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Having problems with baby shrimp


MarkNJD15

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So for the past year I have had RCS and they are having a lot of babies. Now, the problem is that they don't seem to be making it past 1/4 inch. I also have CRS in the same tank and they are getting close to breeding age. I'm hoping I don't have this issue with them.

 

Distilled water

Temp- 72-73F

TDS 200-250 (I do a w/c when the TDS get above 250)

pH- 6.8-7.3

Ammonia- 0 ppm

NO2- 0 ppm

N03- 20-30ppm

GH-6

KH-0

 

A little over a month ago I switched foods and started to feed them Mosura BioPlus, Mosura Specialty Crystal Red Shrimp Food and blanched spinach. 

 

What do you guys/gals recommend I do to fix this problem?

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Maybe try keeping your nitrates closer to 10ppm? That's the only thing I can think of, your tank seems to have hiding spots and there aren't any fish in there that I seen. Everything else seems to be middle of the road good, so I can't see any issues.

 

Have you seen any planaria or hydra in the tanks?

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Maybe try keeping your nitrates closer to 10ppm? That's the only thing I can think of, your tank seems to have hiding spots and there aren't any fish in there that I seen. Everything else seems to be middle of the road good, so I can't see any issues.

 

Have you seen any planaria or hydra in the tanks?

 

No and no.

With your KH at 0, I'd say you're likely having PH swings?

 

I would wager that could be an issue. 

I haven't checked the pH in the morning, maybe I should. Any other pH change happens over a weeks time, usually longer. By the time my TDS reaches 250 the pH is about 7.3 so I do a few gallon w/c. Besides w/c's, what's a good way to lower NO3, preferably without chemicals?

Maybe purchase a canister filter and add some kinda of media to it? I have a dual sponge filter and a HOB, no biowheel right now for filtration.

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Wait, didn't you say in your other thread that you did 10 gallon water changes weekly? Your nitrates shouldn't be anywhere near that high using distilled water with 10 gallon  water change 2 or 3 times a month, something is up, unless you have way more shrimp than I've seen in the pictures.

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I have a few questions...

 

  1. What are you using to remineralize your water? 
  2. Are you dosing any ferts?   
  3. Is the tank planted?
  4. What size is the tank and how many shrimp do you think are in there?

 

The nitrates look high given the amount of water changes you are doing and that shrimp don't produce that much waste.  I am wondering if you could be overfeeding (I assume they are eating everything you give them) or if you are having plants that are dying and creating nitrates or if your filters are dirty and giving off nitrates.  When did you last squeeze out those sponge filters or rinse the media in your HOB?

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I've been busy at work lately and have cut back on water changes. I just did a 4 gallon tonight and it's probably been 2-3 weeks since the last. My tank has a lot of plants in it also. As for over feeding, I don't think I'm anywhere near that. Every other day typically I switch out feeding them Bioplus (level spoonfull) and Specialty CRS food. I don't even feed them  a whole strip of that CRS food either, maybe 2-3 1/4" pieces I break off the strip. They eat everything I feed them also. As for remineralizing the water, I have those mineral rocks in the tank and they keep it around 200-250 TDS. If I drop the TDS below 200 I have Bee Shrimp Mineral GH+ to add to the water. Not dosing anything, 30 gallon tank with probably 30 adult CRS and RCS mixed with 25+- baby RCS.

I'm gonna do a 2 gallon w/c on Sunday and maybe another one on Wednesday of next week. 

It's been maybe 2 months since I've cleaned out the sponge filters. The HOB I just threw out an old filter and added a new one. It has two filter pads in it, I throw one out and rotate the old and new. My plants aren't dying or losing leaves so I don't see them being the issue. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 years later...
On 9/12/2013 at 6:33 AM, MarkNJD15 said:

 

No and no.

I haven't checked the pH in the morning, maybe I should. Any other pH change happens over a weeks time, usually longer. By the time my TDS reaches 250 the pH is about 7.3 so I do a few gallon w/c. Besides w/c's, what's a good way to lower NO3, preferably without chemicals?

Maybe purchase a canister filter and add some kinda of media to it? I have a dual sponge filter and a HOB, no biowheel right now for filtration.

Since i use biohome ultra filter media on my canister my nitrates have dropped to about 1ppm i fear For the plants

 

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NO3 is a shrimplet killer. For Caridina shrimp you need 0-5 ppm NO3 to get a decent survival rate. At 5-10ppm I'm not sure if at least 10% will survive. At 20-30ppm I would expect the adults to be dead within 4-6 months.

 

As for vacuuming - at the NO3 level you have right now most likely no shrimplets will survive anyway so don't be bothered by that - just vacuum the tank to control the NO3.

I had the same issue in my planted tank, and I also though that vacuuming won't work - wasn't true. Vacuuming did work and in fact is essential for proper NO3 control in my tank.

I'm not sure what is your substrate is, but I have a planted tank with Eleocharis Parvula as carpet and a 5mm-10mm grain substrate. The muck gets between the substrate and I just vacuum it by pressing the tube real hard to the substrate - the plants stay in place most of the time, while muck gets sucked out nicely.

 

 

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 3-1-2017 at 9:20 PM, dao said:

NO3 is a shrimplet killer. For Caridina shrimp you need 0-5 ppm NO3 to get a decent survival rate. At 5-10ppm I'm not sure if at least 10% will survive. At 20-30ppm I would expect the adults to be dead within 4-6 months.

 

As for vacuuming - at the NO3 level you have right now most likely no shrimplets will survive anyway so don't be bothered by that - just vacuum the tank to control the NO3.

I had the same issue in my planted tank, and I also though that vacuuming won't work - wasn't true. Vacuuming did work and in fact is essential for proper NO3 control in my tank.

I'm not sure what is your substrate is, but I have a planted tank with Eleocharis Parvula as carpet and a 5mm-10mm grain substrate. The muck gets between the substrate and I just vacuum it by pressing the tube real hard to the substrate - the plants stay in place most of the time, while muck gets sucked out nicely.

 

 

 

 

This is not true! 

I don't think you know the difference between NO3 and NO2!

NO3 WON'T kill your shrimplets. Unless it is way to high

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34 minutes ago, nuri said:

This is not true! 

I don't think you know the difference between NO3 and NO2!

NO3 WON'T kill your shrimplets. Unless it is way to high

 

We will have to disagree on that - from my experience, proper shrimplet survival rate is possible only with NO3 close to 0 (at least if we are talking Taiwan Bee and most likely high grade CRS). It won't kill your shrimp instantly, which is why I believe many overlook it's influence on shrimp condition, but it is a toxin nonetheless and shrimps are very vulnerable to it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nitrate is a killer of shrimp but although we strive for under 10ppm under 20 is maybe not ideal but won't kill them ,

your problem seems to be when your babies get to,the foraging on the soil stage  remember at this size they moult often and bad bacteria in the soil will kill them , the hope is nitrifying bacteria in the soil helps break down waste Ie poop uneaten food if the colony of good bacteria is out of balance with bad bacteria baby survival can drop to,zero 

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  • 4 weeks later...

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