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I am pleased to here the other shrimp are behaving normally now. I don't know how long they stay inactive after a moult as my tank is densely planted so I never see them all anyway and they are probably hiding (natural behaviour I expect) when they do moult. I would guess just a day or 2 to harden the new shell and they will be back to normal and feel less vulnerable? I don't think shrimp will eat all types of algae so expect, as you state, they maybe don't like the type you have. If it is the string type I know my shrimps never touched that for instance, but it cleared on its own with time as the tank settled? I imagine if the shrimp are moving around the tank a lot they may be searching for food so it could indicate a little boost may be a good idea? Simon

Thanks for the reply. There are 9 other shrimp and the tank is only 24L (6 gallons). As expected, the other two shrimp that I said were being "quiet" last time did indeed molt and after about 12 more hours, returned to activity. (How long do shrimp usually stay quiet before and after molting anyway?) So therefore "everybody else is doing fine" and I have no idea why this one guy died. The tank temperature has been between 66-70F. In cases like this, all I can do is compare to what is different than everybody else, and it is that I did not feed shrimp-specific food for a long time. So maybe there is some nutrient deficiency... On the other hand, all the other shrimp grew up fine, so... The way I feed shrimp is to put in a dish, and then use a 1/2" diameter clear plastic tube and put one end in the dish and the other end sticking out of the water. Then I grind up some shrimp pellet food and dump it in the tube. That way, all the crumbs drift down and into the dish instead of getting all over the tank. This last week the shrimp have been more active than usual, in that they are grazing and quickly moving, instead of grazing and staying in one spot. So maybe the tank is running low on biofilm? There is still a lot of algae on the glass and on the plants, but the shrimp don't seem to want to eat those - maybe it is the wrong kind of algae.

What plant is it? A picture of the problem would be helpful too. How heavily planted is the tank? This gives us an indication of whether the tank is exhausted of nutrients. Flourish is a micro nutrient. The nutrients it provides is only needed in micro amounts. A plant will live a long time if no micro nutrients are added to the tank. Flourish Excel is an alternate carbon source. So what seems to be missing is Macro nutrients. That is, nutrients that are needed in large amounts. If I was to take a guess without seeing the issue, this is where I would focus on for a resolution. A plant will turn yellow and die very quickly if no Macro nutrients are added to a closed system like a fish tank. Depending on the type of plant, it could be lacking Potassium, or maybe Nitrogen, if the plant is turning yellow. Just be aware that adding Potassium and nitrogen for plants will alter water parameters. So if you have shrimp or sensitive fish, you might want to adjust how much is added.

Sorry to hear you have lost a shrimp. How many are there left in the tank? I wouldn't act to hastily and start treating for something that may not be? Maybe it just died and you will never know why if it had no symptoms? Just keep a close eye on the rest for now! Maybe the BKK weren't very healthy to start with if they hadn't grown as expected, though also there may not have been sufficient food, but that is less likely if the others in the tank have grown! I would feed the shrimps as the grazing area is fairly limited (I assume this is your 80L divided into 4) but sparingly, maybe twice a week. Crush up a pellet into almost a powder, then dip a pin or similar a couple of mm in the water, then into the food, then back in to the tank will give them something different to eat to supplement their diet. I would check the temperature of the water as well as when my old setup overheated they started going an orange/pink colour? It is good that you obviously spend time watching them as they are fascinating to watch and very calming! Simon