# What is killing my shrimps?



## Ben C (4 Jan 2015)

I've successfully kept and bred red cherry shrimps for years and I've read about largely unexplained mass die-offs before, but its now happening to me.. 

I'm losing about 10 shrimps a night at the moment but just a moment ago, found one in the final throes of death. On closer inspection, I noticed what looked like a fungus (it actually looked like its own exoskeleton) attached to the front of its face. It was kicking around the water column as if trying to get this thing off itself. 

I've never seen that before, but it was quite distressing to watch. Does anyone have any idea what this could be and what the solution is? 

The tank is a red cherry-only tank, no substrate (as it was only supposed to be temporary) and I'm well on top of water changes. I'm confident parameters are not to blame for this, particularly having just seen the above. 

Thanks for your help, all. 

Ben


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## dw1305 (4 Jan 2015)

Hi all, 





Ben C said:


> I've successfully kept and bred red cherry shrimps for years and I've read about largely unexplained mass die-offs before, but its now happening to me..


 If you use tap water it is often a lot softer in the winter, so it may be a problem with low water hardness. 

cheers Darrel


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## nduli (4 Jan 2015)

Agree with Darrel. I lost hundreds 2 years ago which stopped late spring having been left with just 4.... I noticed last year that tds dropped to 70 over winter. I now re-mineralise to at least 130 using salty shrimp. The stuff on the face could have been moult it couldn't rid itself of. I occasionally add some beta-glucans which is an immune booster from genchem but you can use thinks like alder comes, banana leaves, oak leaves or catappa leaves.


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## Ben C (4 Jan 2015)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,  If you use tap water it is often a lot softer in the winter, so it may be a problem with low water hardness.



Wow - I had no idea about this. That's an incredible revelation.
I'll get on to it now..

Thanks both


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## bogwood (5 Jan 2015)

For me the most helpful piece of kit i own as a shrimp/soft water user is a TDS pen. Spend what you can afford, mine cost about £10.
Use it for all water that goes in or out of the tank.

Hope your problems are solved.


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## dw1305 (5 Jan 2015)

Hi all,





Ben C said:


> Wow - I had no idea about this. That's an incredible revelation.
> I'll get on to it now..


It depends upon whether your tap supply is from a deep aquifer, or from surface flow (via reservoir or river). 

If your water comes from a deep aquifer it will be fairly consistent in chemistry and is very likely to be hard (a lot of aquifers are limestone), but if it come from surface flow, the water in the river or reservoir will be mainly rain-water in the winter and a lot softer than it is in the summer.

Like "Bogwood" says a conductivity meter is a good idea (all TDS meters are really conductivity meters), they are low maintenance, robust bits of kit, and even a cheapish meter will give you a fairly accurate reading.

cheers Darrel


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## ukjay (28 Feb 2015)

If you have noticed a shrimp with issues releasing its exoskeleton, then there is another contentious area which may be worth looking into.
This area could be a calcium / iodine imbalance in its diet (basically a deficiency) as these two parameters are supposedly very important  for shrimps to molt correctly.

They would normally get the calcium and iodine from their diet, but if for some reason the uptake is restricted due to poor diet, the shrimp will not be getting enough to maintain the correct levels within its body which has been reported to be a contributor to shrimps dying through failed molts.

Just adding another area to possibly investigate the deaths of the shrimps.

Kind regards

Jay


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## basil (31 Mar 2015)

Thats the problem with tap, its impossible to guarantee any kind of stability for any length of time. Soon enough something will change or get added to supply without you ever knowing and some of these changes can prove fatal for shrimp. I've found the only way to maintain consistent water for shrimp is to use RO and to remineralise new water to add back in the essential elements they need, particularly for moult. That's about as close to control as you'll ever get and when stability is king for most shrimp, it's really the best fix for long term piece of mind


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## sciencefiction (4 Apr 2015)

The water could be too soft as suggested.
Cherry shrimp are otherwise super tough. I found one surviving in a glass bowl I had set up last summer on the window sill, temperature 12C, TDS over 1000. It was munching on top of the big bunch of moss the sides of which were covered in mould and very little water to move around, although I topped it up when I thought of it.


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## sciencefiction (20 Apr 2015)

I hope you've resolved the problem with the shrimp.


I found more shrimp today, baking themselves under the sunshine in my neglected bowls.  I don't know how did they survive the winter, such low temps, TDS sky high,  also no food at all.

I think one of the reasons my shrimp maybe so hardy is because all my hundreds of shrimp were started with 2 cherry females and 3 red rili shrimp, from totally different populations, so not that inbred as some others maybe.

Warning!! Very ugly!!







Female shrimp carrying eggs!! Bottom of picture. She's a bit pale. I suppose she hasn't watched her diet ....


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