sensitivity of Cherry shrimp and Yamatos

**FaRnieGuy** · 30th May 2006, 00:40

i've always believed that Yamatos are hardier than cherries..
but i have a problem now.. i've 4 yamatos and 3 cherries in my 2ft planted tank, but my yamatos are turning white and turning around...

1 is already dead..

but my cherries are looking good... red like strawberries..

any idea what caused the problem for the yamatos to die?

if you guys need the tank parameter, it's under Aquascaping.. under the thread "Second attempt on 2ft".. Please help.. because i'll be bringing in a whole load of cherries.. don't want them to die out on me...

**Justikanz** · 30th May 2006, 13:28

Try copying the parameters over... Save the trouble of having to open 2 windows and jumping to read and answer...

**FaRnieGuy** · 30th May 2006, 16:39

fishes are looking good.. but shrimps on the other hand are falling sideways...
now even 2 of my cherries are facing upright..

Tank Parameters
Setup Date: 26/05/06
Tank Dimensions (LxWxH, specify units): 60cm x 30cm x 35.5cm
Volume: 63.9 Litres 16.88(US Gallons) 14.06(UK Gallons)

Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 36W x 2
Number and type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL
Age of light bulbs : since 26/05/06
No. of hours your lights are on : 8hrs

CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : Nil
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) : Azoo CO2 Pellets
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) : Nil

Substrate: ADA Aquasoil Amazon
Base Fertilizer: JBL AquaBasis Plus

Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) : Leaf Zone Plant Food
Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) : 5ml weekly

Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) : Nil

Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) : Nil

Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) : Canister, Eden 501
When was the filter last washed :
Filter media used : Ceramic Rings
When was the media last changed : Unchanged
What was changed : Nothing

Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : Since 26/05/06

Water change frequency : Weekly
Amount changed : 30%

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : Gentle
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) : Gentle

Tank Temperature : 25.8C-28.2C

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH):
GH (dGH):
pH : 6-7pH
NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm):
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
------------------------------------------
2 x Yamato
2 x Otos
1 x SAE
3 x Cherry Shrimps
1 x Puffer Fish
1 x Guppy
4 x Exclaimation Point Rasbora
3 x Pygmy Cory
2 x Leopard Cory
2 x Panda Cory

**Justikanz** · 30th May 2006, 16:48

Hmm... This is a relatively new setup... And there is a puffer fish in the tank? How did the shrimps look like when discovered dead? Do they just roll over and die or were they harrassed?

**FaRnieGuy** · 30th May 2006, 16:57

Originally Posted by Justikanz

Hmm... This is a relatively new setup... And there is a puffer fish in the tank? How did the shrimps look like when discovered dead? Do they just roll over and die or were they harrassed?

they just roll over and die.. jump jump a few times then roll over, with their legs kicking.. then turned white and die...

the puffer wasn't harassing the shrimps...

**diki** · 30th May 2006, 17:08

Need to keep an eye on the puffer fish. If it is hungry, it does for fish fins/tails and shrimps (they are used to control snail population, u you know).

I would think your tank is not cycled properly yet. Maybe wait for at least a week or 2 to introduce more shrimps? Too late now unless u you can transfer them into a mature tank slowly...

**FaRnieGuy** · 30th May 2006, 17:25

ya, i know that the puffer is for snail control, i've been staring at the tank all the while, the puffer is rather shy and does not harass any fish or shrimps...

i've added about 30% of water into the tank from 2 other tanks, 1 keeping apistos and 1 keeping guppies.. i believe they have sufficient bacterias to help start the tank journey..

**juggler** · 30th May 2006, 17:26

Yamatos are sensitive to new environment. Try acclimitising them better next time. You can read a method here http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=14740

**Justikanz** · 30th May 2006, 17:30

It is not the water that carries the beneficial bacterial... It is the substrate/plants/decorative items/filter media etc from an established tank...

IMO, the tank might be too new for the shrimps... I introduced my cherries a good month after my tank had been set up and using a filter from an existing tank...

**FaRnieGuy** · 30th May 2006, 17:59

Originally Posted by Justikanz

It is not the water that carries the beneficial bacterial... It is the substrate/plants/decorative items/filter media etc from an established tank...

IMO, the tank might be too new for the shrimps... I introduced my cherries a good month after my tank had been set up and using a filter from an existing tank...

does running the internal filter from another tank in it counts? i've only run it for 2 days...

**valice** · 30th May 2006, 18:05

Another thing about acclimatising shrimps is to float your bag of shrimps for a looooooonnnnnggggg time... With the advice from Michael Lai, I managed to keep a bag of 5 yamatoes all alive....

I floated the bag in the water for about 1.5 hours before adding a small cupful of tank water into the bag... 15min later, add another... Slowly doing so till the bag is nearly full and tilt the bag such that the shrimps will swim out of the bag themselves...

You can try this method after your tank is fully cycled...

**FaRnieGuy** · 30th May 2006, 18:22

Originally Posted by valice

Another thing about acclimatising shrimps is to float your bag of shrimps for a looooooonnnnnggggg time... With the advice from Michael Lai, I managed to keep a bag of 5 yamatoes all alive....

I floated the bag in the water for about 1.5 hours before adding a small cupful of tank water into the bag... 15min later, add another... Slowly doing so till the bag is nearly full and tilt the bag such that the shrimps will swim out of the bag themselves...

You can try this method after your tank is fully cycled...

i did exactly the same thing... only that i add water into the bag every 30 mins or so, but days later, yamatos still die... i think there's a prob with my water...

**valice** · 31st May 2006, 00:10

Means something is really wrong with your water... When your shrimps starts to swim around and around and around in your tank, it means a dead shrimp the next day...

That's their way of saying, "I AM STRUGGLING!!!!!"

**Justikanz** · 31st May 2006, 00:16

Hmm... Check your metal content in the tank water, particularly copper. Shrimps are very sensitive to heavy metals, particularly copper.

**AquaObsession** · 31st May 2006, 02:47

check temperature... Though some will say yamato do not do well in warm water, for my personal experience, the opposite would hold.. when my water reaches 25 or slightly below, my yamatos becomes inactive and die. maybe it was something else. try maintaining temperature at 26-28

**FaRnieGuy** · 31st May 2006, 14:14

Originally Posted by valice

Means something is really wrong with your water... When your shrimps starts to swim around and around and around in your tank, it means a dead shrimp the next day...

That's their way of saying, "I AM STRUGGLING!!!!!"

the thing is, my shrimps don't go round and round..

they just jump jump and turn over with legs kicking..

Originally Posted by AquaObsession

check temperature... Though some will say yamato do not do well in warm water, for my personal experience, the opposite would hold.. when my water reaches 25 or slightly below, my yamatos becomes inactive and die. maybe it was something else. try maintaining temperature at 26-28

my tank is in my room, so due to air con at night, temperature will go down to about 24... sometimes even 22... does that only apply on yamatos? i mean your temperature reaches 25 or slightly lower then they die, because i bred cherries in my room before, the temperature also the same.. between 24-28.. sometimes even lower.. so i believe cherries aren't really affected.. if i never remember wrongly, i kept yamatos in my room before also.. everything seems ok...

Originally Posted by Justikanz

Hmm... Check your metal content in the tank water, particularly copper. Shrimps are very sensitive to heavy metals, particularly copper.

erm, a question from a beginner like me, how do i check for metal content?

**spinex** · 31st May 2006, 15:56

You tank is still not fully cycled for shrimps. I guess high nitrite or ammonia is the reason.

Be more patient and buy new shrimps only 1 months later at least.

**richietay** · 31st May 2006, 16:14

Originally Posted by spinex

You tank is still not fully cycled for shrimps. I guess high nitrite or ammonia is the reason.

Be more patient and buy new shrimps only 1 months later at least.

agree, don't rush in for the shrimps now!