Dying shrimps

[abepaniagua]

Hey guys, it's been a few months now that I've had a shrimp tank with Caridinas and neos. The blue neos have bred and molted, as well as the Caridinas. I've had random and sporadic deaths since I first got it but the parameters have been stable and within range (as well as temperature). I do not have test kit with me right now, or my last results sadly (will get them later).

I started noticing decoloration on some shrimps. Some would recover but others wouldn't. Friend gave me 6 red wine Caridinas, 1 died a few weeks after but all were growing and molting. One is berried. This one developed those colors and became really dark... this was a few weeks back and now I found him dead.

I've been reading here and looks like it is a bacteria. Anyone with experience treating this? I don't have a quarantine tank, and my tank has pandas, red wine and blue neos (it has a small box with the shrimps I full which are bronze).

[jayc]

3 hours ago, abepaniagua said:

I've been reading here and looks like it is a bacteria. Anyone with experience treating this? I don't have a quarantine tank, and my tank has pandas, red wine and blue neos (it has a small box with the shrimps I full which are bronze).

Hi @abepaniagua,

welcome to SKFA.

If you have health issues with your shrimp, you should read our Disease and Diagnostics thread.

https://skfaquatics.com/forum/forums/topic/15325-shrimp-diseases-and-diagnosis-info-only-post-on-other-thread/

 

That shrimp is suffering from "Rust" Disease or Chitinolytic bacterial disease.

The most effective treatment I know of right now is the Oregano Oil treatment you can read about in the link above. 

[abepaniagua]

I read about it but I had questions... Does that treatment kills snails? My tank has neos and Caridinas and snails. I don't have a quarantine tank, so whatever i do in this tank, is the main tank.

Edit: I saw that levamisole is the other option. I could remove the snails and use that too.

Edited January 31, 2021 by abepaniagua

[sdlTBfanUK]

When I had a tank full of Taiwan bee shrimps, I saw a few red ruby had the 'rust' disease. Bizarrely it only affected some red shrimp despite there being hundreds of various colours patterns. I removed and culled the affected few shrimps as soon as I saw any evidence they were starting to get it and that was the end of it for my tank!

When adding new shrimp you should always drip acclimate them to the tank water over several hours, though even then to loose 1 of 6 in the first 2 weeks wouldn'tt be unusual.

The Caridina are a lot more fussy about their water parameters, the cherry shrimp are better able to adapt. Either way you need a full set of water parameter tests, PH, TDS, GH, KH etc. Try to keep the parameters at the higher end of the caridina parameters and the cherry shrimp should adjust fine to that?

If the shrimp that died was the only one to have 'rust' I would just carry on as you are for now and keep a close eye out for any recurrance, and if you see any just take them out asap. If you decide to do any treatment then it may be a wise precation to remove the snails if you can but I wouldn' try any treatment anyway UNLESS there is currently evidence it is still a problem first, as often treatments may cause other problems.......

Simon

 

[abepaniagua]

1 hour ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

When I had a tank full of Taiwan bee shrimps, I saw a few red ruby had the 'rust' disease. Bizarrely it only affected some red shrimp despite there being hundreds of various colours patterns. I removed and culled the affected few shrimps as soon as I saw any evidence they were starting to get it and that was the end of it for my tank!

When adding new shrimp you should always drip acclimate them to the tank water over several hours, though even then to loose 1 of 6 in the first 2 weeks wouldn'tt be unusual.

The Caridina are a lot more fussy about their water parameters, the cherry shrimp are better able to adapt. Either way you need a full set of water parameter tests, PH, TDS, GH, KH etc. Try to keep the parameters at the higher end of the caridina parameters and the cherry shrimp should adjust fine to that?

If the shrimp that died was the only one to have 'rust' I would just carry on as you are for now and keep a close eye out for any recurrance, and if you see any just take them out asap. If you decide to do any treatment then it may be a wise precation to remove the snails if you can but I wouldn' try any treatment anyway UNLESS there is currently evidence it is still a problem first, as often treatments may cause other problems.......

Simon

 

Thank you for your answer. It has been a slow but constant issue since I got the tank. 2 bloody mary died, 3 out of 4 pandas died and the only survivor is pictured below.

This deep blue neo, the most beautiful I had, got a bit darker as you can see in the picture....and also died.

And the first female to get berried, which was a light blue, changed color while pregnant and died a few weeks after giving birth.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Although the red looked like 'rust', these others with the brain, insides going black looks to be a different, more bacterial issue? The link that JayC sent above is your best bet!

Sorry you are having these problems as you have/had some stunning shrimp. You take nice clear and quality photos!

Simon

[abepaniagua]

Thank you. They were stunning...those dark blue and boost Mary were top notch but they died. Now the red wines are beautiful and I don't want them to die.

I was able to test the tank again, before I move it today.

Quote

 

Ammonia - 0ppm / API 0.25ppm

Nitrate-0ppm / API 10-20ppm

Nitrite - 0-0.5ppm / API 0ppm

GH - 150-300ppm / API 6° or 100ppm

KH - 0ppm / API 1° 

Chlorine - 0ppm 

pH - 6.2-6.8 // API 6.8

TDS - 110

 

I have several kits so that's why you'll see different values. One is strip method, the other is liquid/drops. TDS was with a TDS meter.

[beanbag]

That API test kit had better show absolutely zero ammonia.  Compare tank water against a known good source, i.e. distilled water.

Also, nitrates kind of high - could indicate water pollution from overfeeding.

[jayc]

5 minutes ago, beanbag said:

Also, nitrates kind of high - could indicate water pollution from overfeeding

That. Or the tank is not completely cycled.

[abepaniagua]

 had to move the tank, so I did a 50% water change. 24 hours later I did an ammonia test just now, it's 0ppm.

[sdlTBfanUK]

How many shrimp do you have left and are any looking sick now?

The tank may not have been cycled properly, as JayC. Try the Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate readings again, the Ammonia and Nitrite should be 0 and nitrate very low or also 0! I would use the drop tests rather than the strips, especially as the reading don't seem to corelate? 

Hopefully the remaining shrimp survive now you are using different water, but if the problem relates to something in the original water, there may still be a problem, ie bad bacteria still in the tank.

Simon

[E Blue]

Can water changes cause die off?

[E Blue]

Curious how many people “drip” new water into aquarium.

[E Blue]

I have an 8.5 gallon Aqueon with hang on back filter. I’ve modified the filter by rubber banding some extra filter media over the intake because I found one shrimp wedged in between the grate bars against the native filter. It later died.
My tank is two months old. Took water into the shrimp breeder to confirm parameters were ok and I’ve had the shrimp about 2 weeks. It’s a planted tank so they have lots of hiding spots, but I believe at least three of twelve have died. Maybe my acclimation process should have been for 2-3 hours? Or maybe because one had something white on its rostrum so I fished them all out the next day, the breeder salt dipped them, and I brought them back home. Which is several water changes and must be somewhat stressful. He still has the white spot by the way.

Also I discovered an impossibly tiny shrimp on a plant a couple days ago. I had no berried shrimp so I assume it traveled home with me on a plant. Or are there gnat sized shrimp that also populate aquariums like copepods etc.

Glad to be a member here. I hope to learn a lot.

[sdlTBfanUK]

13 hours ago, E Blue said:

Can water changes cause die off?

 

13 hours ago, E Blue said:

Curious how many people “drip” new water into aquarium.

Water changes can and do cause deaths if not done properly and as the second question is about dripping I assume you have read about that, that is the secret to successfully changing water!

Many people get a piece of air tubing and just tie a not in it to restrict the flow. 

Or you can buy a kit which is easier (a link attached so you can see what they look like),  https://www.pro-shrimp.co.uk/shrimp/2841-tmc-acclimatisation-kit-for-shrimp-fish-5027656340873.html

Or, you can go the route I did and get a premade dripper, link attached for you to see an example, this is an american product so should be easy for you to get https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Big-Dripper-Gallon/dp/B0002AQE5S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1537374102&sr=8-1&keywords=zoomed+big+dripper&linkCode=sl1&tag=skfaquatics-20&linkId=1fb61c7a63c92fadef83aa51c5081767&language=en_US

Simon

 

[jayc]

Or you can DYI it and make your own, as I am a big proponent of doing it yourself.

Buy one of these types of bottled water containers. You should be able to find them in most supermarkets.

It's a large bottle of water basically, with a tap. This one is a 10L (or 2Gal) unit. Bigger picture below....

 

After drinking or using up the water ... Cut a hole carefully in the top.

 

Fill it with your new water. And turn the tap ever so slightly until the water drips out at a slow rate.

This type of dripper needs to sit on top of your tank, so you need a tank that has a lid, or rig up some thing for this dripper to sit over the tank like a piece of 2x4 or whatever you have around the house.

 

Oh, and it's heaps cheaper.

13 hours ago, E Blue said:

He still has the white spot by the way.

Post a picture. A really close up picture.

 

[sdlTBfanUK]

13 hours ago, E Blue said:

I have an 8.5 gallon Aqueon with hang on back filter. I’ve modified the filter by rubber banding some extra filter media over the intake because I found one shrimp wedged in between the grate bars against the native filter. It later died.
My tank is two months old. Took water into the shrimp breeder to confirm parameters were ok and I’ve had the shrimp about 2 weeks. It’s a planted tank so they have lots of hiding spots, but I believe at least three of twelve have died. Maybe my acclimation process should have been for 2-3 hours? Or maybe because one had something white on its rostrum so I fished them all out the next day, the breeder salt dipped them, and I brought them back home. Which is several water changes and must be somewhat stressful. He still has the white spot by the way.

Also I discovered an impossibly tiny shrimp on a plant a couple days ago. I had no berried shrimp so I assume it traveled home with me on a plant. Or are there gnat sized shrimp that also populate aquariums like copepods etc.

Glad to be a member here. I hope to learn a lot.

When putting new shrimp into an aquarium you should always drip acclimate them over several hours.

Without seeing the tiny shrimp it isn't really possible to identify what it is. Newly born shrimp are microscopic (and usually clear) and if it is definitely a shrimp it should be harmless and time will tell what it is?

With all the shrimp have been through so far, and the fact they are delicate creatures anyway, it's no surprise some have died. Hopefully the rest will survive. I would remove the one with the white spot on it to prevent it maybe infesting the other shrimps or worse resulting in th whole tank needin treatment?

What you have done by covering the filter intake will work but you need to check it isn't straining the pump/motor, and it will need regularly being cleaned (rinsed/squeezed in some tank water) as otherwise it may become blocked quite quickly!

Simon

[abepaniagua]

I am going to try using Levimasole HCL. I had Oregano oil and oregano flakes so I'm gonna try that treatment...but will find levimasole just in case.

[jayc]

Cool. Just ask if you have any questions, but it should be as easy as soaking the food in the diluted

oregano oil and feeding it to the shrimp.

Edited February 6, 2021 by jayc

[abepaniagua]

6 hours ago, jayc said:

Cool. Just ask if you have any questions, but it should be as easy as soaking the food in the diluted

oregano oil and feeding it to the shrimp.

I think I should've done the hydrogen peroxide first...I couldn't find mine and was impatient since the red wine momma shrimp is turning darker, like the one that recently died on the picture, and one of the blues is moving very very slowly. 

Edited February 6, 2021 by abepaniagua

[abepaniagua]

2nd day with oregano oil treatment. The last 3 days all shrimps have gotten darker or "rustier". Today at least they are moving a bit more but I can't see any visual improvement.

[jayc]

Keep it up. You can add H2O2 at anytime.

 

 

[abepaniagua]

I can add both together? Let me try that then.

[abepaniagua]

The crazy part, and a small silver lining, is that even when I've been having slow deaths and probably a bacterial infection, there's still life. I have 3 neos pregnant (you can see the eyes of the eggs they are carrying), and there was another or something because I've just started noticing reaaally small shrimplets that weren't there 3 days ago. Also, 5 minutes ago I saw a female being embraced by a smaller shrimp (a male I suppose) for like 30 secs...I am guessing they mated?

[jayc]

3 hours ago, abepaniagua said:

I can add both together?

Yes. 

H2O2 into the water directly.

 

And diluted oregano oil is soaked in food and fed to the shrimp.