Shrimpapore Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 Hello I am a new shrimp hobbyist who is desperately trying to pinpoint what is killing my poor little shrimps. We've been having issues with our pH slowly rising despite having indian almond leaves and alder cones in the tank. We've also used some of those acid/alkaline buffers when doing a water change to see if that will help. Yesterday I got my digital TDS reader and about fell onto the floor seeing that our shrimp tank is at 370 TDS. Our fish tank, for contrast, is at 120. The differences between the two is that our fish tank has gravel substrate and a ceramic decoration for hiding. Our shrimp tank has a sand substrate (bag says no pH change, inert, etc) and a rock decoration that our local fish store told us was inert and we would have no problems with it. I suspect it is the rock decoration as it seems to be a sedimentary rock, that when submerged, is gorgeous with various striations. I suspect the redder bands may be iron, and the lighter bands may be calcium deposits. Currently I have a bucket of distilled water sitting with the rock decoration to see if the TDS raises. Also have a bucket with some of the sand substrate and distilled water. Our tank specs are: 5.5 gallons (sigh, I know... small apartment plus we saw so many guides saying 2 gallons and up is fine! We are planning to get a 3rd tank that is 10-30 gallons for the next go round, but in the mean time in order for me to earn the new tank i have to solve the issue of dead shrimp. ) pH: 6.8-7.2 (we get it to 6.8 and it stays there, then slowly creeps up over the next 10 days until the next water change) nitrate: 0 nitrite: 0 ammonia: 0 gh: 30 Kh: 40 temps: have a heater so they stay 75-77F have live plants: moss balls, java moss, a plant i dont remember the name of have a sponge filter ---- We got a new shipment of shrimp 3 weeks ago. And have lost 8 since then. 6 in the first few days, and then things evened up for about a week and a half and then this last weekend we lost one on Friday and one on Sunday. --- Thank you anyone who replies for your time and help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 what kind of shrimp? your gh & kh, are they measured in ppm? My best guess would be the rock especially since you said it is gorgeous with colorful striations in it. You can also do the acid test to see if it fizzes. If it does then it is a concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpapore Posted April 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 32 minutes ago, chappy6107 said: what kind of shrimp? your gh & kh, are they measured in ppm? My best guess would be the rock especially since you said it is gorgeous with colorful striations in it. You can also do the acid test to see if it fizzes. If it does then it is a concern. Oh.. I have seen this vinegar test mentioned but never could find specifics on what to do and what it means. I will do it tonight! We have various colored neo shrimp and one lone, champion of a red crystal shrimp that survived when his brother did not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILikeAsianBooty Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 Y r u trying to buffer ph? Use di to 220tds, works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 15 hours ago, Shrimpapore said: Oh.. I have seen this vinegar test mentioned but never could find specifics on what to do and what it means. I will do it tonight! We have various colored neo shrimp and one lone, champion of a red crystal shrimp that survived when his brother did not. vinegar test - fill a glass bowl with white vinegar, place rock into bowl. let sit a while. If bubbles start to form, it is not for shrimp tanks as it will raise water parameters. what type of shrimp do you have? this will tell you what your parameters should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smitty78 Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 Would it happen to be ohko (dragon stone)? If so, you should be fine there. If it's something like seirya stone, I would remove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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