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CurleyJones321

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well this is the thing im not seeing any deaths but im also seeing less shrimp in my tank when i look so im not sure if they are dieing and im just not seeing them.
duckweed I'm keeping until i can cull it without nitrite spikes then ill get rid of it.

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I imagine from what you have written so far that if you remove the duckweed completely you will probably wipe out the shrimps and cause the tank to need to cycle again. I a not experienced with this at all but if you get a nitrite spike every time you clear some of the duckweed then obviously it sounds like the duckweed is removing some nitrite meaning there isn't enough of the bacteria in the tank that converts the nitrite to nitrate and that will need to be built up. I remember how quickly duckweed grow and spreads so it isn't going to be an easy fix I suspect!

Using my logic (not experience as stated before) I would think you should probably remove it day on day. I would clear say 10% total tank surface area on day one, 20|% total tank surface on day 2 and then you should be clear in 10 days. You should probably check regularly the nitrite levels while doing this but obviously you will get some nitrite registering but hopefully not enough (if the required bacteria are increasing quickly enough) to cause a problem. I can't think of any other way as the duckweed grows/spreads so quickly.

I hope someone with some experience of this problem will give you some advice, but anyway as you go away in a couple of days there probably won't be anything you can do before you come back.

Even if you were to remove all the shrimps temporarily and set them up in another container whilst you remove all the duckweed from the tank and allow it to then cycle again, I don't know that that will happen quick enough for the shrimps to go back into the tank before you go?

What do people do when they need a quarantine tank or hospital tank, assuming they don't have one running permanently I wonder, as that doesn't then have time to cycle I imagine????

I don't know whether shrimps eat dead shrimps so I would have thought you would see any dead ones. I have so any assassin snails that I can't even remember that last time I saw a dead shrimp in a tank? 

Simon 

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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well i culled approximately 20% duckweed this time but usually do around 40% and i was getting spikes a week later of around 0.8ppm N02 the worst time i registered it and the spikes have been decreasing each time from then so i that's why i suspect im suffering with new tank syndrome and my tank hasn't fully cycled yet. but in a few months im going to get a new 25 liter tank i found on amazon that i measured and it fits better to the shelf i have my current tank on. the current 18 liter tank will then become my cull tank and ill put it in the lounge so i can sell anything i want to cull on Gumtree (craigslist in the UK). so far the platys are breeding and im going to start the cull tank with the platys baby's i dont want to keep. once i start getting baby shrimp i'll get rid of any that aren't fire red which is what ive got at the moment.

i think i will try and get rid of the duck weed once i get back... ill cull another 10% if my nitrite levels aren't any higher on Monday when i do my last water change when i go away. then start again when i get back.

ive read shrimps will eat dead shrimps in the tank like they do their molts.

Kind regards

James

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Thats a bit spookey, the new tank I bought a month ago is a 25L(unusual figure, only seen the 1 type) so I wonder if it is the same one:

https://www.pro-shrimp.co.uk/aquariums/2019-superfish-home-25-aquarium-black-8715897201400.html

If it is then you have picked a good one as it isn't very tall which is a waste of space with shrimps and therefore has a larger footprint which is better than a 'normal tall tank'. I got mine though for a Betta (probably be getting that tomorrow, friends are coming to DRAG me out, maybe literally) but it has some cull shrimp in it at the moment. The only niggle I have with it is the built in light is a bit bright on full, so I turn it down but when I use a timer it comes on full again next day, so I need to turn it down every morning, but I can live with it. Also IF you are planning to get this make/model and don't like the built in plastic box, I removed that so let me know if that's something your interested in - but of coarse it may not be the same make/model anyway? And of coarse it is called a 25L but mine took 20L of water as I don't fill it to the top and the decorations/soil/plants use some space?

I imagine the tank you have will be completely covered with duckweed by the time you get back. You may save yourself a lot of time and trouble by just getting the new one set up and cycled so you can just transfer the inhabitants over rather than sorting the one you have now to then go through it all again with the new one.

I guess it makes sense that shrimps eat dead shrimps as they are after all scavengers, but I have never actually seen that.

Simon

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that is the exact one and it is approximately £10 cheaper than amazon.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009HV7ACO/?coliid=I3FUJ6BXWL555R&colid=2XBO5P6YDN02G&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

yeah the same thing with my 18 liter regards to water... the maximum level on the tank which i would assume is the 18 liter capacity mark would put the outlet of the pump below the water line and i always thought you wanted to disturb the water surface with the pump in a fish tank so i have it below that but not below the minimum level on the tank which i think is at 16 liters.

what fish shop do you use if u do go out to one? id recommend maidenhead aquatics (their not just in maidenhead) my local one i just found out imports shrimp from Taiwan and ive seen some of their Betta's and their gorgeous. Their a bit more on the expensive side though and i think they sell Betta's at £25 each.

I wish i was at the level to start taking on Betta's but ive just branched out from cold water that i was doing untill my 60 liter Biorb broke. now im doing sub tropical for the next couple of years but trying to breed Sunburst Platy's into a deep red colour and im already starting to get results.

Shrimp i wanted as a clean up crew so i got a couple of Amano shrimp from pets at home... then discovered RCS and realised you could breed them in non salt water and i really like the colour of them.

Edited by CurleyJones321
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That 25L tank comes in black or white, so whichever you prefer. I always use ProShrimp as they are almost always the cheapest and give great advice and service. As stated before the built in box is a bit big so if you decide you want to remove that when you get it let me know, there is also a youtube video on how to do that. The only thing that occurs to me is that the top FLIPS up  one side or other depending which way round you place it (with the light built in) so is there enough open room above for it to flip up in the place you plan to keep it??? I will try and get friends to take a photo later so you can see what I mean. But if you look at the below video you will see the flip top and interior box. The built in box can house the heater but only if it is the usual glass tube type and I don't like/use those so that is part of the reason I removed the box, but I wanted to remove it anyway as I didn't like the look and it s quite big.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ6atIFs1_Y

I understand what you are saying about the filter but it can be below the water level and oxygen is still absorbed into the water - that is way over my head though and I don't know how it happens. When I used the 15L it had an adjustable nozzle so I pointed that upwards, it was always under the water though. I BELIEVE as long as there is water movement there will be air absorbed.

I think my friends are taking me to a place about 20 minute drive from here called WATERWORLD. Usually they just get something for me if I need it but they insist on getting me out, which I am looking forward too (also nervous about though, but I won't be alone) as I haven't left the house in over 2 years............... I have heard of maidenhead aquatics and I believe that is where friends usually go if they are getting something for me, or themselves.

It is easy to get drawn into the colourful shrimps. I don't know whether the Platys will eat really tiny baby shrimplets but with plenty of moss and hiding places they wouldn't get them all! I have put the culls in the new Betta tank as they are brown and almost impossible to see. When I did this before it worked as the Betta didn't seem interested in them as maybe he didn't see them, I'm not sure but he may have picked off some shrimplets, but again I don't actually know? They are culls anyway so if he enjoys them, good for him.

Sorry about the Late reply but I went to bed early in preparation for todays excursion.

Simon

 

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the Platys will eat the freshly hatched shrimp if they get a chance. the general rule is if it fits in the mouth it it eats it but below is a good general guide to what fish shrimp can be kept with and pretty much everything is gonna eat the baby's unfortunately.

https://www.aquariumindustries.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Freshwater-Fish-Compatibility-Chart.pdf

so ive done my final water change before i go away and ive taken my last measurements, they are as follows:-

PH - 7.5
dKH - 4
dGH - 10
Temp - 25C
TDS - 373PPM
NH4 - Unreadable
N02 - Unreadable
N03 - Unreadable
P04 - 0.25PPM

so I've not actually dropped much TDS from the last water change I'm wondering if its the mineral stones i added when i first started trying to diagnose why my shrimp started dieing. should i take them out? Good news is i haven't seen any more dead shrimp and I'm counting anywhere from 3 to 7 shrimp when i check so i should probably have at least 12 left. No berried shrimp however. I've culled around 15% more duck weed as the Nitrite spike has subsided and i don't want  to be massivley inundated when i get back.

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1 hour ago, CurleyJones321 said:

should i take them out?

Yes, mineral stone will add to the TDS. That's what they are supposed to do, release minerals slowly.

You can maybe remove half of the mineral stone, break it in half if you have to.

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Hope you have a great trip (or had if you read this after your return)?

As JayC says you could make smaller pieces of mineral stone, but with such a small tank I would probably remove it all, unless you want some in the tank for appearances. Having some in the tank though, as JayC says it will slowly increase the TDS so it will make it more complicated to get to the TDS you want, and stay there!

It is a shame about the duckweed and if you have cleared 15% then I imagine the tank will be 100^% covered by the time you return. Great news though that everything has settled down and you haven't lost any shrimps recently.

Enjoy your trip.

Simon  

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  • 3 weeks later...

so I've returned.before i left i removed the smaller mineral stone and unfortunately i lost a shrimp that i took out the tank and saw that as a bad omen & so chose not to ask whilst i was away. i was pleased to be wrong on my return i had not lost a single animal and when i checked the tank i could see between 3 and 7 shrimp at any 1 stage, but still no berried ones, though the Platys have had more baby's. then did a water change and culled duckweed, but i really need to do some aquascapping.

Water Perms as Follows:-
PH - 7.5
dKH - 4
dGH - 12
Temp - 23C
TDS - 423
NH4 - Unreadable
N02 - 0.05ppm
N03 - 50ppm
P04 - 0.25ppm

so my TDS is pretty much where it started so im going to remove all the mineral stone. but alarmingly my Nitrate levels have gotten dangerously high even for the fish. whats my best option? daily water changes or i also have Nitrate Minus chemical that i got for just this occasion?

 

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Hope you enjoyed your trip and I am pleased that you didn't come back to a disaster. You do seem to be back to where you started with GH/TDS!

Probably the nitrate has gone up because of the extra fish. I would do a few days of 25% slow water changes and then re-assess the situation next week, and I 'believe' the duckweed is good at absorbing nitrates so I would leave as much of that in there for now, and come back to that a bit later on as a separate issue? Personally I wouldn't use Nitrate Minus as I think the water changes are a better/safer route and if the shrimp aren't dying you probably caught it just in time and neocaridina are fairly tough. My main fish tank had 50 Nitrate last time I checked but it has never caused a problem as far as I am aware, plenty of RCS so I wouldn't panic or over react.

If you do decide to get a new tank as previously mentioned, is there a shelf above where it would go?

There has been a new UK chap on here for a few days and he is Bedfordshire based!

Simon

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Now now Simon I've been here since 2017 old compared to you lol I find frogbite great to help with Nitraits and wouldn't us chemicals to try and lower it in my shrimp tank, I went through a similar problem a few years ago and jayc helped solve it. It was Welsh slate that was leaching back into the tank and took my gh from 5 to 11 I removed the slate used pure RO water over two weeks changing 10ltr every other day until it was stable, 

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4 minutes ago, richiep said:

Now now Simon I've been here since 2017 old compared to you lol I find frogbite great to help with Nitraits and wouldn't us chemicals to try and lower it in my shrimp tank, I went through a similar problem a few years ago and jayc helped solve it. It was Welsh slate that was leaching back into the tank and took my gh from 5 to 11 I removed the slate used pure RO water over two weeks changing 10ltr every other day until it was stable, 

OOOPS! Sorry, as you rightly say I am the newbie, I stand corrected. I actually meant you had been on here for a few days recently but hang my head in shame.................

Thanks for joining in on this. Your way would be cheaper and easier just using a smaller quantity of RO water without remineralising so this may be the better route to go, especially as it is a small tank. It would almost be like raining in nature so great suggestion.

Simon 

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Unfortunately i didn't receive an order for an air flow regulator to for my home made drip acclimater that i ordered the day before i left so i cant do slow water changes, i was thinking of trying my usual method of 2 liters of water per day until solved... im thinking of remineralising with 400TDS so i could theoretically bring the TDS down over time that way. i'll see what that does over a week and if nothing changes ill dose with nitrite munus

im planning on putting the existing tank in the living room as a cull tank and offering them to people on gumtree for collection. i think the living rooms acceptable for them to view the animals and select.

i dont know whats brought up my GH other than maybe the mineral stone but yeah im removing that when i aquascape later today. 

sound reasonable?

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29 minutes ago, CurleyJones321 said:

Unfortunately i didn't receive an order for an air flow regulator

Try a clothes peg as a temporary solution. Crimp the hose just enough to slow the flow rate down.

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It will be better and easier when you have the dripper, but in the meantime do what you did before as that seemed to work fine. Looking back on this I think you were mixing water to TDS 200 to do the changes (27/3/19), it will take forever if you take out 443 and put in 400 to get to where you were before even?

You didn't have the Nitrate problem back then either so maybe you should do a larger first one to help with that, I mean if you do a 50% water change and the new water is 0 nitrate, you will then still have 25 nitrates?

I would probably go with a 50% water change asap with TDS350 water, which should take the tank TDS to about 400 and the nitrate 25. Then 2L per day at TDS200 as you were doing before and reducing the duckweed gradually each day!

Hopefully the mineral stone being removed will also help!

If I recall, the problem with the new tank you wanted was POSSIBLY the flip top/light, this wouldn't be an issue if there is nothing above it. I can measure mine with the top flipped up if you need to know that?

Simon

6 minutes ago, jayc said:

Try a clothes peg as a temporary solution. Crimp the hose just enough to slow the flow rate down.

Thats a great DIY idea, I have seen some people on youtube tie the tubing in a knot to slow the flow but it would need to be pretty pliable to do that!

Simon

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Unfortunatey my first attempt at building a drip acclimator failed as the sealant found lieing in the house didn't work properly and the device leaked. i have bought some non toxic sealant from the local b&q (hardware store) and have located a clothes peg to use until i can install a flow regulator. im going to do a 20% (for lack of a better term) fast water change using the jug i have today whilst the drip acclimator mk2 is setting. I will do this to 350TDS as recommended.

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That's all you need to do is tie a knot in airline tight enough until it drips a what you want 

Edited by richiep
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sorry butty i missed the part that your doing a drip for water change, ok another way around this short term if you heat the end of the pipe with a lighter then using a pliers aqueeze 2/3rds together that will seal the end if its not enough reheat and close a bit more

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I have this container with a tap/valve to drip water into my tank, it was made for this purpose, the bottom of the container has grooves for it to sit at the corner of  tank I have a 1000ml one, but there is a larger version, I can't find a picture of it from the shops online store I purchased from, so I will take a photo of it when I get home.

The same product can be DIY, and very easy with a bucket and a valve.

Edited by kms
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i followed the link here and seen it but not in a full setup so please a photo would be good

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14 hours ago, CurleyJones321 said:

Unfortunatey my first attempt at building a drip acclimator failed as the sealant found lieing in the house didn't work properly and the device leaked. i have bought some non toxic sealant from the local b&q (hardware store) and have located a clothes peg to use until i can install a flow regulator. im going to do a 20% (for lack of a better term) fast water change using the jug i have today whilst the drip acclimator mk2 is setting. I will do this to 350TDS as recommended.

You probably may have already done a water change yesterday, maybe as above and that is great.

With the smaller water changes you should probably stick to the TDS 200 that you were doing before your trip otherwise you will be forever trying to get back to where you were before?

When I get a coffee (imminent) I will measure that tank height with the top open and let you know what it is! With all the baby fish in the tank that is probably why the nitrates has rocketed?

Simon 

The tank with the top flipped up is about 73cm.

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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