# So What killed my shrimp?



## MantisX (Sep 2, 2004)

Hello all. Ive been reading that high nitrates and copper seem to be the leading killers of cherry shrimp. I purchased 6 a about 4 weeks ago and now I am down to 2. Before some change in my water, these shrimp were very happy, constantly cleaning at something and responsive when I sat down in front of my tank. About the 3rd week, they were still visible, but moving slower. Later on I started seeing them just laying in my hairgrass not doing much. Not all at once just one every few days or so. So what did I do wrong?

I add 10ppm of dry nitrates every Monday Wednesday and Friday along with 2ppm of equilibrium. On tuesdays I add a few drops of Flourish iron and on Thursdays I add Flourish. Also recently Ive started to run my DIY Co2 into my tank 24hours a day via my HOB filter. Also I havent done water changes in quite some time. I just top it off with water from the tap. So which of thes things may have slowly turned the tides of killing my shrimp? 

Thanks for all your help

MantisX


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Sometimes it is hard to pin point a exact reason. From the changes that you made I would say the 24 hour C02 injection and lack of tank maintenance could be the culprits. A lack of water changes along with the injection of C02 24/7 could have caused a big change in water parameters which in turn stressed the shrimp to the point of death.


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## allanfoo (Jun 10, 2005)

*C0 2 dosage.*

24 hours of CO2 supply is too much for the fish and prawn in your tank.

Co2 dosage should be around max., 12 hours. When you observe the prawn in your tank, their activity or movement will slow down if too much co2 in your tank. This is the sign that Co2 is too much.

Water in the tank should change approx. once a week for healthy plant growth. About 1/2 of the tank of water should be replenished.


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## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

Whether or not Co2 was a factor really would depend on your kh and how much co2 you were injecting. I find my shrimp better able to handle a lot of co2 than my fish. I remember, though, that you had talked about a water softener. Is this still the water you are using?


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## MantisX (Sep 2, 2004)

I kind of figured I should be doing water changes, it was just that I got away with it before with rams and tetras which are pretty sensitive too. For some reason, this batch of C02 I mixed up was pretty strong and leaving it on 24 hours probably did them in as well.  

Piscesgirl, Yes sadly I am still using that water. Is this not so good for shrimp? Because until whatever changed changed, they were doing excellent. I was actually about to buy more 

I will definitely be changing up my C02 timing, making sure to remove the tube from my filter before lights out. I will also start slowly changing maybe 25 percent of the water every week. Its expensive, but I will be giving them another try once I feel I have my water the way they need it to be. No one thinks the nitrate dosing I was doing hurt as well? Also a little off topic, but what do you all use as a source of iodine?

Thank you very much for the help!!

MantisX


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## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

Nitrate dosing possibly could be a factor, if possible dose more often smaller amounts. I use reef iodide, but lately I've been just feeding Nori more. There are some reports that shrimp don't take in iodide from the water column. 

Well, not to say your water softener is bad per se, but it does replace minerals with salt; and the shrimp don't need the salt...


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

PG... _What is Nori More  _


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## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

heh..sorry, I meant I was feeding _Nori _ more frequently. Nori is seaweed. I like Sea Vegies by Julian Sprung -- it's already chopped up and ready to sprinkle in the tank.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Ok... _Do you get it locally or on-line?_


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