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By sdlTBfanUK
Moderators City: Inner West, Sydney AU Interests: Shrimp, cars, fish, Computers, Cycling/Bikin Posted September 27, 2013 (edited) With the wealth of knowledge from experienced keepers here in SKF, we should have a repository of Shrimp Diseases where people can come to diagnose and hopefully find a cure to their shrimp's ailment.
Just like in the world of aquatic fish keeping where identification and diagnosis of diseases in fish and known cures are part and parcel of every aquatic forum, so should we have one for shrimp.
Vorticella
I'd like to start this database off with the not so uncommon Vorticella parasite which looks like White fungus or mould growth on the shell of the shrimp.
Vorticella is actually a protozoa of 16 known species, not a fungus at all. Vorticella are aquatic organisms, most commonly found in freshwater habitats. They attach themselves to plant detritus, rocks, algae, or animals (particularly crustaceans).
Vorticella are heterotrophic organsims. They prey on bacteria. Vorticella use their cilia to create a current of water (vortex) to direct food towards its mouth.
Typically, Vorticella reproduce via binary fission. The new organism splits from the parent and swims until it can find something on which to anchor itself.
If left untreated, vorticella have been known to cause the death of the shrimp it was attached to.
Here are examples of what it looks like.
Known cures: Salt bath with aquarium salts. Be careful not to use table salt with Iodine.
Dosage: 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of clean tank water (not tap water).
Duration: 30sec to 1 minute. You might need to repeat this a couple of times until the vorticella disappears, so keep the infected shrimp in a breeder or hospital tank (could be another cup of tank water).
Possible causes: Poor water conditions. Increase water change frequency.
Low doses of the salt bath have been know to be ineffective.
Ick and fungus cure meds don't work on Vorticella.
Seachem Paraguard could work as well at the full recommended dosage, since this is a parasitic med. But Seachem have admitted Paraguard isn't invertebrate safe. So only try paraguard as a last resort and drip it into the tank premixed from a bucket of tank water slowly .
This treatment is in no way a replacement for good tank husbandry.
So keep up with your water change routines, and removal debris and uneaten food.
Please add if you know of more diseases, how you cured it, what you tried that worked and what didn't work.
Cheers.
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By Dimos
Hello!
I started having some weird parasites in my 10g shrimp tank. I first saw some long and flat worms (maybe detritus worms?) https://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/03/trematodes-and-nematodes-in-fish.html.
Now I see some weird creatures that look like small shrimps (about 5mm long) with shorter antennas and legs, please take a look at the video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q7w9p60lzgr6hji/IMG_9513.MOV?dl=0
Do you have an idea of what they could be, whether they are dangerous for my cherry shrimp, and how to get rid of them? Could it be Gammarus pulex?
Many thanks in advance!
Dimos
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By krogoo22 · Posted
I would add that boiling discourages natural decomposition and would likely break down the antifungals present in the bark, letting the fungus actually grow. -
By sdlTBfanUK · Posted
I shall probably just call him bertie as I did the previous 2 I had. -
By jayc · Posted
What nice friends you have! Have you named the new betta yet? -
By sdlTBfanUK · Posted
I had friends round at the weekend, moving furniture around so now I can see the fish tanks from where I normally sit. The only tank that has been running since I moved has had bloody mary shrimps in it and they are fine. It was my betta tank before, and after moving my friends went out and got me a new betta;- As you can see he is ultra healthy looking (pic is of him in the fish store tank) and he has been very active from the moment he arrived and started a bubble nest within an hour of going into the tank. He is about half the size of a fully grown one! He is a bit bland to look at as just white but I went for him as the tank is quite (understatement) dark and so he is easily visible, even from a distance. Hopefully he won't devour the shrimps (the odd baby shrimp I don't mind) but I will have to see on that issue! All the water parameters seem fine aside frm KH which is 6 as this area has harder water than where I was before, but I will gradually get that down using the filtered water (RO) with GH+ shrimp remineraliser from this point, that has no KH and I will just do it gradually over a loooong period as neither he nor the shrimps seem unhappy as it currently is anyway! Apparently the store he came from also sell blue bolt (and some other taiwan bee type) shrimps etc so I will start thinking about setting that tank up (it is situ next to the betta tank) at some point in the near future, though that will be months away even when I do decide to start, as the substrate needs running-in, and the tank will need to cycle etc. -
By sdlTBfanUK · Posted
I see the 2 shrimplets, very exciting and the shrimp in the photo look very healthy! The KH is fine at 3 and slowly dropping because of the substrate, but still in the acceptable range. Not sure about your tank size, other than 'nano' but if you have fish in that same tank (I think I see one in the photo blrred and at the back) I would do 25% weekly water changes (mainly because of the fish) and that will help counter the substrate as well, until the substrate is 'exhausted' of its buffering ability. Use the same kh4 new water as currently and always add the new water slowly, a drip method is best. Obviously you will need to be extra careful when removing the old water that you don't remove any of the new shrimplets........ Try not to change too much though as you may do more harm than good and it looks like everything is actually already going well, visible mating behavour and shrimplets doing well. Hope you manage to get rid of the planaria and that usually involves sizeable water changes in the process so complete that first and from then do the 25% regular water change routine. As the population grows you will need to increase the amount of food but be cautious not to overfeed. The bacter AE should help with biofilm growth etc but it isn't actually a food for the shrimps, though you may see them eating some if it isn't dissolved fully. The scuds are harmless and I would (and did in the past) remove them manually when you see them.
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