Cannibals

[DeagonTheo]

Do shrimp eat their little shrimplets, my Crystal Reds keep breeding, and I see some littlies, then I don't see them anymore and all I get are one or two out of a batch.

PH 6.0 Ammonia 0 Nitrites 0 GH very low. Using rainwater and a little tap water.

[fishmosy]

What are your nitrates? Also what does very low gH mean? Do you have actual values?

Do you feed anything special for the shrimplets?

[DeagonTheo]

It's rainwater so it's low, it only takes one drop to turn yellow, nitrates shouldn't be a problem. I don't feed the shrimplets they're in with the adults so they just get the same food, lots of algae from Java Moss, boiled lettuce and Silverbeet and Fish Flakes and pellets.

[fishmosy]

So GH would be <20ppm (assuming based on the tests I've seen).

That could be a problem as little shrimplets molt regularly (i.e. daily) and molting problems are often associated with low gH. Do you have values for KH? Or TDS?

Sounds like there should be enough food for the shrimplets (and the adults). Maybe feeding a pellet that breaks down to powder could guarantee there is enough food for the shrimplets. However I'd be looking at gH first.

[DeagonTheo]

I just checked GH around 40 or a bit higher KH less than 10. I use Viformo which breaks down into powder and other pellets which don't.

[Wraithie]

Its more likely that the shrimplets are dying of other causes than being eaten by their parents.

[DeagonTheo]

Yeah I don't know, I only got these a month ago and they're breeding like rabbits, I've got two more females ready to pop anytime. Do people separate the female from the colony or just keep them in there.

[BlueBolts]

Looks like your GH is too low....should atleast be 4 or 71+ppm.

[DeagonTheo]

Too much rainwater by the look of it, I'll have to put more tap water in. They like breeding in this water though, I only bought about a dozen a month ago and I've had 2 batches and two ready to go.

Ive just checked my tap water GH 80 KH 30 looks like I'll be using straight tap water.

looks like I'll have to steal some water off my Fronnies.

[fishmosy]

Nice fronny. Whatever you do to change water parameters, do it slowly so you dont shock your shrimp.

[DeagonTheo]

Mpimbwe, yes all I have to is find out how to raise the KH And GH without raising the PH and killing the Shrimp, should be easy, not.

Any advice?

[fishmosy]

Your pH is 6.0 so can afford to come up a little bit (6.2-6.4).

I would just mix up a bit of water that is at the ideal parameters, then use it to make small water changes every day. That way the water parameters in your tank will slowly change to the ideal water parameters.

[DeagonTheo]

Cannibals

I'm going to have to do a course in chemistry I've got too big a diversity in fish and now Shrimpies. I've got fish from Lake Tanganyika, Fronnies, Tropheus and Lelupi, the Amazon, Discus, Rams and L numbers and now Shrimpies and I don't even know where they come from.

Up until a few months ago the only shrimp I knew about were King Prawns, that's probably why I like Red Crystal Shrimp they look the same as cooked Kingies, yum.

Well I won't be available for a while, I'm going down to the lab with my master test kit and work on a new batch of Shrimpies water.

[DeagonTheo]

I just went down to mix some water and the berried females and a couple of shrimplets were out and about so I took a couple of photos with my trusty HTC OneX.

[Wraithie]

Stripey shrimplets are my favorite!

[DeagonTheo]

Cannibals

This is a better one of the females, hopefully you can see the eggs.

[DeagonTheo]

Stripes

Okay more stripies.

[DeagonTheo]

More Stripes and not stripes.

[newbreed]

Beautiful fish and shrimp mate!! can't imaging the parents would be eating the shrimplets. Do you have IAL? I find the shrimplets graze on this from early days! Also good shelter for them. What kind of filtration are you using?

[Squiggle]

Sweet looking shrimp & fish dude, gotta love the CRS, they look like little candy canes, very cool! :victorious:

[DeagonTheo]

Solution

Just using two air filters, I'd stick them on my FX5s but that might end in tragedy. What's IAL never heard of it.

I think I've just worked out the solution to my problems, if I can't raise the GH too fast they can bloody well eat it. 10 minutes after I put it in.

[DeagonTheo]

We love calcium carbonate.

Two little microbes can smell the Coral and they've come out of hiding.

[jayc]

What's IAL never heard of it.

Indian Almond Leaves (IAL).

Secret ingredient for all Amazonian and Asian fish keepers and shrimp keepers.

Check out the SKF library.

[DeagonTheo]

I have heard of it, thanks, I'll give it a go. Mate those Asian fish keepers make us look like noobs, I've seen a guy sitting on a footpath with about a hundred goldfish in a bowl selling them, I think he just sprayed them once in a while to keep them wet, there was no room for water.

The Fish Street in Hong Kong should be on everyone's bucket list.

[jayc]

The Fish Street in Hong Kong should be on everyone's bucket list.

I see what you did there ^^^

Selling fish in a bucket like that will never fly (or is it swim) with the animal activists here.