in it's movements

should i stop dosing the micro fertilizers (which contain's copper) its 10ml every 2 day's is the copper the cause of the shrimp dieing?

 

[phoenixgsd]

i have shrimp and was told not to use anything that conatins traces of copper as its leathal to them

 

[mike455555]

i'll stop dosing the micro's then i reckon thats what it is whats killed my first 2... 80% water change ? and no more dosing micro's from now on.... but wont my plants suffer?

 

[phoenixgsd]

but wont my plants suffer?

i dont know sorry, plants are ps3stevos department

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Plants will suffer mate as they'll have N&P and no micro's, don't understand it really as I dose both and my shrimp have always been fine, plus how do everyone else's shrimp survive with full ferts? Maybe its such a minimal amount its not what's affecting them?

 

[mike455555]

thats what im also thinking. its 10ml of cu and on the mico info it says its 23% copper. but i find that hard to believe it might be 23% in 1 tbs (which is needed to mix up the ferts)

maybe i should half dose of the mico's? or quarter it?

 

[Baccus]

The one reason I don't fertilize my tanks is the fear that the copper will eventually kill off my shrimp. Although one of the shrimp foods my shrimp love to eat (think its really designed more for catfish etc but try telling shrimp that), does contian traces of copper and it has not affected the shrimp. Really its the levels of copper and the eventual build up of copper in the tank system that seems to do shrimp in.
But from your description of the almost white shrimp and it stumpling about this link might help
http/shrimpsider.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/bacterical-infection-of-shrimp/

 

[mike455555]

thanks it might well be that. in which case my new shrimp will also be in danger. thank you for the link

 

[Baccus]

Its a very useful link, hope it helps you.
Personally if buying shrimp from a pet shop/ LFS I would observe the tank carefully and if any of the shrimp show the whitening of their bodies I would avoid the whole tank load. Most shops aren't vigilent with removing dead fish so removing a dead shrimp to stop the others feasting on it is going to be even less likely.
Best of luck with the shrimp.
An idea you might be able to do and still fertilze your plants is use dried rabbit droppings, just put a pellet under the plant. Also I have heard of a lot of shrimp keepers using a fertlizer called DINO PEE, which I think is pretty shrimp safe.
Or if you have or know of somebody that has a worm farm the "tea" that gets drained off the worm farm is a fantastic fertilizer and already in liquid form....however it may make your tank brown.