Sulawesi shrimp deaths

[kennethc]

As one from this forum pointed it out, i decided to investigate the problem of my tank.

The water parameters follows:
GH 8
PH 8
KH 5
Ammonia 0

This is how it looks like.


I have bought 9 white orchids to date. There are 4 surviving left. I bought 5 red orchids and 3 survived. I bought 5 mix of mini blue and malili red. 2 mini blue and one malili red survived.

As many say, Sulawesi shrimps die easily. Actual water parameters of lakes are guidelines to follow. Long cycling is required. My tank parameters are not conductive to the shrimps. Shrimps dont die from the difference in quality in imported stocks.

So then, I dont want to ask my sulawesi mates directly anymore as they are pissed by my constant questions that can or not be found in the net as they said. However, I cannot find enough information to find out my tank problem. If you dont wish to reply this thread, so be it. I am not forcing anyone. I am calling for those who can help me willingly, thats all. Thank you in advance.

[Kenng]

One recommend to use Salty Shrimp Mineral

[kennethc]

One recommend to use Salty Shrimp Mineral

Thank you for your reply.
I am using Salty Shrimp mineral 7.5.

[shearerkk]

I recommend Sulawesi Mineral 8.5...

You should also measure the PPM of the water. Different Sulawesi Shrimps type used different PPM. General rule of thumb for me is it should be at least 200 to 300 PPM.

Cheers!

[kennethc]

I recommend Sulawesi Mineral 8.5...

You should also measure the PPM of the water. Different Sulawesi Shrimps type used different PPM. General rule of thumb for me is it should be at least 200 to 300 PPM.

Cheers!

Mind explaining more? I have never heard of PPM..

[kennethc]

I have additional information, I have 3 berried cardinals, 1 berried blue leg poso and 1 berried white orchid.(excluding bought berried ones) My berried cardinal had its successful birth recently. The cardinals are coming more out to the open, I guess the problem is okay now.

[joeybabooey]

Just to share my 2 cents, to be frank and honest, many of us (myself incuded) freak out when something happens. From 1 to 3 pieces dead or entire population wipe out. Especially after first starting the tank. Freaking out is perfectly fine. Until we start doing things to it.

My advice is to take it slow. After the initial freak out, think to yourself what you might have obviously done wrong. There are way too many factors as to our shrimp deaths and most of the time its not up to our control.

Sometimes we just need a very stable tank (especially Sulawesi) that has been running for a while. Patience, patience and more patience. That is what i have learnt being in this hobby

Hope gives us a little more confidence in our own setups.

By the way, you mean PPM as parts per million? That is a measurement value. So what are we supposed to measure that is in ppm? Ammonia? Nitrate? TDS? Please enlighten, thank you

[stormhawk]

The way I see it, I think they are lacking in something, possibly food. If your water parameters are following the general guidelines for Sulawesi shrimps then it's probably nutrition. I find that for shrimps as a whole, they love tanks with good algae growth, where they graze for the aufwuchs that live on the surface of the algae. I got a small Cherry Shrimp in an algae covered external box and to date it has been grazing and molting normally without me needing to feed it any sort of shrimp pellet. Same should apply for Sulawesi shrimps. Adding more lava rocks to form extra hiding and grazing spots would be a good idea because these shrimps are extra shy.

Since Sulawesi shrimp are rather picky on food, that might explain your problem with the random deaths. They are after all, primarily grazers, so creating additional areas for bacteria and other microscopic fauna to colonize would be great for your shrimps in the long term.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM7CDkl5iZI

In this video you will see a Cardinal grazing happily on an old sponge filter. Perhaps having a simple sponge filter in the tank and letting it mature over time would be a good thing to do. Reading several posts elsewhere, some keepers say their Sulawesi shrimps spend quite some time on old sponge filters picking at what seems to be "nothing".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEJ1rY1VMCY

This other video shows a well-established tank with a lot of algae around. The shrimps are vibrant and grazing actively.

[kennethc]

The way I see it, I think they are lacking in something, possibly food. If your water parameters are following the general guidelines for Sulawesi shrimps then it's probably nutrition. I find that for shrimps as a whole, they love tanks with good algae growth, where they graze for the aufwuchs that live on the surface of the algae. I got a small Cherry Shrimp in an algae covered external box and to date it has been grazing and molting normally without me needing to feed it any sort of shrimp pellet. Same should apply for Sulawesi shrimps. Adding more lava rocks to form extra hiding and grazing spots would be a good idea because these shrimps are extra shy.

Since Sulawesi shrimp are rather picky on food, that might explain your problem with the random deaths. They are after all, primarily grazers, so creating additional areas for bacteria and other microscopic fauna to colonize would be great for your shrimps in the long term.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM7CDkl5iZI

In this video you will see a Cardinal grazing happily on an old sponge filter. Perhaps having a simple sponge filter in the tank and letting it mature over time would be a good thing to do. Reading several posts elsewhere, some keepers say their Sulawesi shrimps spend quite some time on old sponge filters picking at what seems to be "nothing".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEJ1rY1VMCY

This other video shows a well-established tank with a lot of algae around. The shrimps are vibrant and grazing actively.

I have seen guppies tank before! It is stunning.
I am feeding mosura bioplus to my baby shrimps and they are growing faster. I also feed mosura excel.
My tank walls are covered with green algae and I am using beamworks led 1600.
Are these nutrition not enough? O:

[kennethc]

Just to share my 2 cents, to be frank and honest, many of us (myself incuded) freak out when something happens. From 1 to 3 pieces dead or entire population wipe out. Especially after first starting the tank. Freaking out is perfectly fine. Until we start doing things to it.

My advice is to take it slow. After the initial freak out, think to yourself what you might have obviously done wrong. There are way too many factors as to our shrimp deaths and most of the time its not up to our control.

Sometimes we just need a very stable tank (especially Sulawesi) that has been running for a while. Patience, patience and more patience. That is what i have learnt being in this hobby

Hope gives us a little more confidence in our own setups.

By the way, you mean PPM as parts per million? That is a measurement value. So what are we supposed to measure that is in ppm? Ammonia? Nitrate? TDS? Please enlighten, thank you

Thank you for your words!

[shearerkk]

Yes, PPM I refer to TDS.

Also, Temp control is important. I keep mine at 29 degrees.

[Kenng]

beamworks led 1600 good enough?

[Kenng]

I recommend Sulawesi Mineral 8.5...

You should also measure the PPM of the water. Different Sulawesi Shrimps type used different PPM. General rule of thumb for me is it should be at least 200 to 300 PPM.

Cheers!

Mineral 8.5 quite troublesome as need to dissolve in hot water and then cool down as per what I read from green chapter webpage. 7.5 easier, just dissolve in room temperature.
Or did I get it wrong?

[kennethc]

beamworks led 1600 good enough?

I don't know. Do you?

[stormhawk]

@kennethc,

If the sides are nicely covered by algae and there is sufficient areas for them to graze then it's probably just lack of hiding space. From what I recall reading elsewhere, some of these shrimps are more aggressive in defending territory than others.

[kennethc]

@kennethc,

If the sides are nicely covered by algae and there is sufficient areas for them to graze then it's probably just lack of hiding space. From what I recall reading elsewhere, some of these shrimps are more aggressive in defending territory than others.

Ahh, i learnt of that too, recently. I need to save up to buy new sulawesi rocks.

[stormhawk]

You don't actually have to use Sulawesi rocks. Those common lava rocks are just as good. In fact any kind of inert rock is fine as long as it provides the shrimp with hiding spaces. Best inspiration of course is to see those underwater videos or pictures of their habitats.