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RCS anomalies


Kevin KG

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Hello, I'm still new here

So I keep some RCS in 7 gal tank (30x30x30cm). I use aquabides for water and I put some bacteria starter. The filter is hang-on filter with surface skimmer and the lamp is 5W LED. I use soil and put some plants there (cuba and monte carlo for the soil, and some java flaming moss, some cabomba, and a tonina fluviatis). I keep around 20 RCS there. At first they looks happy. Swimming around here and there but after some time it looks like they are just sitting on one spot not tends to not move. Some of them are molting and usually the "ghost" will be eaten by others but no RCS touched that skin. I put some HIKARI Shrimp Cuisine and they don't even touch it. Today when I checked on them nearly all of them are dead at the bottom of the tank or outside the tank. All is dead except one RCS that hang on the carbon filter (outside the water). I put the survivor on a glass with distilled water and some tissue. I observe it and it looks like the RCS is covered by some diatom by its mouth and when I transferred it into the glass it looks like puking diatoms too. The water on the "graveyard" tank is somewhat slimy and the surface skimmer can't absorb the slime. What must I do and what is wrong with this tank?

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Hi Kevin KG,

First it would be very helpful to know any water parameters you have tested to be able to make any suggestions.. was the tank new or had it been setup for a while and fully cycled?

Hopefully you can get to the bottom of it and figure out what went wrong so you can get some lovely shrimp in there again soon!

[emoji173] [emoji111] [emoji444]
Will

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When you say you put in some bacteria starter it sounds like you have just started this tank. Apart from the fact that starter bacteria is a crap product, shrimp need a mature and stable tank to live in. That means several months old and all the water parameters stable. To know this it must be tested regularly so i would suggest getting a freshwater master test kit.

Shrimp are super sensitive to changes in water. By removing the last survivor and putting them in distilled water there is a good chance that he will also die. The best solution to any tank problems is do a large water change in the affected tank and then test it again. If the problem is still there then do another water change. Remember to use a quality dechlorinator for the water going into the tank.

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In few emergency cases, I had to move shrimps to a tank I just set, with bacteria starter, new soil and plants. Usually, the shrimps stay quiet and hides for the 1st 2~3 days, then start wandering and eating again. I never fed them before 3 days.

The starter I use is Bio Nitrivec, but I believe other brands do fine too. Since now, I have never experienced such a mess in the tanks.

How did you prepare the tank, did you use bleach, soap, or any chemicals to clean it before setting it? Anything else you have done when preparing the tank which can be focused as the culprit?

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23 hours ago, Kevin KG said:

I use aquabides for water

Welcome to SKFA Kev,

This is sterile distilled water. Pure water with no minerals. Lab grade at that. Where did you get your hands on this?

Any living organism will have difficulty staying alive in water like this.

Did you remineralise this water with Calcium & Magnesium? Or a premixed product like Seachem Equilibrium or Salty Shrimp or Mosura mineral plus ultra, etc.

If you used this water, any beneficial bacteria would also have a hard time colonising. So even if your bacteria starter had any real beneficial aquatic bacteria, it would not have survived or had long enough to colonise the filter and tank.

You would have had more success using tap water and dechlorinator. Drain the tank water and refill with dechlorinated tap water asap. You can use distilled or Reverse Osmosis water, but we ALWAYS have to remineralise it with salts and minerals so organisms can live in the water. If you use distilled or RO water, you will also need a TDS meter - buy it from ebay or from one of our sponsors. More info can be read in the Water Parameters subforum.

If the shrimp survived the un-mineralised distilled water, they wouldn't have survived an uncycled tank. Please read up on how to cycle a new tank.

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by jayc
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I just use tap water to rinse the tank and the media. The tank is around a month since I put the plant, the media, the bacteria starter, etc. The aquabides is sold freely here for around 3$ for around 1.5 litre. I use some perlite to remineralise the water. The bacteria starter is local made. It's name is "aquasehat" (trans: healthyaqua). It looks like some kind of dried and powdered coffee. The water parameter is  24-27 degree celcius. PH: 7,7 TDS= 100ppm, nitrites nitrates amonia=0

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I don't know of any perlite that is used to remineralize water with...

Do you know the GH and KH of the tank?

Temp wise, many shrimp do better at 20-22° C.

What type of soil?

How long were the shrimp in the tank for before you noticed any issues?

Are you dosing any ferts or CO2?

Is this a new or used tank?

 

I'm not familiar with the bacteria starter, but I can't help but wonder if it is the kind that removes oxygen from the water column, thus suffocating shrimp.

It doesn't sound like the water is ideal for the shrimp, either...

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The test doesn't say anything about GH or KH. The soil is Amazonia (is this right?). I wash the soil under running tap water before putting it in the tank. I don't use fertiliser, CO2 or any chemical beside that bacteria starter. I think this tank can be categorized as new. Like I said before. the shrimp is swimming here and there when I put them in. After a while (about 2 or 3 days) they just stay at one place and didn't move much. They still eating the biofilm (from their tiny pincer) but doesn't touch the HIKARI Shrimp Cuisine that I dropped. 3 days afterwards they died (by jumping out the tank or just dead at the bottom of the tank)

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The GH and KH test kit (LIQUID please!) is often sold separately unless you get a Sera or Nutrafin test kit.

 

Cherry shrimp do best on inert sand or gravel that doesn't buffer the pH. Not to say they can't handle living on Amazonia, but they do best without buffering substrate, generally speaking.

 

Using tap water on Amazonia can cause big swings in pH.

 

How new is the tank?

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I'll look for GH and KH test kit. The tank is now entering it's 4th week. But yesterday I changed the water 100% with tap water. Just adding Marimo moss ball, cabomba, java flaming moss, cuba, monte carlo and 3 nerite and 3 assasin snail. Today the water was a little foamy. I don't use any soap to wash it though. The snails is just resting near the surface but still submerged around 2cm below the water. Oh and I ask the seller what the bacteria starter contain. He didn't know specifically what bacteria it is but it was to break down nitrite to nitrate so the waste from the snail/shrimp will not build up and can be absorbed by the plants

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Hello Kevin

I understand the guy in the shop, and the makers of the starter bacteria, will tell you that after putting the product in the tank "everything will be good for putting fish etc in the tank". This is generally not true and i'm sure they will be happy to sell you more products/fish to fix the problems that come up.

An aquarium is basically a self contained eco system for an aquatic environment and it will take months for all the natural bacteria etc to balance out in that system. Generally we just worry about the toxins that are present, Nitrates etc, and once they have stabilized somewhat we will add fish. This is just part of the ecosystem balance and there is a lot more going on before a balance is reached. Shrimp are very sensitive to their water parameters and therefore need a mature tank, that has completely stabilized, to live a happy life. Also every tank is different, as they are all a self contained ecosystem, so this balance will take a different time, and do different things, for each tank.

I would suggest to you that you did a lot of reading on fishless aquarium cycling and then get the tank in a mature state before adding some more shrimp. Or, and i dont really agree with this, get 1 or 2 guppies and put them in for a couple of months to mature the tank and filter. What ever way you decide to go just remember that there is no real quick fixes for getting a tank mature and in balance. Nature does not make a stream and have it mature in just a week or two does it?

Have a look through some of the aquarium set up threads on this site and take note of the start dates of the threads. Then look at the dates when they start to show pictures of their shrimp in the tanks. Most will have let the tanks run for months before adding shrimp or have moved a mature filter from a tank that has been running for years. 

There is a lot to learn about keeping shrimp so keep reading and learning and good luck with your setup.

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Hello.

Finally I know the cause why my shrimps are "flying" and dying. It's temperature fluctuation. Apparently when there is no activity at the office, the air conditioner was turned off. In turn, the temperature is rising and my shrimps are simply boiled alive. I can say this because the shrimps are dead with its colour like when you cook a crab

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6 hours ago, Kevin KG said:

Apparently when there is no activity at the office, the air conditioner was turned off.

Glad you found the cause.

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