Shrimp Diseases and Diagnosis

[jayc]

Not the best picture , but looks like a water mite.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=water+mite&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=49g4Ve6yH4v58QWb24HgDA&ved=0CCQQsAQ&biw=1712&bih=1129

 

Flame it!  

Edited April 23, 2015 by jayc

[fishmosy]

Hmm doesn't look like a snail to me as it has legs at the front

Are they legs? I thought that was part of the colour of the shrimp! Needed to look closer!

JayC's suggestion of a water mite is probably correct

[Grubs]

It looks like an Oribatid mite.  Common in soil. Some are aquatic.   http://www.mdfrc.org.au/bugguide/display.asp?type=9&class=16&subclass=41&couplet=0

[revolutionhope]

Not the best picture , but looks like a water mite.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=water+mite&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=49g4Ve6yH4v58QWb24HgDA&ved=0CCQQsAQ&biw=1712&bih=1129

 

Flame it!  

looks alright to me.. at least it's better quality picture than my phone can take :-D

[Mamashack]

It looks like an Oribatid mite.  Common in soil. Some are aquatic.   http://www.mdfrc.org.au/bugguide/display.asp?type=9&class=16&subclass=41&couplet=0

Actually it does look just like that,Grubs!

[jayc]

Cramp Tail Syndrome
Diagnosis:

 

Cramp Tail Syndrome or CTS (sometimes also known as Cramped Muscle Syndrome) is a disease recognised in the shrimp farming aquaculture industry (Couch and Fournie, 1993) where affected shrimp have a constantly humped abdomen even while swimming. However, this condition is not immune to the fancy bee shrimp hobby unfortunately. Severely affected shrimp would lie on its side at the bottom of the tank and is unable to move. Mortality follows shortly if untreated.

 

Cramp Tail Syndrome shrimp look like this:

 ^{Picture courtesy of Ronskitz.}

The cause of CTS has been suggested to be either a lack of nutrient deficiencies or environmental stressors. Evidence has suggested that a lack of potassium in dietary and/or environmental, relative to the cations Ca, Na and M, may be the principal factor in the cause of CTS in shrimp.

 

CTS appears to be caused by one or more of the following conditions:

·       High water temperature,

·       Vibriosis,

·       Potassium mineral imbalances, and/or

·       Toxins in the water

 

Vibriosis is caused by gram-negative bacteria in the family Vibrionaceae. Outbreaks may occur when environmental factors trigger the rapid multiplication of bacteria already tolerated at low levels within shrimp blood (Sizemore & Davis, 1985), or by bacterial penetration of the host exoskeleton. The exoskeleton provides an effective physical barrier to pathogens trying to penetrate the external surface of crustaceans, as well as the foregut and hindgut. However, Vibrio spp. are among the chitinoclastic bacteria associated with shell disease (Cook & Lofton 1973) and may enter through wounds in the exoskeleton or pores (Jiravanichpaisal & Miyazaki, 1994; Alday-Sanz et al,. 2002). The gills may also appear susceptible to bacterial penetration because they are covered by a thin exoskeleton (Taylor & Taylor, 1992). Mortalities due to vibriosis occur when shrimps are stressed by factors such as: poor water quality, overcrowding, high water temperature, low Dissolved Oxygen and low water change frequency.

 

 

Known cures:

·  High water temperature – Check temperatures of the tank and reduce to optimum levels for your specific shrimp.

·  Vibriosis – Oxytetracycline or Tetracycline can be used to eradicate vibrio and any gram negative bacteria. Oxytetracycline can be purchased at most fish shop and aquariums.

Oxytetracycline is available in 2 forms. Powder and injectable. The injectable form was used as it is a stronger form. This meant that we could use less to obtain the required dosage.

 

Dosed straight into the water column at 1000mg per 40ltr of water.

 

Follow the dosage instructions for the FULL duration of the treatment, even if your shrimps are looking better. Do NOT stop treatment short, as this will develop strains of bacteria with resistance to future treatment.

 

Some options for purchasing Oxytetracycline:

http://www.thetechden.com.au/Blue_Planet_Aquari_Cycline_25_Tablets_p/el080.htm

 

http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/OXYMB?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=myshopping&utm_campaign=Pet+Supplies&gdftrk=gdfV25674_a_7c2113_a_7c7878_a_7c2417&utm_term=Oxymav+B+100g

 

·     Potassium mineral imbalances - dose Potassium sulphate (K₂SO₄ ) or Potassium chloride (KCl) as soon as possible into the water as a drip (slowly). This can be found in most gardening stores as it’s a fertiliser for plants. How much is still undetermined. I would start with 1gm per 40L of water. Check that it does not impact your water parameters too much.

 

Even more effective than dosing Potassium into the water column is to introduce it as a feed. Soak some of your shrimp food in the potassium prepared above, and feed it to the shrimp. Drip the rest of the potassium into the tank.

 

·  Toxins in the water – Perform a large water change of approximately 90%. If the tank was subjected to bacterial infection, a complete teardown of the tank is advised. Re-build using new filter media and reseed beneficial bacteria from a friend.

 

Edited April 11, 2016 by jayc
formatting to remove unwanted spacing

[Lyana]

Hello everyone, I'm in desperate need of help with my dream blue rili tank. Before they got whatever it is going on they were super healthy, never died grew super fast, bred like rabbits.

A couple months after I added new shrimps from a bad seller to the tank they started to die. I thought it was because of the low ph, I had them in my tb tank. So I moved them to their own tank but they still died, though they colored up nicely.

I've tried adding tons of leaves, treating with paraguard, Maracyn 2, and now hydrogen peroxide but nothing seems to be working.

I noticed some looked like they had the milky white in the tail but I haven't seen any that look like that lately. They seem to die were they stand, looking alive until pushed over. They seem to be growing much slower then before too.

I just looked at one that just died and I noticed his organs looked orange/white, not pink but not dark like you guys say they should be. Can some shrimp have light organs or is that a bad sign? I didn't see anything else wrong with him.

This has been going on for months and it's really sad, I don't know what to do.

[jayc]

On 04/03/2016 at 9:51 AM, Lyana said:

I noticed some looked like they had the milky white in the tail but I haven't seen any that look like that lately. They seem to die were they stand, looking alive until pushed over. They seem to be growing much slower then before too.

I just looked at one that just died and I noticed his organs looked orange/white, not pink but not dark like you guys say they should be. Can some shrimp have light organs or is that a bad sign? I didn't see anything else wrong with him.

Hi Lyana,

can we get a picture (close up macro shot) of the sick shrimp?

 

Please list your water parameters. As many as you can.

 

[KeenShrimp]

Hi Lyana,

Once the knowledgable guys on the forum have ruled out any water parameter issues, and you have already been using Maracyn 2, the infection might be bacterial that is resistant to tetracyclines and you might want to try a different antibiotic class, or it might be viral. In the case of a virus I do not know of any viral treatments. Before switching to different antibiotics that automatically put stress on the shrimp, it will be well worth posting as many water parameters like GH, pH, KH, Temperature, Nitrates, Ammonia etc. so that the guys on this forum can try and help you ASAP.

 

[Lyana]

Not that good of pictures but all I have is an iPad.

• gh 9 
• kh 4
• ammonia 0
• ph 7.5
• nitratates 10
• tds 225
• temp 73-76

some look kind of like milky white but different then the just in the tail I've seen with  other shrimp I've had with infection. Also notice a lot of rusty coloring on shrimps and they stay smaller then they should.

shrimplet survival rate is poor, I see lots of berried shrimp but only a couple babies at a time.

UPDATE: I caught one that's on its way out a took of pictures.

 

Edited March 31, 2016 by Lyana

[Mitch]

So ive been reading up on the disease etc. Im fairly sure i am getting the milk disease. Although its happening like once a week where i lose one. there body seems to go greyish starting just behind head sorta thing. not sure whats going on one at a time though. i also found a damn bristleworm are these bad or what. please let me know ASAP :)

[jayc]

On 30/03/2016 at 3:34 PM, Lyana said:

Not that good of pictures but all I have is an iPad.

• gh 9 
• kh 4
• ammonia 0
• ph 7.5
• nitratates 10
• tds 225
• temp 73-76

Hi Lyana

sorry for the delay in replying. I didn't know you replied.

I cannot see much detail in those pictures. The resolution is too low. 

However, your water parameters are not ideal. Are you using tap water? And what Gravel are you using?

Gotta find the source of why your GH is so high.

GH is too high. KH, pH and TDS is also getting to the high side of comfortable.

The easiest fix would be to mix in some RO water. Can you get access to RO ?

If possible, I would do a big water change and replace with remineralised RO water to the correct parameters for Blue Rilli.

 

 

 

On 11/04/2016 at 7:47 AM, Mitch said:

Im fairly sure i am getting the milk disease. Although its happening like once a week where i lose one. there body seems to go greyish starting just behind head sorta thing. not sure whats going on one at a time though. i also found a damn bristleworm are these bad or what. please let me know ASAP :)

@Mitch, on most occasions, incorrect water parameters and prolonged conditions in this environment can be the cause of Muscular Necrosis. The stressed shrimp is more susceptible to infection in this situation.

Please test all water parameters:

 

GH

KH

ammonia 

Nitrite

Nitrate

pH

TDS

Temp

Edited October 11, 2016 by jayc

[Foxpuppet]

On 4 October 2013 at 10:37 AM, jayc said:

Dragonfly Nymphs:

While these are not specifically a disease, having one or more of these nasties in your tanks is sure death for shrimp (even small fish).

Check out the pics below and you'll under stand why. Use these to help you identify them too.











The only treatment is removal manually.
Locate the nymph and use a net to manually remove them.

all out war is how you deal with these guys!

[Mitch]

they are getting even when they are breeding. i have checked the waters and everything is normal. it is muscular necrosis. Even now i started with 5 blue diamonds and of the 5 i have 2 left and 1 is on the way out i believe. i have like 50 babies swimming everywhere

Edited April 11, 2016 by Mitch

[jayc]

@Mitch, what temperature is your tank water?

[Lyana]

Hi, thanks for the reply, I'm actually using ro water right now, but I thought the neos were suppose to have higher gh and ph?

when I first had them in there the kh was 0 gh 5 and TDS 160 and they were still dying so I added more gh to see if it would help and kh in case the ph was swinging.

[jayc]

@Lyana

Bring GH down to 7 and KH to 2 or 3 for now,  and bring TDS back downto 170 -180. Then observe the shrimp for any changes. 

What are you using to remineralise the RO water? 

Edited April 11, 2016 by jayc

[Lyana]

I am using ss gh + and seachem buffer for kh. I did notice some look milky white but those are not the ones I see dying. More of the adults are dying then young I think.

[jayc]

1 hour ago, Lyana said:

I am using ss gh + and seachem buffer for kh. I did notice some look milky white but those are not the ones I see dying. More of the adults are dying then young I think.

Ok thanks. Stop the seachem buffer for now, and reduce SS GH+ until you reach those suggested figures I mentioned. I'd like to eliminate the high readings as a cause of stress to the shrimp.

Bring GH down to 7 and KH to 2 or 3 for now,  and bring TDS back downto 170 -180. 

Bring pH down to 6.9 or 7.0.

The shrimps won't die immediately, when they get that milky white in the tail section. They can continue to live for a few weeks, but if conditions don't change, they will eventually loose the battle. 

[MonsterNelson]

On 9/28/2013 at 1:30 AM, jayc said:

Parasites:

These might not necessarily be detrimental to the shrimp.
Many live in a symbiotic relationship with the shrimp as can be seen in wild shrimp.
But if it was me, I say burn them parasites!

(Scutariella):

Planaria Zero worked for me. If you're experiencing a massive outbreak and don't have time to individually salt bath each shrimp, I recommend this treatment.

Edited November 16, 2016 by MonsterNelson

[jayc]

2 hours ago, MonsterNelson said:

Planaria Zero

Thanks @MonsterNelson for following up with a cure. I'll add it to the list.

[Ana]

Hi, a couple of days ago I bought my first shrimp. It is a flower shrimp, and he was ok in the beginning, but now he is lying upside down and he is barely moving for at least 8 hours. I thought he was dead, but I can still see him moving sometimes. Also, when I bought he was pale and now he is bright orange. Does anyone know what is happening? What should I do?

[jayc]

3 hours ago, Ana said:

Does anyone know what is happening? What should I do?

Hi Ana, 

firstly welcome to SKFA.

WiTh regards to the shrimp, that's not a good sign.

Could be a number of things, but high on the probablility list is ammonia poisoining, or wrong water parameters.

Is the tank newly setup? Has it had time to cycle?

Are you able to test any water parameters?

[Ana]

6 hours ago, jayc said:

Hi Ana, 

firstly welcome to SKFA.

WiTh regards to the shrimp, that's not a good sign.

Could be a number of things, but high on the probablility list is ammonia poisoining, or wrong water parameters.

Is the tank newly setup? Has it had time to cycle?

Are you able to test any water parameters?

Hi

yeah, it was a new thank and there were many things that went wrong, includind the ammonia level.

i was just wondering, is there anything I should do when something like that happens? I had already changed him into a different tank and he doesn't seem to have improved, but he haven't died either and I am afraid he might be suffering.

thank you!

[jayc]

12 hours ago, Ana said:

anything I should do when something like that happens?

Prevention is the key.  Make sure the tank is properly cycled before adding any livestock . 

Read up on the aquarium cycling process . 

Purchase some test kits, minimum are ammonia ,  nitrite,  nitrate and pH.

Try to get your water parameters tested, so we know what the cause it. Can you get a sample to your LFS?

 

Edited March 10, 2017 by jayc