Help! Shrimp Died: Molting problem or ???

[bayst]

I just found one of my red cherry females dead.

I also found a freshly molted exoskeleton. The poor little dead one was particularly dark and beautiful. Her carapace was a little bit detached on one side.

Do you think it was a difficult molt that killed her???? My other large female looks rather pale-- maybe she was the one who molted? Do they get darker or paler in color when they molt?

I am very new to shrimp, and would like to ensure the rest do fine.

Here's the details on them:

I've had them for a week. There were 8 red cherries (now 7) and 6 green shrimp. They are in a 10 gal. tank. Water is: nitrite 0, nitrate about 10 ppm, pH 7.4, temp 75

I feed them a tiny bit of HBH veggie/algae wafer every other day and suction out whatever isn't eaten in a few hours. (Is this overfeeding? Do they overeat like goldfish and die, or is overfeeding really a water pollution issue?)

I did a partial water change a few days ago, used amquel+ to condition the water. Topped it off yesterday a little, used water conditioned with prime, I think.

Any advice is appreciated! I am new with shrimp and don't want to lose anymore!!! I want to order more shrimp, but I need to make sure I know what I'm doing since I have my doubts now...

thanks!

 

[bayst]

well, no one has chimed on on this yet, but here is the update in case it helps anyone who wants to offer advice:

- remaining female is normal color again
- nitrites still 0ppm, nitrates are actually 5ppm (yesterday I used the saltwater card on accident so it was the wrong scale)

Anyone????

 

[msjinkzd]

was this a new tank setup? Do you have any plants?

Your params sound great, perfect for shrimp. Were these adults when you got them?

The feeding issue is typically a water quality issue. Most people over feed. For example, if feeding something like an algae wafer, i feed 1/4 of a wafer per 10 shrimp every three days. They are constant grazers. They will pick at the glass, plants, decor, substrate 24/7 eating infusoria and biofilm type algaes that may not be visible to the eye (if you rub your finger on the inside glass, you may feel the slippery slime). They need little supplemental feeding.

Hope that helps and hope the remaining shrimp do well for you!

 

[bayst]

thx for the input MsJ!!!

The tank has been up for a few months now as a fry grow out. Shrimp are mostly juveniles, the two cherry females were the only adults as far as I can tell.

As there were only a dozen or so shrimp, I put them in a big breeder net to keep track of them and keep the cichlid fry from getting too curious. They have a big wad of java moss, some water sprite pieces and a piece of elodea. They tend to crawl around on the moss or sit on the bottom of the net under plants, or crawl on the sides occasionally.

I have a little 6 gal eclipse that will be a dedicated shrimp tank; I hope to get it up and running this week.

Is the net a bad idea in the meanwhile? I read about people keeping them packed in ultra tiny spaces, so I figured the space was fine, and the water quality would be safer in the 10 gal tank until the 6 gal is nice and ready for them. (I found them on CL, so I jumped at the chance to get some. Now I'm addicted and want more! lol)

 

[msjinkzd]

th eet should be ok. are the cichlid fry harassing them at all through it?

Shrimp are really rewarding once you get used to their needs, lol. It can be a challenge initially. Overfeeding is really the number one mistake people make right off the bat. They are tiny little things that graze constantly, its very very easy to overdo it with the food.

 

[bayst]

Oh good! Then I can feed my addiction! lol...

The cichlid fry are 8 yellow labs and are tiny and don't even know there is anything in the breeder net. I think they are scared of it if anything! I also have a chunk of moss below the net, and more water sprite all around it so that obscures most of the net too.