Hello, everyone. I've been contemplating since Monday if I should post this update for Week 12. Hence, the delay.
What I would like to say is I'm not totally happy with how things have turned out so far with this shrimp tank project. Here are some reasons why.
Shrimp Survival Rate
Until now, I'm not sure what's causing the low survival rate of my shrimps. Every time death occurs in the tank and parameters are measured, nothing suggests that there's anything wrong with the water. Of course, these are parameters from simple tests only and a comprehensive test kit could have suggested otherwise.
All the berried female shrimps survived to hatch most of their eggs and at one point, there were probably over 100 shrimplets. Sadly, it's a total loss because I see none of them anymore in my tank.
I was anticipating for the female shrimps to bear eggs again but that did not happen either.
For Week 12, three of the shrimps died and this week, another five died. In all, I'm left with only 12 out of the 20 that I bought for the second batch of shrimps.
Unwelcomed Visitors Arrival
The mini fissidens and floating plants in the shrimp tank have been doing well and I didn't need to do much for them except throwing away the weak clumps of floating plants with rotting leaves and dying roots. I thought that the current 10-hour photoperiod will be good for them until the arrival of some unwelcomed visitors.
I started noticing fuzzy grey hair-like algae on my cactus sticks and catappa leaf. Wasn't sure what it was at first and I'm hoping that the shrimps would take care of it.
As it grew bigger, I identified them as Black Beard Algae (aka BBA) based on other photos found online. So far, their growth is only limited to the cactus sticks and catappa leaf and I don't mind getting rid of them because they are easily replaceable.
The fact that BBA managed to take root in my tank worries me. There's definitely something wrong with my tank setup.
What Could Have Gone Wrong
If I were to make a couple of guesses where I might have gone wrong with my tank setup, I would probably say insufficient surface agitation and lack of minerals.
From Day 1, I've always noticed that there's an oily film on my tank water surface. It goes away where there's more surface agitation from my filter when the water level is low. After a water change and top up when the water level is at its highest and there is less surface agitation, the oily film comes back.
This, in turn, could have caused lower oxygen level in my tank and causing the shrimps to die.
I also suspect that when I did the tank set up, I did not consider adding things like mineral powder or stones that might have long term benefits for the shrimps. It might not be totally needed but it wouldn't hurt to add minerals that would give the shrimps a fighting chance.
Tank Reset Considered
I've tried and failed for three months now but it's all part of the learning process and I'm willing to do it all over again if necessary. A tank reset has been considered and this time I'll be sure to upgrade the filter and add minerals during the set up.
If you have any suggestions as to what might have gone wrong or have any questions that might point to where I made mistakes, shoot away.
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