Shipping shrimp with Prime ?

[vinniemabuna]

Hi, I just shipped some red shrimp, I used poly bags , moss for them to hang onto and a drop of prime in the shipping water. I have always used prime in the past when also shipping guppies and red shrimp. Does the drop or 2 of prime make the PH go up ? I use it for protection of ammonia in transit to the new owner is it nessessary? Does the Moss absorb ammonia also ? thanks.

[ShrimpP]

Prime won't change the pH. It's not necessary for shipping as shrimp produce very little bioload, but it does have that benefit of detoxifying ammonia so it's a good thing. Moss does utilize nitrogen (ammonia), but it's a slow grower so wouldn't really do much, plus it needs light (which isn't inside a closed box!) for photosynthesis to even use up the ammonia. The moss does give the shrimp something to hold onto during transit, which they like and does help keep them from getting crushed while in transit. The moss does provide some microorganisms that the shrimp eat, which can add a tiny bit to the bioload production, but again it's very minimal, so it's not much to worry about at all. Most worry-some may be temperature fluctuations or extremes. Kordon breather bags are nice to use, rather than using a regular bag with a air pocket.

[EKLiu]

I would not use Prime (or any other product) for shipping shrimp.  1 drop doesn't seem like much, but in a small bag of water,  it is possibly too much.  Instead of using a piece of moss for the shrimp to hang onto, I suggest something inorganic, such as a small piece of filter floss or sponge.  A plant or moss is not going to have light for a few days, so parts if it may start to decay, which will use up oxygen in the bag.  Its probably not a bad idea to not feed the shrimp a day before you ship them.  Less waste and less ammonia in the bag that way.

I have shipped hundreds of CRS, OEBT, and Royal Blues using Kordon bags and highly reccomend them.  No pocket of air in the bag to so the water does not slosh around.

[Soothing Shrimp]

Some people are using a pinch of purigen in the bags now, as a precautionary measure.

[slycat929]

I prefer the pinch of purigen. I know of a couple of breeders/importers who have been doing this for a long time and I never had a DOA from them. 

[ShrimpP]

If I am not mistaken, Purigen only binds to organic matter to keep them from breaking down into ammonia, it does not directly detoxify ammonia, nitrite or nitrates. In other words, Purigen would keep things like fish food and decaying leaves/matter from decomposing into ammonia, but it won't detoxify ammonia coming directly from fish/shrimp excretion. Where as Prime would detoxify/convert Nitrogen into a non-toxic form for 24-48 hours.

So from my understanding, Purigen wouldn't help, unless you had decaying organic matter in the bags (only sources that should/might be there would be plants/moss or dead shrimp). Still, Prime would be better. Prime can safely be dosed at 5 times the normal dosage (actually recommended on the label for emergency detoxification scenarios).

But again, nitrogenous waste from dwarf shrimp is very minimal. Oxygen, stress from transportation vibrations, and temperature fluctuation or extremes are more cause for concern.