# Amanos acting strange



## iceblue (Dec 2, 2005)

I hate for this to be my first post but I'm concerned. The 20 gal. tank has been set up for over 7 years now. I do water changes twice a week. After the water change tonight the amanos are acting strange. It is almost like they are stunned. Most are laying on the gravel bottom only occasionly moving. I had been using AP's Tap Water Conditioner until a month ago when I switched to Seachem's Prime. Is it possible that my tapwater contains alot of copper and that since Prime doesn't detoxify metals my shrimp are being affected? I'm scared to do another water change so I am running some carbon to see if that helps. Any other ideas? I would hate to lose the shrimp especially since the 2 females I've had for almost 5 years. None of the fish, pencils and cories, are affected.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Hey iceblue, sorry that your first post is about your afflicted amanos =/. Anyway, Prime actually detoxifies heavy metals, as well as neutralizing chlorine and chloramine, at least according to the bottle, so I doubt that is causing the reactions from the amanos. 

My bee shrimp did the twitching deal during a heat wave a couple weeks ago. Are you experiencing any drastic temperature shifts? This might be causing the reactions from the amanos. Anyway, sorry I can't think of more causes, hope everything works out for you man.

*edit* Also, what have they been feeding on lately? Perhaps they're not getting the stuff they need to grow out of their old shells and develop a new one. And have you had all your amanos for 5 years? It might be that they're old and a little weaker, which would render them a little more vulnerable to unfavorable changes in water chemistry.

*edit2* By the way, if you have any numbers and figures on your water parameters, post them ASAP. The information might help a shrimp guru diagnose your problem.


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## iceblue (Dec 2, 2005)

Thanks for responding so quick erijnal. My thought is that it is still something in the water. The tank is in the basement so the tank's temp. is a constant 75 degrees. I have 2 thermometers on it. The shrimp eat what algae is in the tank, not much, and what I feed the fish, pellets and frozen bloodworms. And no, not all of the 12 amanos are 5 years old, just the two females.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Yeah, then it IS probably something in the water if it's affecting the younger shrimp also (sorry for stating the obvious)... Argh, I really can't think of any specific causes though. Maybe adding a couple more drops of Prime will help? Is there any way you can quarantine one of your shrimp in a smaller tank and try adding the extra Prime in with? That way you can see if it'll have a beneficial/detrimental effect without affecting the whole population.

*edit* Have your amanos developed blue coloration?


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## iceblue (Dec 2, 2005)

Water parameters are as follows:
temp. 75 degees
pH 6.8
GH 8
KH 4
NO3 10
PO3 2
The tap water parameters are pretty good around here, the Kansas City area. There is no measurable reading for NO3 or PO3, I adjust those with ferts. The only thing I have always found strange is that the pH is off the charts, over 8.8. I would have that it would be quite a bit lower with a KH of 4. I adjust the pH with CO2 injection.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Well since you've been using Prime for a month, I don't think we can blame the water conditioner. With a pH of 8.8 coming out of the tap, there must be something faulty with the test kit maybe. 

Ultimately, I think the city might have altered your water and the Amano Shrmp aren't completely used to it. If CO2 is an issue, it might be a good idea to run an airstone to oxygenate the water. I can't think of anything else, besides maybe you did a larger water change then usual...

Welcome to the posting side of the forum, but it's unfortunate that it had to come under such circumstances. Something similar along happened to me where all my shrimp died in that specific tank. Hope all goes well with yours though, and the Amanos stay strong. 

-John N.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

You may want to check Ammonia even if you think you don't have any. All shrimps act strange when there is ammonia present, even a little.


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## Minsc (May 7, 2006)

Have you tried airating your water for 48 hours before testing the pH?
(Mine goes from 9+ down to 7.5)

My thought is that the water in your tank has settled to a lower pH, and when you add tap water, you end up adding more CO2 to drop the higher pH...

Or the shrimp aren't appreciating what is likely a soda ash buffered water?

But really I'm just shooting in the dark here.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

In my experience, PH doesn't really matter to shrimps (reasonable ranges), what they are bothered about is ammonia spikes, sudden ph decreases or ph increases, and right after they are added in the tank.


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## iceblue (Dec 2, 2005)

Thanks for all the suggestions. Like I said I've been running this tank for over 7 years and this completely threw me for a loop. What I ended up doing was I ran a small internal filter loaded with carbon for a few hours after which I dumped 2 times the dose of blackwater treatment into the tank. The reason I added bw was that Diana Walstad mentioned in her book about how humic substances react with toxic metals and lessen their harmful effects. The shrimp reacted almost immediatly. Even with the treatment I was a little too late and lost only one newer shrimp. The shrimp before it died became white and opaque. I will be getting an ammonia and copper test kit and check during the next wc and then just chalk it up to one of those things I guess. Once again thanks.


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

It looks like you did the right thing. The carbon helped remove the harmful substances in your tank such as ammonia. I never heard about the backwater treatment though. I have seachem Amazon black water. However, when you use the black water, you should remove the carbon. The carbon will remove the black water.

Anyways, it's great to hear that your shrimps are back to normal.


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## aquaboyaquatics (Feb 22, 2006)

Our water Company dumps something into the water every year during the change of the seasons. 2 Times a year minimum and sometimes 4. What ever this is even my RO unit does not remove it all. Large water changes with pure RO water still will affect my Inverts during these periods. When I was breeding fish, I would see more mutations in the fry during these periods. Mostly in M. ramirezi "Rams". Other fish like my C. frontosa would do fine and show no affects during the same period. The frontosa were breeding in the waste water from the same Ro unit so should have shown higher deformities.


Mike


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