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Shrimp very pale and then disappeared? Need help!!

MrCactus99

By MrCactus99
in Shrimp Health & Care

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MrCactus99 Be nice I'm new here

MrCactus99

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Hi everyone! This is my first time posting, nice to meet you all.

So I've had 2 Amanos and 4 Neocaridinas for 3 months now. I have a planted no-filter tank. I've dealt with Vorticella and Scutariella Japonica (already fought off), but otherwise that the shrimps seem very healthy. They have bred and I have around 20 baby shrimps.

A few days ago I discovered that this shrimp had a weird coloration (I have Blue Diamonds), I thought it was just a color change but the next day I noticed that the shrimp didn't eat, acted weird and had a tic in her front arms if that makes sense. She didn't seem healthy. I researched info about this online but I couldn't find anything. The water parameters were fine. I took this picture:

Screenshot-20200507-205906.png

The next day I didn't saw the shrimp. I looked EVERYWHERE for them to hide and it was not there. Today I just accepted she died... But I can't explain how she disappeared like that. Maybe the other shrimps eat the corpse? That fast?

This morning I found a baby shrimp dead. And I think (if I'm not being paranoid) that another adult is going to the same path as the first. He is really pale, not eating at all and is barely moving in the tank, wich is really rare of him. If anyone would help me identify the cause so this doesn't happen again... Is it any type of disease? I love my shrimp so much and I don't know what to do :( Thank you so much in advance.

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jayc Shrimp Guru

jayc

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Can you let us know what your water parameters are please?

 

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beanbag Shrimp Lover

beanbag

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If your water parameters are "fine" and you have no filter, then you probably have water pollution issues from overfeeding or waste accumulation.  The solution could be more aeration (airstone) and water changes and less feeding.

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MrCactus99 Be nice I'm new here

MrCactus99

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Thank you for your responses. My parameters are NO3=10, NO2=0, GH=>7, KH=3-6 and pH=6,4. I do 25% water changes every week. I might be overfeeding them, but they are so voracious! They fight over the food. I give them 6-9 daily pearls of food and once a week a boiled vegetable. Is the aeration the problem? And for the waste accumulation, I could buy a siphon and clean the gravel but if it was the cause, wouldn't it have affected the water parameters? I'm new in all this so thanks for everything!

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Crabby Shrimp Breeder

Crabby

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Hi, sorry to hear about your shrimp, just popping in with some general advice. With shrimp, your Nitrate (NO3) should be 0, although 10 shouldn't be a huge problem and wouldn't have been the cause of this - it could be indicative of another problem though. KH looks high to me, it shouldn't get up to 6, I wouldn't think. GH and pH are fine, maybe the pH might be a little low, though that shouldn't be a big issue. Shrimp will eat dead things, rather rapidly, so you won't always see bodies. I'm surprised that an older shrimp would die first though, rather than shrimplets. That's all I can offer at this point unfortunately, but I wish you the best with identifying the problem and a solution.

-Crabby

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beanbag Shrimp Lover

beanbag

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If u have NO3 = 10ppm with shrimp only + plants + no ferts, then u have water pollution from overfeeding because otherwise the plants would have consumed all the nitrates.  I suggest u add sponge filter or other filter with media so the bacteria can consume the wastes at a higher level than currently.

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sdlTBfanUK Shrimp Master

sdlTBfanUK

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If you don't have a filter then you should vacuum the substrate otherwise all the poop is just accumulating. IF you have a spare plug socket near the tank I would do as beanbag suggests and use a filter. I use these, ultra cheap and easy to use and similar types available worldwide (not sure where you are based):

https://www.pro-shrimp.co.uk/internal-filters/1826-superfish-aqua-flow-50-8715897041747.html?search_query=superfish&results=584

The ones I have also come with a spray type bar so that helps with aeration as well. If it is a large tank a larger type (or more than 1) may be needed.

You should probably still gravel vac to remove as much of the existing 'stuff' though, even if you do get a filter. If it isn't practical to use a filter then you should regularly gravel vac.

Simon

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MrCactus99 Be nice I'm new here

MrCactus99

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Thank you for all your advice! I finally know the problem. I was using test strips to test the water... Now I know how inaccurate they are. The water had a GH of 12... I think that's what killed the shrimp. It's weird cause I had low KH(3) and TDS(114) but the GH was very high. What could be the reason for this? I thought that the hardness always goes together.

After a big water change now I have KH=2,  GH=6.4,  Ph=6.5,  NO2/3=0. Since then I haven't had any more losses. I will definitely vacuum the substrate and maybe buy a filter. Thank you all.

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sdlTBfanUK Shrimp Master

sdlTBfanUK

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Great tohear things are improving.

There may be something in your tank which is causing the GH to increase, though it could just have been the accumulation of waste though I would have thought you'd have a higher TDS if it were that. You are right that TDS and GH can sometimes reflect each other but that usually only works with RO water and shrimp mineraliser as the product is premixed to be balaced. Tap water can come with some wildly different parameters and can even change with time depending on the original source!

Simon

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