I have this new set up tanks 2wks ago..
10 red gilis. 10 sakuras were added in.. slowly left 12 commandos.
But now they are clustering most of the time at the furthest away from the pump..
Pls advise..
Last edited by citvengen; 19th Nov 2013 at 21:00.
Have you tested the water parameters? Since the tank is still relatively new, it could be in the midst of cycling and there is an ammonia or nitrite spike happening, so the remaining shrimps are responding to it by clustering at one spot close to the surface.
Try doing small frequent water changes to help alleviate the effects until the tank is fully cycled.
What I did was when starting up. I used 1 week old soft water (from tap). Then let the set up tank cycle for another week before adding in the shrimps..Originally Posted by Urban Aquaria
Can I do a 30% water change with only 1 week old soft water( from tap).
Well, the shrimps you are keeping are not those sensitive types, so you should be able to do water changes just by directly using tap water treated with dechlorinator solution (ie. Seachem Prime)... no real need to age water for one whole week.
If you are using shrimp soil or ADA aquasoil, then the soil will automatically help to soften the water and balance the pH for you.
Tanks don't cycle after just 1 week, especially for brand new tanks, it usually it takes 4-6 weeks before the cycle is complete (sometimes longer)... best to test the water parameters to get an idea of what stage of the cycling process it's at, otherwise just have to wait.
Just did a 30% change of water. mixture of 15% untreated 1 week aged water + 15% mineral water from my officer dispensal.
Shrimps are coming out and starting to move around more livelyhopefully it is for the good.
based purely on the replies, it suggests some form of poisoning. either through fluctuating PH levels or ammonia, or through higher levels of heavy metals or silicon.Just did a 30% change of water. mixture of 15% untreated 1 week aged water + 15% mineral water from my officer dispensal.
Shrimps are coming out and starting to move around more lively
I would suggest to go get a 5L distilled water from the super market and do another water change in the near future (3 days?).
in the meantime, any leakage anywhere? can check your fertilizers if you are using any for overdose? also check the heavy metals in the ferts.
I am balding but i am still young!
i'm using black shrimp/plant soil (cant recall the brand, but only rmb it is from Jap).
no leakage. or should I get a test kit (any brand to recommend?). After few hrs from the water changed, the shrimps started to cluster at the same corner again..
only 2 of my cory fishes swimming around.
Just to note, our local tap water has chloramine (a more stable version of chlorine) which does not dissipate fully even when aged, so you still have to use water treatment solutions (those remove both chlorine and chloramine) in the tap water.Just did a 30% change of water. mixture of 15% untreated 1 week aged water + 15% mineral water from my officer dispensal.
Shrimps are coming out and starting to move around more lively
If tap water is not treated, the beneficial bacteria in your tank will be killed by the residual chloramine and it will never be able to cycle properly.
Your nitrate level is probably still high, so perhaps you might want to measure this parameter.
I had been experiencing high nitrate in my 20cm cube nano tank and no matter how much WC I did, nitrate remained high. After I changed the biomedia to Matrix and introduced frogbits to the tank, most parameters remain low and stablise. You might want to give it a try TS.
any idea what is the cause of high nitrate and how can it be removed?
After I did a 30% WC with anti chlorine solution.. some of the anubus leaves have brownish stain like spots..
surprising found 1 shrimplet but also have 1 adult casualty..
I had the same experience with a 2 week old tank and lost 5 Yamatos overnight, this was my first experience with mass casualties in a new tank which I attributed to the dreaded ammonia spike in a new tank. The surviving ones were clinging to the filter outlet pipe close to the surface in the morning. I transferred them to an older tank and managed to save them. 100% water change and 2 days later, I reintroduced the Yamatos and they have been OK since then.
With the densely planted flora in the tank, are you getting enough circulation, especially at the front bottom right of the tank?
Think the circulation is doing fairly well (quite a strong filter).
I did alot of poking into the soil and notice alot of air bubbles (left side of tank).. then i suspect it might be the nitrate (maybe that explain why all the shrimps keep hidding at the right side of tank).
Removed those air and waiting for the cloudy tank to settle..
Hi guys, on the topic of water change due to unstable water parameters,
Is it good to do distilled water changes once in a while??
I have a 1.5ft tank with cherry shrimps, and usually i change with aged water.
Will the GH go up gradually if i continue changing water with this method?
Nitrates are the end product of the nitrifying process... beneficial bacteria convert ammonia to nitrite, then nitrite to nitrate. Nitrates are usually consumed by plants or removed by water changes (the fastest method).
High nitrate levels are usually an indication that your bio-load in the tank is either too high, overfeeding, plant mass/density too low or mostly slow growing plants (that consume less nitrates), which result in nitrates building up higher over time.
Low-tech tanks without Co2 injection and fast growing plants are usually prone to accumulating high nitrate levels, so you just have to either plant more fast growing plants or do more water changes or reduce bio-load and feed less.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 21st Nov 2013 at 15:32.
Distilled water is okay to use in a tank, if its used once in a while or just for top ups then no problems. But if the majority of water used for a tank is distilled water, then you may need to add in some mineral/trace element supplement solutions (can buy those at LFS), as distilled water has very low mineral content (or sometimes none) that plants and fishes/shrimps need to absorb.
Although water changes with tap water usually help lower GH, if you find that even with water changes the GH of your tank water is still rising too high (and you are keeping very sensitive fishes or shrimps that need a certain range of GH), then you can try doing water changes with just distilled or RO water, that will reduce GH much faster, but as mentioned you should add back beneficial minerals/elements with supplement solutions to balance the water conditions.
I think you should plant heavily with some fast growing plants. duckweed, water sprite etc. They will soak up the nitrates.
Staying at top of tank, lethargic(not much movement in the shrimps) are sign of breathing difficulties.
You just need to cycle your tank alittle longer to cultivate more BB to break down the nitrite.
If no shrimps are dying, I suggest you don't change too much stuff
BB = benificial Bacterial?
thanks for the advise bros.. will try out for some times before any updating
i recommend frogbits for nitrate suckers...lol
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