Tpshrimper Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 All, Looking for some advice on increasing the shrimplet survival rate in my 10g Taiwan bee tank. I've had 3 berried females over the past 2 months and haven't had any shrimplets survive more than a few days, 1 week tops. I have 2 currently berried and due sometime in the next 10-15 days and am hoping this time is different. Ammonia 0 Nitrites 0 Nitrates 5 or less Ph 6.4 I bought some glasgarten baby powder food, and have some additional moss coming from Han tomorrow. I've dosed Bacter ae in the past but considering switching to magic powder (use that in crystal tank and seem to have better results) A couple weeks ago I also reduced the flow in the tank as I read in some old random post that can mess up the shrimplets. I'm also planning on not doing anything at all to the tank when we get closer to due date. Any other suggestions? I'm sure I'm probably overthinking it, but dying to raise some tbs to adulthood. Thanks shrimpers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotf Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 gH, kH, TDS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClownPlanted Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 Yeah most important is GH and tds. What is your buffering substrate?? You should have a buffering substrate and 0 KH. How are you preparing the water? How long ahead of time? Recommended to remineralize the RO water about a week ahead of time. Also what remineralizer are you using for GH? And what is the GH level? 5 for me typically is the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpshrimper Posted January 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 GH 5 KH 0 TDS fluctuates between 125-135 SL Aqua nature soil Water is prepared day before, rodi, Salty shrimp gh+, airstone overnight. Top offs every 3 days or so, 20% water change every 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotf Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 It's strange that you're seeing so many deaths with those parameters, they seem to be fine. Judging from your post, it also sounds like this is an older tank so I'm guessing your biofilm production is alright. Do you have anything weird in the tank? Unidentified rocks? Scuds? Decorations? Fish? Are your temps really high or really low? Are you injecting CO2 in a TB tank? Maybe throw an air stone in there? Test for copper? These are all pretty obvious, I'm just throwing them out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 How old is the tank? Like @aotf said, it seems like it's an older tank but if it's not then you may need to get your biofilm production up. You could try dosing powdered foods every other day, that will help quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpshrimper Posted January 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 Tank has been running as is for about 5 months. No CO2, no rocks (learned that lesson on another tank with some seiryu stone), no fish, no decorations, no unwanted critters, only copepods and a few ramshorn snails. Cholla wood, buce, floaters, and a little bit of moss but will be adding more. Large sponge filter with media compartments at bottom. Temp running about 73.5. When you say powder food do you mean Bacter or magic powder or something like the glasgarten baby food? The biofilm issue definitely crossed my mind. That and focusing on keeping the parameters completely stable around the time the shrimplets are born. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 OK, so you should have at least a decent amount of biofilm built up. Most powdered food will break down into Biofilm quite quickly. Powdered spirulina algae, brewers yeast, powdered veggies, Bacter AE, Magic Powder, etc... ...those will all break down into Biofilm, some more quickly than others. I'd also think of adding some leaf litter, it creates a place for shrimplets to hide and provides a huge amount of organic surface area for biofilm to grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpshrimper Posted January 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) I added two good size Indian almond leaves last night. I haven't added Bacter ae in about a week, am I good to switch to the magic powder? It probably won't make a bit of difference but at least in my own mind the magic powder seems to be working gangbusters in my crystal tank. And just a sidenote, this forum is legit. In a hobby like this there really is no better tool. Hats off to you guys and gals. Keep on trucking. Edited January 31, 2018 by Tpshrimper Grammar TattooedShrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 You could swap over at any time, it shouldn't make a difference which one you use. I utilize a homemade mixture of different things in my tanks and so far it's working pretty well! This forum is pretty great isn't it? I'd really like to see it grow a bit more so the content refreshes more often. Keep on posting!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimporama Posted February 1, 2018 Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 I am a big fan of leaf litter! It provides hiding spots, biofilm and health benefits. I bought the shrimp pack and pleco pack from Tannin aquatics, a member here, I love the natural look and my shrimpies love it. I also bought mulberry powder from wyzazz and my shrimpies love it. Water parameters stability is the key. I am not sure but is temperature too high? I keep my tanks at or below 70. Just a thought. It's very easy to overdose the powdered foods, if shrimp are busy and you have biofilm you may not have to feed daily, even with babies. wyzazz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpshrimper Posted February 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 I keep the temperature right at around 73.5. Seems like everyone has opinions on best temperature, that may be a little high or a little low depending on who you ask. Added even more leaf litter last night, some more moss, and a few more floaters, and did a 20% water change. Both shrimp have been berried for about 21 days so I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes. Shrimporama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted February 1, 2018 Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 11 minutes ago, Tpshrimper said: I keep the temperature right at around 73.5. Seems like everyone has opinions on best temperature, that may be a little high or a little low depending on who you ask. Added even more leaf litter last night, some more moss, and a few more floaters, and did a 20% water change. Both shrimp have been berried for about 21 days so I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes. That's correct, everyone has their own opinions. AFAIK, a higher temperature just increases metabolism, and thusly decreases life-span. There is also a correlation to a higher rate of bacterial infection as the temperatures rise, but overall I think if you keep a clean tank you are fine at those temps. In any case, good luck and keep us posted!!! Shrimporama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uriel RT Posted February 1, 2018 Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 It seems odd not even few babies are surviving, have you checked you Nitrates? I have also heard that Bacter AE causes issues if fed to much, I use Magic Powder 3-4 times a week and a few others once in a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpshrimper Posted February 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2018 3 hours ago, Uriel RT said: It seems odd not even few babies are surviving, have you checked you Nitrates? I have also heard that Bacter AE causes issues if fed to much, I use Magic Powder 3-4 times a week and a few others once in a while. There is a very real possibility I was overdosing Bacter ae on the tank. I wasn't exactly "precise" on how much I was adding and when. A little gung ho if you will. I have switched back to magic powder and am going to feed small amounts 3 times a week. Shrimporama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpshrimper Posted February 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2018 First group of babies born. Everything should be in order, ton of leaf litter, nitrates measured at mayyybe 5 ppm last night, and I'm doing a tiny pinch of glasgarten baby every other day, and magic powder 3 times a week. This guy looks like he has good color, any insight on how that will play out as he gets older? Will the color fade or should he maintain the good blue in the attached photo? Probably born in the past 24 hours. Uriel RT, wyzazz and afeather 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatlady Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 I'm still pretty new to Shrimp keeping, I have been using the glasgarten line of food, but I see some of you use "magic powder" what is this? I would love to try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 It''s an SL-Aqua product. https://www.discobee.com/products/sl-aqua-magic-powder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleeon Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 From may amateur analyze, it must be from the shrimps : they are stressed before going inside to your aquarium, sick and stress, but they hold it till dying the shrimps is too old or hard to adapt with new water or shocked the shrimp is not the healthy descendant and get selected by natural process from the water source make sure the water is safe wash hand and other before get inside aquarium check all material inside aquarium, including woods and rocks, some of it can slowly release some chemical compound which make shrimp disturbed remember, Our aquarium is closed habitat, no place to run for the shrimps, do not like river, if they don't like, they can simply move into convenient place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILikeAsianBooty Posted March 14, 2018 Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 Ones thing for sure, dont put your intake/sponge next to the glass. Walked home to 5-10 of my newborns 1-7 days old smushed against the glass/sponge somehow zzzz . wyzazz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted March 14, 2018 Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 8 hours ago, ILikeAsianBooty said: Ones thing for sure, dont put your intake/sponge next to the glass. Walked home to 5-10 of my newborns 1-7 days old smushed against the glass/sponge somehow zzzz . That's a bummer for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILikeAsianBooty Posted March 14, 2018 Report Share Posted March 14, 2018 5 hours ago, wyzazz said: That's a bummer for sure! Yeah I know it sucks but its all just a learning process. Moved the intake away from the glass to prevent further deaths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevinB Posted March 26, 2018 Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 When I feed Bacter AE,or any other powdered food for babies, I usually dip a toothpick into my bottle of top up water I have sitting around about the depth of my fingernail (slightly over a 1/4 inch probably) and then shake off the excess water and just lightly roll that in the top of the powder then swirl it around in the tank to make sure it spreads around evenly. I do this every other day in most tanks, but my tanks that have alot of babies I do this every day switching between different foods. They don't need alot of food at a time but they need it fairly often when first starting out.I always put in the food for the adults about 5 minutes before hand so that they are occupied and don't just gobble down the powder food before the babies can find it. Are the newest babies surviving still? Have there been any more since? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILikeAsianBooty Posted March 29, 2018 Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 It seems to me like the babies prefer biofilm 95% of the time from what I can see. I've tried all types of food but none really attracts them except for magic powder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColForbin Posted April 10, 2018 Report Share Posted April 10, 2018 I picked up baby bio since I read someone else having the same issue. I've had great luck with it. On my first batch of PRLs and I can count about 20 at any given time so I assume there are a few more in there as well. They are about 5 weeks old so far. Hopefully they stay alive for another month or so. Should be in the clear at that point. Also, my heaters were drifting to get hotter and hotter. I ended up getting a cobalt 25W heater and I love it. I set it to 68 to play it on the safe side. Lots of people in my shrimp club suggested to stay below 72 as well. I'd check your heater size and consider getting a cobalt so it's more accurate. If you decided to get a 50W or greater heater you might have some issues. I know my shrimplets love crawling on the heater. Even if your water is 72.5, it might be closer to 80deg when they are walking on the heater. I even got a blister from my 25W heater (glass one not the cobalt) after I pulled it out of the water AND it was unplugged for a minute or two. BTW, I do water changes weekly and 10% when I do. Also, I bring my water up to temperature and then still drip it into my tank. I feel like these are all overkill things to do, but I seem to be doing everything you are doing to a T, except water changes and I hold a lower temperature. My only other guess is planaria, but I doubt you have those. If you do see worm like things, just make sure they have a pointy head. I thought I had em as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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