# Switched micro ferts, now shrimp live!



## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

I was just wondering if anyone else has seen this, or if I'm going crazy.

I have been using GW EI ferts on my tank. Fish, snails and plants thrive, but can't keep Amano shrimp alive.

I have been dosing:
1/4 tsp N 3 x week
1/32 tsp P 3 x week
1/16 tsp K 3 x week
1/32 tsp CSM+B 3 x week
1/32 tsp Iron 1 x week
All Dry Ferts.

The shrimp would live for a day or two, then die. I don't have any fish that are picking on them. I also tried Prime as some suggested and this really didn't seem to matter.

Last week I did my water change and stopped using the CSM+B and went to Flourish dosed at 2.5 ml 3 x week, according to the Fertalator. My shrimp that I have left are now thriving. They come out and eat during the day where they used to hide all day and night.

Has anyone else experienced problems with shrimp and CSM+B?

I also just put an order in for 12 more Amano Shrimp from Aquaboy since I can now keep them alive.

Thanks,
Brian


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

Interesting. Are all shrimp affected by this?


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## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

Something wiped out my cherries before, and it was either Excel or fertilizers, because now I don't add either and the cherries are fine (my plants and tank has looked better though). So maybe you're right, the CSM+B may not be good for shrimp. It does contain a small amount of copper which I know shrimp can't tolerate. I'm curious now as to what exactly killed my shrimp, I had assumed it was the Excel since other people had said they were keeping shrimp fine and dosing CSM+B.


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## elaphe (Aug 24, 2006)

duchessren said:


> Interesting. Are all shrimp affected by this?


I tried 4 ghost shrimp from Petsmart and they all died as well. But it's hard to tell since they may have been the saltwater/brackish species. They were being sold as feeders.

I to have read of many people keeping shrimp and using CSM+B. On my old tank, I did the complete Flourish product line. I had Amano shrimp in there and they did fine. On the new tank, I went with GW ferts because of the price.

One downside - my plants don't seem to like the Flourish as much as the CSM+B. They are not as bright green and just seem kind of "blah". I'm hoping that they get used to the Flourish and perk up. I'm also starting to get a little hair or fuzz algae on some of my plants and my Fissidens don't look as good as they were. I'm hoping the healthy shrimp will help to take care of the algae?

My KNO3 is right around 20 ppm with my dosage. I'm thinking that may have something to do with it as well. I just don't want to change to much at one time. If the plants don't perk up on the Flourish, I will go back to CSM+B at half the dose and make up for it with the Iron.

BTW - looking at the sheets for both Flourish and CSM+B, the CSM+B has much more copper in it than the Flourish.

Sorry for running on,
Brian


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## Purrbox (Jun 1, 2006)

A while back I read that some people had done some experiments with CSM+B and other trace fertilizers, and determined that the levels in the fertilizers when dosed at normal levels were not high enough to be any risk to shrimp. This leads me to believe that CSM+B on its own is not the cause of shrimp deaths. Here's a thought on why some people can use CSM+B without any problems in their tanks, and why you might be having problems with it. If you have any copper in either your water or the food that you are feeding them, the combined levels with the copper in the CSM+B could be high enough to kill the shrimp. Someone who avoids foods containing copper and has little to no copper in their water source on the other hand would be able to dose CSM+B safely.


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## LindaC (Nov 7, 2005)

I lost 12 Amano Shrimp and I'm still clueless as to why they died. None of my fish bothered them, at first I thought it was the CO2 because I run it more on the high side and then I thought it was the ferts, although I was not using CSM+B at the time. I was using GW's other ferts, K and N and Flourish Comprehensive for my micros. I sure wish I knew why they all died so I could fix the problem and purchase more, I love these shrimp.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I have seen some posts in the past where folks seem to correlate shrimp death with CSM+B dosing. I believe CSM has higher levels of Cu than does Flourish. My guess is if you dosed lower levels of CSM you might not have had any problems.


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## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

If copper is the culprit, wouldn't weekly water changes with a decent water conditioner remove any heavy metals from the water? I doubt there's enough copper left in the water after adding water conditioner to add up to anything, and the food I feed doesn't have copper either.

On another note, I stopped dosing CSM+B after realizing I wasn't seeing any of my new cherry shrimp and after reading this post. They just seemed to disappear. I'd see one or maybe two every once and a while. As soon as I stopped dosing CSM+B and did a water change, they turned active and are out and about the tank all day now. I'm not sure if I lost any, but of my 14, I think I only have 6 left. Oh well. At least I know what was killing them now!


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