# Shrimp death



## okia42 (Apr 25, 2007)

20G heavy planted tank, 2.25 WPG, C0-2 injection 20bpm on a timer
ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
nitrate-0
KH-1
ph-6
Fert-Plant Guild Green

Ok, so everything is looking great in my tank, Plants are are growing like crazy. Fish seems happy. No Algae problems at all.
This is my problem I can not keep _shrimp_ to save my life. I cant seem to get a grip on what I am doing wrong. I think its my PH, but I cant figure out why.

Thanks in advance


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

What kind of shrimp have you tried keeping?


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## okia42 (Apr 25, 2007)

Amanos, Ghost, and Cherry


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Check your fertilizer ingredients. Anything with copper listed there?


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## DLOBREAKS (Nov 10, 2006)

I have a 20g that has almost the exact same parameters cept my tank is really around 6.4ph and 4-5dgh. NE way my shrimp (japonica) jump out every now and again. I probably average one jumper every month and 1/2 or so. ANyone else have this problem? The tank is open top and i don't really know what would cause them to jump.. I always thought that they might climb up a leaf and then maybe get spooked by another tenant (ie angelfish or apisto) to the point where they would jump out. . .


Edit- I thought it might have been a fert issue so i haven't useded any ferts/excel in almost 2 months... my last jumper was just a week ago or so.

thanks


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

Dlobreaks...definitely sounds like it's one of your tank tenants that are spooking the shrimp. Shrimp will "jump" back forcefully in quick spurts to escape danger. I believe they are strong enough to propel themselves out of the water. I highly doubt any sort of suicide due to bad water quality. Especially when the other shrimp seem to be doing okay. I've never seen it myself but this is the second time I heard of shrimp jumping out of tanks. Maybe a cover for the tank or lower the water level?


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## DLOBREAKS (Nov 10, 2006)

phreeflow said:


> Dlobreaks...definitely sounds like it's one of your tank tenants that are spooking the shrimp. Shrimp will "jump" back forcefully in quick spurts to escape danger. I believe they are strong enough to propel themselves out of the water. I highly doubt any sort of suicide due to bad water quality. Especially when the other shrimp seem to be doing okay. I've never seen it myself but this is the second time I heard of shrimp jumping out of tanks. Maybe a cover for the tank or lower the water level?


Thanks for the response. I think eliminating the bully (my 3" angel) might be a better solution, but my gf won't have it. I need a 24 hour fish store so i can sneak him out at night while she's sleeping. . .


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

Okia...not sure what it could be but Erijnal may be onto something...copper is deadly to shrimp so it would be wise to choose a fert. that doesn't contain copper. As for the type of shrimp you are keeping, they should be okay in your water as they are very adaptable; however, your pH does seem a tad low...6.4ph would be better. 

You may want to try species that thrive in your water conditions as opposed to shrimp that just adapt to those conditions. A couple of nice choices might be tiger shrimp and some of the bee shrimp (CRS, CBS). 

Lastly, the source you bought the shrimp is likely keeping the shrimp in vastly different (more alkaline, higher ph) water conditions. Therefore, it is very important how you acclimate your shrimp once you purchase them...ideally, you would place them in a separate container with the original water they came in and then slowly drip your aquarium water into the container. Do this a few times over and then let the new shrimp into your tank. Should have much better results. 

Regards,
DAn


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

Dlobreaks ...good luck smuggling the angelfish out of the house . A 3" angelfish means death for most shrimp...i can't believe you even have shrimp left in the tank! Sounds like the culprit to me


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## phreeflow (Aug 4, 2007)

DLOBREAKS said:


> Thanks for the response. I think eliminating the bully (my 3" angel) might be a better solution, but my gf won't have it. I need a 24 hour fish store so i can sneak him out at night while she's sleeping. . .


BTW: the apisto may not be the best tankmate for the shrimp either but they are definitely better than an angelfish.


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## Chuppy (Aug 5, 2007)

Agreed to all the above... Shrimp jumping out of water is caused by a bully.. like all those shrimps that died escaping from the betta in my tank.. the last time around...now no more betta and my tank is overwhelmed with shrimps...


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