my Ghost Shrimps died one after the other...

[kostasonia]

I bought 5 ghost shrimps something like 15days ago. The first one died after 5 days and since then I've been collecting dead shrimps every 2 or 3 days...

It's a pity because one of them had eggs...What can be the reason?

I have:
pH 6.8
GH around 10 or 12
kH around 3

The aquarium is 2 months old and I already have 3 guppies, 5 zebra danios, 2 RAMS and 2 chocolate gouramis. I've read that they are sensitive in copper...is it possible that the substrate contains?? I have a layer under my black gravel....I don't know what else to think...

 

[JRagg]

Did they turn sort of an opaque color before they died? Did you have a place for them to molt?

My apistos killed mine when they would try to molt.

 

[kostasonia]

Sorry...what does molt mean...??? I didn't notice any opaque color before. When they were dead , of course yes...

 

[Pleco]

In arthropods, such as insects, arachnids and crustaceans, moulting is the shedding of its exoskeleton (which is often called its shell), typically to let it grow. See ecdysis. When it sheds the shell they are very vulrenable to being killed or eaten.

most context taken from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molt

-pleco

 

[kostasonia]

mm.. yeah...there are some rocks in the tank, enough plants too...I would say that they can hide if they want...its not a jungle though. Perhaps they were killed...

 

[Lance M.]

The shrimp usually sold in fish stores as ghost shrimp most of the time always die within the first month of having them. If your lucky they will last several months but they won't live past about 8 months in a tank. They are meant as feeders and do not actually live in pure freshwater.

there's nothing wrong with your tank it's just the shrimp.

hmm How big is your tank?

 

[kostasonia]

its 29g....

disappointing that someone can not really keep shrimps...they are so funny...

 

[Pleco]

I would say try looking at a petsmart or petco for "marble shrimp" but i see you arent in the US so i dont think that would be at all possible. However if you look around at your LFS for a filter shrimp that should be able to live in most FW environment. Filter shrimp are commonly named, bamboo shrimp, singapore flower shrimp, asian filter shrimp and its larger cousin is called a giant african filter shrimp.

-Pleco

 

[JRagg]

Red cherry shrimp will also work. They are about the size of ghost shrimp, less aggressive, and do much better in tanks than ghost shrimp do.

If you have shrimp lik this you need to have some sort of cover for them (an overturned flower pot as an example) that they can get inside and molt without being harrassed by fish. After they molt their exoskelleton is very soft and they make a tasty treat for your fish, so they need a place where they cannot be reached.

They become less clear as they are getting closer to molting. Mine lasted about 2 months before my apistos had picked them all off.

 

[kostasonia]

Thanks...I think I will give an other try with shrimps...what about the amano shrimps? amano and glass are the most commonly found here..

 

[JRagg]

Amano shrimp are good. They do well at eating algae and I don't think they're aggressive. If you can get your hands on some of them I would go for it. Just make sure to give them some good shelter for when they molt.

 

[Lance M.]

Amano, cherry, bamboo, and vampire shrimp are all great and fairly easy to keep. I have found that dosing iodine helps.

 

[hc8719]

i know when i got like 12 shrimp for, (i only payed for 5 of them) and brought them home, they all died relatively fast. but when i buy them, and keep them in smaller numbers, they live for awhile.

i dont know why, but it worked for me.

also, i notice that most fish will harass small ghost shrimp, could be stress

 

[JohnPaul]

Also note that when you talk to folks who keep dwarf shrimp seriously as part (or as the focus) of their aquarium hobby, the first thing they will point to is nitrates. While most tropical fish are quite fine with nitrates at 40 ppm, and nearly all will survive with nitrates even double that, dwarf shrimp (ghost, red cherry, etc.) *ideally* should never be kept in water above 5 ppm nitrates.

If you are losing shrimps, first thing to look for is copper. If you can safely eliminate that as a cause, nitrates would be next on the list of "most common" shrimp killers.

(There are always exceptions, I've had some ghost shrimp with an uncanny ability to live for extended periods at very high nitrate levels. It's just that you need to realize that is the exception, not the norm.)

In general, the best source of info that I know of on any of the dwarf shrimp species for aquaria can be found by reading the articles and discussion forums at http://www.petshrimp.com.

 

[fish_4_all]

I have kept ghost/glass alive for over 1.5 years in the past. Also have heard of a lot of people that breed them rather successfully. Most of the time the shrimp is able to get somehwere that no fish can even get close to them and that they have room enough to roam around a litte bit. Mine bred in a small log that the fish couldn't get close tobut a dozen shrimp easily fit into.

Something that I have read about shrimp also is that they like a lot of plants to be happy in a tank with fish, enough plants that they can truely hide in the plants and feel secure. I will personally not try to raise them in any tank I have fish in, I hate seeing them dead after I thought I had them doing so well.

 

[kostasonia]

yeah...my tank should have around 30-40 ppm of nitrates...could be the resaon...Also the shrimps were somehow big when I bought them. In an adult age perhaps they have less ability to adapt...