# World's Worst Shrimp Keeper



## KrispyKreme (Jan 28, 2007)

Would someone help me? I’m the world’s worst shrimp keeper! I’ve made a couple a goes at cherry shrimp and tried one wood shrimp and I can’t keep them alive (they die within 24 hours). When I introduce the shrimp to the tank I use the drip method. I have a 20 gallon tank, moderate to heavily planted, use Seachem’s Flourish, Excel, Trace, and Iron (according to their dosing chart). The substrate is Flourite. I do weekly 30% water changes using Prime (we have chlorine). There are no tank mates now other than some snails. The tank has been cycled and here are the parameters:

Ammonia – 0
Nitrite – 0
Nitrate – 5
PH – 8
KH – 15
Temp – 75

I have a water softener and use potassium instead of salt. I’ve read some speculation that perhaps potassium used in water softeners is bad for shrimp. Would it make sense to try and use my non-softened water? I just tested it and here are the results (interestingly the softened water from the tap had the same results):

PH 7.4
KH 17

I’m using Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kits and I have not calibrated them.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
Matt


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

KrispyKreme said:


> Would someone help me? I'm the world's worst shrimp keeper! I've made a couple a goes at cherry shrimp and tried one wood shrimp and I can't keep them alive (they die within 24 hours). When I introduce the shrimp to the tank I use the drip method. I have a 20 gallon tank, moderate to heavily planted, use Seachem's Flourish, Excel, Trace, and Iron (according to their dosing chart). The substrate is Flourite. I do weekly 30% water changes using Prime (we have chlorine). There are no tank mates now other than some snails. The tank has been cycled and here are the parameters:
> 
> Ammonia - 0
> Nitrite - 0
> ...


Use water out of the tap and see if that works. Also, I would cut your dosing in half. There are reports that not all shrimp like excel and the amounts of copper in the traces. Not sure how much it is as I do not dose my shrimp tanks.


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## argblarg (Aug 10, 2006)

I agree try straight tap water and cut back on the Trace. Have you ever used any medication in the tank? I don't think Excel is the culprit, I dosed 3x for a few weeks and the RCS were fine and breeding.


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## gabeszone (Jan 22, 2006)

If you want to dose your tanks, I use ADA green gain, and brightly K, at half the dose. I agree with Pedro. Tap water is all I use with some chlorine out. Good luck, and dont give up!


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## KrispyKreme (Jan 28, 2007)

argblarg said:


> Have you ever used any medication in the tank?


The tank has never had medication.


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## greenisgood (Dec 19, 2004)

*It's not you, it's the K+*

It's the potassium. Cherry shrimp are nearly bomb-proof, so the only thing wrong is apparently the potassium. Just go around the water softener (use water from your water source BEFORE it has been to the water softener), and make sure your water parameters are similar (pre-softened water will have higher GH, and KH will likely be different, too, so you may have to mix RO or distilled water with tap to bring the GH down to the level you want, etc., and make sure to treat for Cl still). But it's pretty simple - the potassium levels are killing the shrimp. Pretty easy to solve, then you are on your way.


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## Round Head (Feb 28, 2006)

I probably rank pretty high up there at killing shrimps.
I actually torture them for about a month and then they're all gone.
In the past I dose with GW line but I'll been switching over to Seachem micros. Maybe a few more months I may have enough confident to try more cherry shrimps.


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## KrispyKreme (Jan 28, 2007)

In case anyone is interested, potassium from the softener appears to be the culprit. After using unsoftened water my shrimp survive. Also ottos, which would always die, are enjoying life in my former death-tank. On top of all this the tank is clearer.


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## Shrimp&Snails (Mar 27, 2006)

I don't use ferts at all and wouldn't use them in any of my shrimp tanks. I know this forum is very pro ferts with shrimp (which is one of the reasons I don't frequent here often) but if you want to keep shrimp I would drop the ferts.


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## Catch and Release (Dec 30, 2006)

KrispyKreme said:


> In case anyone is interested, potassium from the softener appears to be the culprit. After using unsoftened water my shrimp survive. Also ottos, which would always die, are enjoying life in my former death-tank. On top of all this the tank is clearer.


I think you may be on to something here. I've had horrible luck with shrimp as well with my potassium-based water softener and any shrimp I tried (RCS/Amano) would die within hours of introduction. This past weekend I did some water changes using water that bypassed the softener (even though the hot water is still softened) and I currently have ghost shrimps who've survived for several days so far. If they survive a week or two, I will try adding some RCS and see how they do.

Either ghost shrimp can survive in conditions that kill RCS/Amano within hours, or it appears as though an excess of potassium (or something of the sort) can kill shrimp and fast.


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## KrispyKreme (Jan 28, 2007)

Catch and Release said:


> I think you may be on to something here. I've had horrible luck with shrimp as well with my potassium-based water softener and any shrimp I tried (RCS/Amano) would die within hours of introduction. This past weekend I did some water changes using water that bypassed the softener (even though the hot water is still softened) and I currently have ghost shrimps who've survived for several days so far. If they survive a week or two, I will try adding some RCS and see how they do.
> 
> Either ghost shrimp can survive in conditions that RCS/Amano cannot, or it appears as though an excess of potassium (or something of the sort) can kill shrimp and fast.


I agree there's something bad about too much potassium or at least the potassium used in water softeners. It's been over a year now of successful shrimp keeping since using non-softened water. The RCS, Amano, and Tiger shrimp are doing great. About a month ago I got some Sulawesi Cardinal shrimp and they're having a good time in their tank too.


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## Catch and Release (Dec 30, 2006)

KrispyKreme said:


> I agree there's something bad about too much potassium or at least the potassium used in water softeners. It's been over a year now of successful shrimp keeping since using non-softened water. The RCS, Amano, and Tiger shrimp are doing great. About a month ago I got some Sulawesi Cardinal shrimp and they're having a good time in their tank too.


That's great to hear. I hope this solves my problem as well and I think there's a very good chance it has.


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## yum (Feb 11, 2008)

KrispyKreme said:


> I agree there's something bad about too much potassium or at least the potassium used in water softeners. It's been over a year now of successful shrimp keeping since using non-softened water. The RCS, Amano, and Tiger shrimp are doing great. About a month ago I got some Sulawesi Cardinal shrimp and they're having a good time in their tank too.


Wow, you went from world's worst shrimp keeper to raising Sulawesi!!! 

My tank currently has a potassium deficiency and I've been meaning to dose my tank but now I'm thinking twice. What do I do? My plants are all very thin and the leaves have tons of holes. The guys in the El Natural forum said that I need more potassium. How do I correct this without killing my cherries?


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## KrispyKreme (Jan 28, 2007)

yum said:


> Wow, you went from world's worst shrimp keeper to raising Sulawesi!!!


Yeah for me there's no middle ground.



yum said:


> My tank currently has a potassium deficiency and I've been meaning to dose my tank but now I'm thinking twice. What do I do? My plants are all very thin and the leaves have tons of holes. The guys in the El Natural forum said that I need more potassium. How do I correct this without killing my cherries?


I've been able to dose potassium without any issues (both Seachem and Pfertz). For me it's just been using the water softened with potassium that has given the shrimp problems.


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## yum (Feb 11, 2008)

oh thanks. that gives me hope that i can correct my potassium issue without killing my critters.

have you posted your experience with the sulawesi yet? i read from a different forum that they are very easy to keep and are as hardy as cherry shrimp. at least that is what the guy from indonesia said. so i'm hoping to try my hand at them in the future. not much room for another tank tho, in my tiny condo.


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