NEW 20 GALLON RCS TANK

[jkclek]

Hello,

So I just set up a new shrimp tank (20gal), finished cyclind about 2 weeks ago. I added about 20 RCS
but they are dying daily, and the ones that are alive arent moving.

So I tested my water and it is as below:

ammonia- 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 7~8
PH- 7.0
KH - 2 DROP THEN TURNED WHITE/SLIGHTLY YELLOW
GH - 4 DROP THEN TURNED VERY SLIGHT GREEN.
TEMP - 78~79 degrees 

I think the KH and GH is the problem. Not sure. 1st time testing for gh and kh.

Will these water parameters be better for crystal red shrimps??

If not, I will get some equilibrium and baking soda to raise gh and kh

PLEASE INPUT!
I NEED HELP. MY SHRIMPS DYING!

[bluestarfish]

I'm a rather new to shrimp, but going off the suggested parameters here, your GH and KH are fine? Dunno how sensitive they really are to temperature, but I keep mine around 71-72. 78-79 is pushing it for many fish, so I imagine the shrimp don't like it much either.

I'd be more suspicious of the nitrates, 7-8 ppm isn't terrible, but it's higher than desirable.

[daimen]

Nitrates are massive. 7 to 8. They shouldnt be more then .2 get a big water change going and keep them going for a few days. How did you decide the cycle was finished?

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[jayc]

Those parameters are within RCS range. And the temp, if I converted it right, is between 25-26 deg C, which isn't the end of the world for RCS.

 

There must be something else that the shrimp do not like.

i would have liked to know your TDS value, if you can get it. But I realise not everyone has a TDS meter.

 

show us a picture of your full tank.

Describe your water preparation method. Do you add any conditioners, ferts, etc. what brand, how much ?

 

 

[Madmerv]

2 hours ago, daimen said:

Nitrates are massive. 7 to 8. They shouldnt be more then .2 
 

You might be thinking of nitrites there Damen. My nitrate test kit measures in the 10s of ppm not the 0.1s. 

[daimen]

Isnt .7 and .8 high anyway?

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[jayc]

If it's Nitrites, then any detectable reading is too high.

But if it's Nitratres then 5-10 is reasonable and nothing to panic about yet.

10-20 range is when you start taking measures to reduce Nitrates.

Over 20 is when you do water changes immediately.

This is for a shrimp tank. Fish can tolerate more of course.

[jkclek]

On 10/14/2016 at 6:12 PM, jayc said:

Those parameters are within RCS range. And the temp, if I converted it right, is between 25-26 deg C, which isn't the end of the world for RCS.

 

There must be something else that the shrimp do not like.

i would have liked to know your TDS value, if you can get it. But I realise not everyone has a TDS meter.

 

show us a picture of your full tank.

Describe your water preparation method. Do you add any conditioners, ferts, etc. what brand, how much ?

 

 

I tested for tds and i got 151ppm.

 

I use 5 gallon buckets. I have 2 so I fill 1 up with my tap and prime.

Then I use the other one to drain the water with a siphon. Then I pour it in slowly with a cup.

 

Mind, I do have another 29 gallon fish tank and that tank is perfectly fine.

 

 

[jayc]

TDS also seems within range for RCS.

And you seem to be doing everything right.

I'm out of ideas.

 

Maybe show us a picture of the dead shrimp and any those in the tank.

[jkclek]

The dead RCS are just dead. no color changes. These are very red rcs. like as red as they can be. When they are dead,

They are still the same red, there are a couple of shrimps that have WHITE hands? the hand area is kind of white.

 

 

[Madmerv]

I know it is frustrating not knowing what is killing the shrimp. Sometimes it is internal parasites or bacteria and the only way to tell is with an autopsy. Out of reach of most shrimp keepers. 

If you keep the water in good condition and tough it out the shrimp might recover from the stress of moving and build up an immunity, hopefully. There may have been a problem with the original sellers stock that was triggered by the move. Just take heart from the fact that they breed like rabbits and the colony will recover pretty fast in the end.

[Brolly33]

I know it is frustrating not knowing what is killing the shrimp. Sometimes it is internal parasites or bacteria and the only way to tell is with an autopsy. Out of reach of most shrimp keepers. 
If you keep the water in good condition and tough it out the shrimp might recover from the stress of moving and build up an immunity, hopefully. There may have been a problem with the original sellers stock that was triggered by the move. Just take heart from the fact that they breed like rabbits and the colony will recover pretty fast in the end.

I second this. I had a colony of CRS crash a while back and was left with just 3 shrimp. A year later I have over 100 again.


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[jayc]

How old is your Ammonia test kit?

When you get 7-8 Nitrate, that means there is ammonia in the tank that is being converted to nitrate.

Maybe, just maybe, the test kit is expired and not picking up ammonia. Try to get a 2nd opinion on the ammonia test - friend or LFS.

[revolutionhope]

Just wondering have you tried doing a huge waterchange? (Slowly dripping in the new water)

[jkclek]

2 hours ago, revolutionhope said:

Just wondering have you tried doing a huge waterchange? (Slowly dripping in the new water)

No i Havent tried that. I will try.

9 hours ago, jayc said:

How old is your Ammonia test kit?

When you get 7-8 Nitrate, that means there is ammonia in the tank that is being converted to nitrate.

Maybe, just maybe, the test kit is expired and not picking up ammonia. Try to get a 2nd opinion on the ammonia test - friend or LFS.

I got my test kit like 4 months ago. Last time I check the expiration date,

I had years and years left ): Im pretty sure I have 0 ammonia

10 hours ago, Brolly33 said:

I second this. I had a colony of CRS crash a while back and was left with just 3 shrimp. A year later I have over 100 again.


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Im going to wait  a week to see how the rcs do. Another one died yesterday. I have 2 CRS in the tank and they seem to be doing well. The rcs are just sitting still while the 2 CRS are grazing and swimming. Maybe i should just get a CRS tank started

here is the picture of the dead shrimp i took out yesterday

 

 

[revolutionhope]

Before you do try a huge waterchange I must give a disclaimer - waterchanges can stress shrimp out a lot when they occurr and it could contribute to more deaths in the short term. However there's also the possibility that it could get things under control and the deaths stop within a few days or so hopefully !

[jkclek]

I've done water change before. It didn't fix it. I will try the drip water change to less stress the shrimp.

[jkclek]

So when I got home, 2 of my berried RCS died.

 

One of the shrimps looks like the color is changing from super red to like brown, going whitish.

 

Any answers?