Shrimps all KO

[Ice Shrimp]

Hi all,
I have same problem of shrimp dying. Mine has C02 setup, initially was planted tank with HOB but switch to shrimp.

Setup:
1ft nano tank
Hang on filter
ADA soil
1 driftwood with MYRIOPHYLLUM MATTOGROSSENSE
2 medium moss balls & 5 small marimo
Pressurised CO2
1 handful of HC
A bit of salvinia minima (throwing away soon)
Plant names are guessed only
Cycled for about 5 weeks with the below readings before shrimps were added


Am 0ppm
NO2 0ppm
N03 ~20~40ppm
Shrimps: Fire, Sakura and Bloody Mary
30+ shrimps (lost count)

My shrimps keep dying slowly even with some molting found and I'm left with like 2 as of today. Temp was at 30 so I added a fan to bring it down to 28 daily (top up with anti-chlorine water. I add ice packs to bring it down to 26 on some days. (I have to freeze them again to reuse)
GH wasn’t tested until recently with API dripping. I can’t seem to get this right. I dripped like 20 drops and still not green so I went to buy BW mineral rock to add in (suspect too soft water) and Mosura Gravidas and they still died. So I went to buy Easy-life strips for testing.
Ph5.5, kh0, gh25ppm (1.4dh), TC0.6, NO2 0, NO3 20ppm.

As I am writing here, my CO2 and light kicked it. I tried searching for my 2 remaining shrimps. Found them dead. bright in color like just died awhile ago. I have a Co2 indicator and its still in safe zone. immediately did a water test with my strips

ph5.5
kh0
gh150
tc0.6
NO2 0
NO3 80ppm

What should I do now? I have some new shrimps and HOB indicate dirty.Thank you

[Urban Aquaria]

Just curious, did you clean and quarantine your plants before adding them to the tank?

Sometimes when all the parameters look okay and shrimps are still dying, one of the possibilities could be residual pesticides/chemicals leaching from the plants which gradually kill the shrimps over a period of time. If you suspect that to be the case, remove and wash/soak the plants in a separate container, and add a pack of activated carbon into the filter to help adsorb the toxic chemicals.

Btw, do note that test strips are not as accurate and can generate rather wide variations in results, so take their measurements as very rough estimates, the actual levels may be quite different.

Also check that your drop checker is using indicator solution mixed with 4dkh water (not aquarium water) or pre-mixed indicator solution, otherwise the Co2 level measurements will be inaccurate too.

[Urban Aquaria]

Just another observation, you mentioned the TC (total chlorine) result is 0.6? It should be zero.

Do you use any anti-chlorine/anti-chloramine solutions (ie. Seachem Prime) to treat your tap water before use in the aquarium?

[Ice Shrimp]

Just curious, did you clean and quarantine your plants before adding them to the tank?

Sometimes when all the parameters look okay and shrimps are still dying, one of the possibilities could be residual pesticides/chemicals leaching from the plants which gradually kill the shrimps over a period of time. If you suspect that to be the case, remove and wash/soak the plants in a separate container, and add a pack of activated carbon into the filter to help adsorb the toxic chemicals.

Btw, do note that test strips are not as accurate and can generate rather wide variations in results, so take their measurements as very rough estimates, the actual levels may be quite different.

Also check that your drop checker is using indicator solution mixed with 4dkh water (not aquarium water) or pre-mixed indicator solution, otherwise the Co2 level measurements will be inaccurate too.

Hi Urban,
no I didnt but during cycling, I was using activated carbon but I removed it and added new plants recently. For the CO2 check I followed the instruction to use tank water and 4 drops of solution (ANS). The tests strips gave me a rough reading on my GH much better than my API. recently I used the api gh drops and it needed abt 10 drops to see a light green color. I didnt measure TDS yet. I suspect its my PH to low and will try to bring it up to see. I also found out one of my 2 last supposedly dead shrimp moved and still moving. I moved it into the a smaller tank where my newly bought shrimps are acclimating. its moving but lying on its side. sad

[Ice Shrimp]

Just another observation, you mentioned the TC (total chlorine) result is 0.6? It should be zero.

Do you use any anti-chlorine/anti-chloramine solutions (ie. Seachem Prime) to treat your tap water before use in the aquarium?

Yes, I used it. I added afew drops to about 5L of water and stand it to top up my tank when water level drops

[Urban Aquaria]

Hi Urban,
no I didnt but during cycling, I was using activated carbon but I removed it and added new plants recently. For the CO2 check I followed the instruction to use tank water and 4 drops of solution (ANS). The tests strips gave me a rough reading on my GH much better than my API. recently I used the api gh drops and it needed abt 10 drops to see a light green color. I didnt measure TDS yet. I suspect its my PH to low and will try to bring it up to see. I also found out one of my 2 last supposedly dead shrimp moved and still moving. I moved it into the a smaller tank where my newly bought shrimps are acclimating. its moving but lying on its side. sad

Okay, there could be a possibility the newer plants that you added might still be releasing traces of toxic pesticides or chemicals, so do more large water changes and add another pack of activated carbon in the filter to try and remove any possible contaminants.

As for the Co2 drop checker, the indicator solution measures Co2 levels based on the pH and KH relationship, so you cannot use your aquarium water to mix it because your tank is using ADA Amazonia aquasoil which already buffers the pH and KH of the water (those instructions never factor that in)... that means your existing drop checker color results are not accurate at the moment. You'll need to get a bottle of 4dkh reference water (it has a known pH 7.0 and KH 4.0) to mix a new indicator solution, or just buy those pre-mixed indicator solutions from LFS (can use directly without mixing, much easier and more accurate).

For your GH test, chances are the liquid test kit could be the more correct measurement, a high GH can be a cause of molting problems in shrimps which cause them to die off over time as they try to molt unsuccessfully. Thats why i mentioned that tests strips can sometimes generate very inaccurate results which turn out different from other tests, i have personally encountered wildly inaccurate test strip results which caused me to use wrong solutions for my tanks, end up i did more harm in the process.

Getting accurate test results is more important than just getting rough measurements, especially if you will be adjusting your water parameters based on those results. You wouldn't want to adjust them the wrong way and make things worse.

The shrimps lying on their sides and still moving could be indicative of toxic chemicals in the water, usually when this happens most shrimp keepers will shift them to another cycled tank (that is clear of any toxic chemicals) and they should recover very quickly. Its a 50/50 chance though so just have to monitor and see.

[Ice Shrimp]

Okay, there could be a possibility the newer plants that you added might still be releasing traces of toxic pesticides or chemicals, so do more large water changes and add another pack of activated carbon in the filter to try and remove any possible contaminants.

As for the Co2 drop checker, the indicator solution measures Co2 levels based on the pH and KH relationship, so you cannot use your aquarium water to mix it because your tank is using ADA Amazonia aquasoil which already buffers the pH and KH of the water (those instructions never factor that in)... that means your existing drop checker color results are not accurate at the moment. You'll need to get a bottle of 4dkh reference water (it has a known pH 7.0 and KH 4.0) to mix a new indicator solution, or just buy those pre-mixed indicator solutions from LFS (can use directly without mixing, much easier and more accurate).

For your GH test, chances are the liquid test kit could be the more correct measurement, a high GH can be a cause of molting problems in shrimps which cause them to die off over time as they try to molt unsuccessfully. Thats why i mentioned that tests strips can sometimes generate very inaccurate results which turn out different from other tests, i have personally encountered wildly inaccurate test strip results which caused me to use wrong solutions for my tanks, end up i did more harm in the process.

Getting accurate test results is more important than just getting rough measurements, especially if you will be adjusting your water parameters based on those results. You wouldn't want to adjust them the wrong way and make things worse.

The shrimps lying on their sides and still moving could be indicative of toxic chemicals in the water, usually when this happens most shrimp keepers will shift them to another cycled tank (that is clear of any toxic chemicals) and they should recover very quickly. Its a 50/50 chance though so just have to monitor and see.

For all the test are done on API freshwater master test kit. Maybe I should take note of the CO2 again. This morning supposedly dead shrimp was much better as I so I release it together with my newly purchased shrimp in which I placed them in a small container. For GH I have the API drip and another strip for easy reference as the API drips are giving me alot of problem 20 drops or more to get a slight greenish color means my water super soft? so I should harden it up, right? that the reason for the BW mineral rock and Gravidas to harden the water. I should do a large water change since now I have no shrimp in the planted tank? But I need to release the new shrimps into the tank and afraid the BB or the tank needs time to stabilize again. They are housed in small tank with O2 pumped

[Urban Aquaria]

For all the test are done on API freshwater master test kit. Maybe I should take note of the CO2 again. This morning supposedly dead shrimp was much better as I so I release it together with my newly purchased shrimp in which I placed them in a small container. For GH I have the API drip and another strip for easy reference as the API drips are giving me alot of problem 20 drops or more to get a slight greenish color means my water super soft? so I should harden it up, right? that the reason for the BW mineral rock and Gravidas to harden the water. I should do a large water change since now I have no shrimp in the planted tank? But I need to release the new shrimps into the tank and afraid the BB or the tank needs time to stabilize again. They are housed in small tank with O2 pumped

Yeah, sounds like something in your main tank water is causing issues. Have to clear it and restore the water condition. You can do a large water change (ie. 80%-90%) and let the tank run for another 24 hours to stabilize. Changing the water doesn't affect the beneficial bacteria population significantly (the majority live on tank surfaces and bio-media, very little of them live in the water column).

Do remember to drip acclimate the shrimps before reintroducing them back into the main tank as the water parameters may have changed due to the large water change.

Your GH readings do seem very odd, 20 drops in the API test tube GH kit is 20 dKH which is super high (means the water is very hard), the color chart max out at only 12 drops. To do the test tube measurement, you actually only need to drip until the orange color just turns green, no need to keep dripping until you get a very dark green color, just a slight change in color is enough. The color change can be quite faint, so if your visual color detection isn't so good, ask a family member or friend to help counter check it. The actual result may not be that high.

Btw, do you have any rocks in the tank or use any GH increasing items like coral chips in your filter? Its also possible that the GH could be further driven up by the addition of too much mineral rocks and shrimp additives, especially if various products were used together at the same time in a tank with already high GH.

I guess you just have to check and narrow down the causes, and try various solutions to see which work.

[Ice Shrimp]

Yeah, sounds like something in your main tank water is causing issues. Have to clear it and restore the water condition. You can do a large water change (ie. 80%-90%) and let the tank run for another 24 hours to stabilize. Changing the water doesn't affect the beneficial bacteria population significantly (the majority live on tank surfaces and bio-media, very little of them live in the water column).

Do remember to drip acclimate the shrimps before reintroducing them back into the main tank as the water parameters may have changed due to the large water change.

Your GH readings do seem very odd, 20 drops in the API test tube GH kit is 20 dKH which is super high (means the water is very hard), the color chart max out at only 12 drops. To do the test tube measurement, you actually only need to drip until the orange color just turns green, no need to keep dripping until you get a very dark green color, just a slight change in color is enough. The color change can be quite faint, so if your visual color detection isn't so good, ask a family member or friend to help counter check it. The actual result may not be that high.

Btw, do you have any rocks in the tank or use any GH increasing items like coral chips in your filter? Its also possible that the GH could be further driven up by the addition of too much mineral rocks and shrimp additives, especially if various products were used together at the same time in a tank with already high GH.

I guess you just have to check and narrow down the causes, and try various solutions to see which work.

I actually was acclimating the new shrimps and writing this thread just to find out 2 remaining shrimps KO. Problem is with the GH kit is the first to 5 drops is not orange so you cant see the color change from Orange to green as indicated by the instructions. Mine is light yellow. I thought my water is too soft so I added BorneoWild mineral rocks and Gravidas.So I went to buy the strips to double check. The strips gave me a soft reading..Now the same drip test with 10 drops gives me abit of faint green rather than 20 drops. . Planning to add coral chips to bring up PH as all my PH readings are at 5.5only

[Urban Aquaria]

I actually was acclimating the new shrimps and writing this thread just to find out 2 remaining shrimps KO. Problem is with the GH kit is the first to 5 drops is not orange so you cant see the color change from Orange to green as indicated by the instructions. Mine is light yellow. I thought my water is too soft so I added BorneoWild mineral rocks and Gravidas.So I went to buy the strips to double check. The strips gave me a soft reading..Now the same drip test with 10 drops gives me abit of faint green rather than 20 drops. . Planning to add coral chips to bring up PH as all my PH readings are at 5.5only

Just to check that you cap and shake the GH test tube after every drop? As per the instructions. If not, then that could explain the variable test results.

As for the test colors, its quite common for most people to have slightly different visual color perceptions (which is one of the tricky things about tests using color codes, i also encounter that too)... if you find that the colors don't seem to match up, like if you see orange as light yellow, then have to get someone else to help verify it.

Since you are using ADA Amazonia aquasoil, try not to add extra buffers like coral chips to further manipulate the pH levels... it will constantly fight against the soil's natural buffering and exhaust it faster, and when it does exhaust the pH can swing up suddenly without notice. You should let the active soil control and maintain the pH on its own to avoid sudden fluctuations.

Do note that Co2 injection will also naturally decrease the water pH when it is in operation so its normal for a tank to have pH of 6.5 which gradually drops to 5.5 during Co2 injection (the effect can last for a while after lights out if there is still ample Co2 levels in the water).

[Ice Shrimp]

Just to check that you cap and shake the GH test tube after every drop? As per the instructions. If not, then that could explain the variable test results.

As for the test colors, its quite common for most people to have slightly different visual color perceptions (which is one of the tricky things about tests using color codes, i also encounter that too)... if you find that the colors don't seem to match up, like if you see orange as light yellow, then have to get someone else to help verify it.

Since you are using ADA Amazonia aquasoil, try not to add extra buffers like coral chips to further manipulate the pH levels... it will constantly fight against the soil's natural buffering and exhaust it faster, and when it does exhaust the pH can swing up suddenly without notice. You should let the active soil control and maintain the pH on its own to avoid sudden fluctuations.

Do note that Co2 injection will also naturally decrease the water pH when it is in operation so its normal for a tank to have pH of 6.5 which gradually drops to 5.5 during Co2 injection (the effect can last for a while after lights out if there is still ample Co2 levels in the water).

Yes I capped it and shake every drop. 20 times doing the same thing. I asked someone else to see the orange but both of us said its not orange at all. Even the KH doesnt start off the same color. hahaha. that is why I got the strips just in case my GH/KH kit is not good. But so far none of my PH test have pass 6, all at 5.5 only. even the strips gave me the same ph 5.5 reading.

[destress]

Could it be nitrate level too high? I had shrimps dying almost every week previously and the only odd reading I had was nitrate about 80 too. I brought that down and the dying stops.

[Ice Shrimp]

Could it be nitrate level too high? I had shrimps dying almost every week previously and the only odd reading I had was nitrate about 80 too. I brought that down and the dying stops.

Hi Detress, my NO3 has always been ~40ppm. just checked with strips and found out NO3-80ppm, NO2-0.5ppm, TC-0, GH-150ppm, kh-0,ph-5.5.
API test PH-6, AM-0, NO2-0, N03-160, GH-161ppm and KH18ppm

I think I will do a large water change for now. N03 is crazy high.

[Dscheng]

Strip are totally not accurate. Invest in proper liquid type kit. Your nitrates is just too high, no wonder your RCS can't survive.
If your NO2 0.5ppm, it could be your tank is not properly cycled. Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate must be 0 at all time.

A picture of your tank will help us to advice you more.

Below is the best water parameter for your cherry. Dont worry about PH, cherry can take 5.5~7.6. Just to make sure you dont dose any fert chemical that contain copper.

[DreamerX5521]

I'm still new to planted tank, but can I suggest to test your API test kit on tap water for reference against your tank water?

[Ice Shrimp]

Strip are totally not accurate. Invest in proper liquid type kit. Your nitrates is just too high, no wonder your RCS can't survive.
If your NO2 0.5ppm, it could be your tank is not properly cycled. Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate must be 0 at all time.

A picture of your tank will help us to advice you more.

Below is the best water parameter for your cherry. Dont worry about PH, cherry can take 5.5~7.6. Just to make sure you dont dose any fert chemical that contain copper.

Hi Dscheng,
normally its AM0,N02 0 but not sure why it went up abit. Must be the strips. I did a API drip test today after a 40% WC yday night and some plants removal
PH6, AM0,N02 0,N03 80, Gh8,KH2. Just did another 10% water changed and wash the HOB sponge bcos too dirty.

[Ice Shrimp]

I'm still new to planted tank, but can I suggest to test your API test kit on tap water for reference against your tank water?

Hi Dream,
I did the tap water test some time ago and its at:

PH7, kh40ppm, GH25ppm, tc0.6ppm, N020.5ppm and N0310ppm (strips test)

[Dscheng]

Your NO3 80 is way too high. Something wrong with your filtration. Change your sponge or do you have any bio media?

[Ice Shrimp]

Just tested after washing the filter sponge yday.
stripsh5.5 KH0, GH75, TC0, N02 0.5ppm and n03 10ppm

APi drip test AM0 N03 40~50ppm.

so strange after a 50% WC 1st and 20% WC and washing for filters on 2nd day, my N03 still stucked so high. either APi drip having inaccurate reading. strip type is lower. but my OTO seems fine in the tank. Think I will add some BB into the tank since I changed so much water

[Dscheng]

No2 is 0.5, meaning your nirite still exist and it is poisonous to the livestock. Your water still in cycling mode. Will expect more death.