Amano shrimp assassin?

[workfortheman]

Hey all, I'm getting frustrated at my inability to house amano shrimp. Are these guys super sensitive to a particular water parameter? I bought 3 on Wednesday and 2 are dead already. Tank parameters/inhabitants are:

6 black neons
3 blue rams (also new WEd., juveniles)
2 yo-yo loach (my suspected assassin)
1 bumblebee gobie

20gal long
nitrate ~ very low
pH 7.5
kH 6
GH 9
temp~high 70's

I would suspect the loaches, since I can't see anyone picking on them during the day and the loachees are night owls. OR, is my *something* too high or too low? PLease help, I really need to get these shrimp established in this tank!
TIA
Also, I've been putting in veggie rounds too, so I doubt they are starving!

 

[Tiffi]

I had Amano Shrimps for a long time. They all did very fine!
They cannot take metalcompounds exspecially copper. Maybe you've put some medication with copper in your tank, have coppertubes in your house or your tabwater contains copper?

Otherwise your water values are very good and with some not super bright light and maybe some darker substrate they should be all over the place.

 

[Tiffi]

Are you sure, it was not only their old "skin" laying around? That sometimes looks really close to a shrimp, with little legs and so on. Is your aquarium planted densely or can you definitely see the only left one?

 

[workfortheman]

They are most certainly dead. Found corpses yellowish in color. The remaining shrimp has a reddish mark on his back, actually looks like the color of a penny! Not ready to assume copper in the water, maybe I should get it tested? or call the water company?
Thanks for replies Tiffi

 

[Zezmo]

If the loaches had killed them most likely the bodies would be gone. You might try some ghost shrimp. They are cheaper than Amanos, and IME, they are more sensitive than the Amanos. You put them in and they die right off, then maybe water issues. But if they die slowly a couple a night...and those loaches stop taking much flake.... I'd say someone is having a nightly shrimpy feast.

 

[Tiffi]

But if the bodies are still there why should it have been the loaches? Animals don't kill just for fun. If they killed the Amanos, they would eat them, too.

 

[workfortheman]

Hmm, acouple more things: first,the final amano survived last night so that's comforting. Second, there are two ghost shrimps and one of them has been there for 6 months! Third, the first shrimp to die was picked at by one of the loaches. Do these things add up to make for some guilty yoyo's?

 

[workfortheman]

grrrrr, just found one of the ghost shrimps dead during a pwc. I highly suspect loaches at this point. One is about 5 months in the tank, the other was added with the amano shrimp. I suspect this new one is just rampaging in the night hours!

 

[KittyKat]

i'd e-mail the water company for tap water parameters... that's what i did & discovered that my tap water has huge amounts of lead in it sometimes!!! i.e. it's not good for drinking

 

[Tiffi]

What is the temerature in your tank? If it's over 30 degrees Celsius they can get protein coagulation and then die. And nitrate should not be over 25mg/l, otherwise it'll be dangerous for the shrimp.

 

[Tiffi]

Oh yeah, the temerature might not affect the ghost shrimp, since they could be actually more "tropical" .