cherry shrimps all died ...can add more?

**beibeiteo** · 9th Apr 2006, 11:43

hi.. beginner here.. have some queries. hope to have some help from experts..

i have a 1.5 feet shrimp tank with about 5 cherries left.. used to have 100pcs.. but they all died on me one month ago.

now my question is: can i add in some more cherries? the tank looks empty now except for lots of snails (which have been multiplying) and one tiny guppy. i have not changed the water since the cherries died.. only add in more water from my other fish tank when the water evaporated.

i have no fan, only a hang-on filter/pump, and some java. The temperature inside the tank is now about 28C.

please advise..

**betta_zoid87** · 9th Apr 2006, 12:27

hmm,why don't you read up on some cherries information on the internet first?

**ShrimpyFu** · 9th Apr 2006, 15:09

Ya I think you may want to get more information about the conditions for cherries first before investing more shrimps.

Or may be you want to share with us the water parameters of your tank?

**FaRnieGuy** · 9th Apr 2006, 17:06

Originally Posted by beibeiteo

hi.. beginner here.. have some queries. hope to have some help from experts..

i have a 1.5 feet shrimp tank with about 5 cherries left.. used to have 100pcs.. but they all died on me one month ago.

now my question is: can i add in some more cherries? the tank looks empty now except for lots of snails (which have been multiplying) and one tiny guppy. i have not changed the water since the cherries died.. only add in more water from my other fish tank when the water evaporated.

i have no fan, only a hang-on filter/pump, and some java. The temperature inside the tank is now about 28C.

please advise..

100 pcs in a 1.5ft.. wow...

i think thats alot... most people do partial water changes every week...
and for your case, i suggest you change more of your water please...
because i believe when shrimps die, they pollute the waters...

another thing to take note is pH level... shrimps are VERY sensitive...
although cherries might be 1 of the easiest to breed, you still need to give them suitable water parameters...

let us know your water parameters...
good luck with your shrimps...

**richietay** · 9th Apr 2006, 22:47

maybe you can share with us your tank parameter! for me, initially bought about 50 cherries, did not care much about whether my tank condition met. lucky for me, they survived, from there started my breeding of cherries journey.

maybe try to have more cooler temperature, as most shrimps require, and mine between 25.1 -26.8.moss i recommend, be more appropriate for cherries. and create more hiding spaces.
moderate water hardness, intro more live plants to improve water quality.
water quality also plays a part, i do water change weekly 30%. which cherries prone to nitrate poisoning.

Actually ones find it hard to determine whether their tank are conditioned for cherries. test, test and test

**beibeiteo** · 10th Apr 2006, 12:43

thanks guys.. for all the advice..

so far, i only have a small thermometer inside.. measuring about 28C. and i have java moss on a drift wood.. and a windelov and some frogbits. Plus one guppy.. and lots of snails. One small hangon filter.

how do i get them to breed besides doing weekly 30% water change? so far.. i can only see five cherries surviving. And how do I test the water parameters and pH level?

**bclee** · 10th Apr 2006, 13:14

Originally Posted by beibeiteo

thanks guys.. for all the advice..

so far, i only have a small thermometer inside.. measuring about 28C. and i have java moss on a drift wood.. and a windelov and some frogbits. Plus one guppy.. and lots of snails. One small hangon filter.

how do i get them to breed besides doing weekly 30% water change? so far.. i can only see five cherries surviving. And how do I test the water parameters and pH level?

I thnk even before you try to get them to breed, you need to find out how to create a tank that is survivable for the shrimps.

Read on nitrogen cycle, water change, filtration, etc...

Packing 100 shrimps at one go into a small 1.5ft tank only shows that you have not done your homework yet. Please do a little more homework before you send the next batch of cherries into their shrimpy heaven.

Take your time... don't rush into it.

BC

**kemp** · 10th Apr 2006, 14:21

bro, i think you should look into conditioning the right environment to rear your cherries.
It seems that you are rushing things too fast...

Originally Posted by beibeiteo

how do i get them to breed besides doing weekly 30% water change? so far.. i can only see five cherries surviving. And how do I test the water parameters and pH level?

**diki** · 10th Apr 2006, 15:16

Just a few piece of advice from me based on my own shrimp keeping experience ...

Firstly, how long did u cycle your tank? This is an important step to do to ensure that benefitial bateria (used to break down ammonia and nitrate) are sufficient to do their job. If u just set up and dump in the 100 shrimps, sorry man, that does not work for non-mature tanks. Maybe u can get away with it with 20 cherries or so since their bioload is not tat high. Since u mentioned that u bought 100 cherries 1 month ago, the tank should now be cycled but with the deaths and only top up of water, the water conditions may just detoriate faster. Topping up water does not reduce the toxic in the water. Only way is to do water change to reduce toxic resident in the water. Add more moss if possible. They would also help to absorb some nitrate from the water. So add more moss sure helps. Shrimps are very sensitive to water changes and will get shock and may die while some fishes are not affected. So need to take note on this.

Did u feed your shrimps? Since u got 100 of them with limited java moss and tank size, I can be sure there is not enough food/micro-oganism available for the shrimps to eat. My shrimps in turn eats my moss, leaving only the stems. Try to put in a sponge filter to provide more micro-oganism for them to feed on.

Also with shrimps and moss (java moss can take up to 28-29), most require low temp (<2

. A fan would be useful to keep the temp down.

Lastly, I do not believe that HOF is capable of handling high bioload so need to control the number of fauna in your tank.

It is ok to make mistakes for the first time but no ok to keep repeating it ...

**beibeiteo** · 13th Apr 2006, 16:28

hello guys..

thks for your advice.. ..as a beginner.. .i asked the guy who sold me the shrimps how many shrimps i can keep inside a 1.5ft tank.. and he told me he kept 150-200 shrimps inside a 1-foot tank..and they are breeding happily.. so i assume my 1.5ft tank is fine with 100pcs..

sorry to be rushing into things...is my fault that i didn't read up on the cycling the water part before i add in.. .as i am quite kan cheong to see more shrimps inside my tank.. but i seemed to be growing lotsof snails instead..

my question now is: can i do a total water change now? cos there are still five shrimps living inside.. and i do not have another tank to cycle the water for a month..

**richietay** · 13th Apr 2006, 23:44

if you want to do 100% WC, you need to wait for your water to cycle again. but you mentioned u still have 5 survivors, so don't.

best to add more plants!

**diki** · 14th Apr 2006, 10:04

Depending of which store owner u ask, they might give u differnt info. It is not impossible to keep 150-200 in a 1 ft tank (he sells them off anyway so that helps to reduce the numbers in the tank), unlike us, the number usually grows. I have bought 20 cherries and in 4 months time. I think the numbers hit ~ 50, including shrimplets (had 2 batch of shrimplets and more to come).

Everyone is always kan cheong to put in their fishes or shrimps when they set up their tanks but to ensure their survival, patience is the key. Only then you will see the results, like most of us have.

You can do 10-20% water change (remember let keep the water for a day with water conditioner added, mine is a few days) first and more frequent if needed for this period. Just see if your cherries can survive, since they are one of the hardiest shrimps. Once they are ok for around 2 weeks, then they should be fine. Need to wait longer if the conditions are still not stable. Look at how the shrimps react (not rushing around in the tank is a good indicator). Also try to get more moss. It helps a lot if more cherries are kept. Can see my blog on my shrimp tank. Don't think you need to buy more cherries unless they are only males or want to see the results faster. Keep around 20-30 and once they start to get shrimplets, they don't stop. Do take note once they release the shrimplets, it may take around 1.5-2 weeks before u can see them. So change water with caution. You don't want to throw away your precious shrimplets. Mind the HOF as well since likey they might be sucked into it. Cover the inlet with a net is recommended.

**beibeiteo** · 16th Apr 2006, 12:19

hi guys..

just some updates.. did about 10-20% water change already, with water conditioner added.. also bought a mini fan for my shrimps... and some more plants.

i bought a pH test kit yesterday.. and noticed my shrimp water pH to be around 6.5 to 7.0.. i also took out the snails.. kindof irritating ..

also just noticed.. that one of them has became a bit bigger.. and redder.. and could see a yellowish tinge .. or was it my imagination.. ? me still observing anyway..

any advice will be appreciated.. thks!

**kemp** · 16th Apr 2006, 12:35

run the fan on 24x7. Do not add anything more into your tank, eg. plants or more shrimps. Let the tank conditioned itself. My personal opinion is that if no more casualties for the next 1-2 weeks then everything should be ok.

It seems that you're having a pregnant shrimp inside your tank. That's great news for you!

**richietay** · 16th Apr 2006, 17:29

beibeiteo, with your new fan, your water gonna stay cool, which your cherries gonna love it. PH is ok. If your cherries are gonna be okay from now, don't do any major change to your tank.
glad that you bought new plants, scape well, and then let your cherries adapt to it.
keep us update with the progress of your tank and your cherries too!

**diki** · 17th Apr 2006, 12:17

Don't think u can get rid of all the snails. That is what happened to me. So what I do is I took them out whenever I can get my hands on them. Once they are in, it is not easy for them to be out. Anyway they do not cause much damage but just having more and more.

Looks like your shrimps are feeling better now. Becoming red is a good sign. May have eggs soon. Good luck to u then and try to maintain the water condition. Do not add anymore stuff (plants as well as some have chemicals which might wipe out all your shrimps. Do quarantine the new plants for a while before adding them to your tank).

Good luck to u and hope u become a father soon!

**kemp** · 17th Apr 2006, 13:21

personal experience for me, maybe you want to try putting in puffer fish to clear up the snails. Works for me. But remember to take it out once the snails are cleared, else they'll be aiming for your shrimps

Originally Posted by diki

Don't think u can get rid of all the snails. That is what happened to me. So what I do is I took them out whenever I can get my hands on them. Once they are in, it is not easy for them to be out. Anyway they do not cause much damage but just having more and more.

Looks like your shrimps are feeling better now. Becoming red is a good sign. May have eggs soon. Good luck to u then and try to maintain the water condition. Do not add anymore stuff (plants as well as some have chemicals which might wipe out all your shrimps. Do quarantine the new plants for a while before adding them to your tank).

Good luck to u and hope u become a father soon!

**juggler** · 17th Apr 2006, 14:01

Originally Posted by kemp

personal experience for me, maybe you want to try putting in puffer fish to clear up the snails. Works for me. But remember to take it out once the snails are cleared, else they'll be aiming for your shrimps

As mentioned earlier, keep the tank as it is now and not add more fish. The puffer will surely find your shrimps yummy.

When the shrimp population grows, you will find your snail population begin dwindling. This is because the shrimps can get to the food faster than the snails.