CRS going mad!

[TwoFish]

My shrimp have been settled into their tank for about two weeks, maybe a little longer, and the whole time they've been a super mellow bunch.

Today, though, they are going insane swimming all over the tank and I saw what looked like two shrimp chasing another one, which seemed really unusual.

I checked my water parameters and they are as close to perfect as they ever are (PH is 7.4, which is not ideal, but everything else is good: Ammonia: 0; Nitrite: 0; Nirtate ~30).

There are about ten shrimp in the tank, and the tank is a 5.5 gallon, planted, with plenty of hiding room and no other fish.

Are they overcrowded? What's with all the swimming madness all of a sudden? I'm really puzzled.

 

[Brookster123]

Do you dose nitrates?

 

[TwoFish]

Do you dose nitrates?

What do you mean by dosing nitrates?

 

[Brookster123]

I'm just wondering how your nitrates are so high in a planted shrimp tank?

 

[TwoFish]

I'm just wondering how your nitrates are so high in a planted shrimp tank?

Probably because tomorrow is water change day is why the nitrates seem high.

I've never noticed that plants do anything to lower nitrates in my tanks. Both tanks always spike up to around or just under 40ppm nitrates by water change day.

Perhaps because they aren't heavily planted? The plants in the shrimp tank have only been there about a month and a half (planted when I was cycling the tank empty). There's three small bunches of dwarf hair grass, a small java fern, a little pile of java moss tied to a rock rock, and then two plants whose names I can never, ever remember and a moss ball.

 

[Brookster123]

How often you change water?

 

[TwoFish]

One a week. 20% each tank.

 

[Brookster123]

How do the nitrates get that high?? You test tap water?

 

[TwoFish]

I've never tested my tap for Nitrates, so I did just now.

there's apparently 5ppm nitrates in there. This does explain why, when I was cycling my tanks, I always saw Nitrates before i saw Nitrites.

 

[captaincritical]

High nitrates could also be due to overfeeding. How often do you feed and what are they given?

I know that RCS tend to go a little crazy when they're breeding and get very active in short spurts, but I'm not sure if the same is true for CRS. Could be the case?

 

[Brookster123]

High nitrates could also be due to overfeeding. How often do you feed and what are they given? I know that RCS tend to go a little crazy when they're breeding and get very active in short spurts, but I'm not sure if the same is true for CRS. Could be the case?

that would have been my first guess had the nitrates not been so high.. You're probably correct.. I just can't look past those levels...

 

[captaincritical]

that would have been my first guess had the nitrates not been so high.. You're probably correct.. I just can't look past those levels...

Yeah, I'd say 30ppm is a little higher than ideal, but certainly not deadly by any means. Tons of people have nitrates in their tap water and keep most fish/inverts just fine.

OP, I imagine everything will be okay after a water change. Keep us posted?

 

[TwoFish]

I feed the RCS Azoo max growth every few days. Usually they eat up what I put in in about three hours (which I told is what one's supposed to watch for with a shrimp tank and that if it takes longer I need to feed less).

My other tank I feed once a day in the morning, a little flake food and I sometimes toss in some sinking food for the glass shrimp if they are looking a little desperate since there's not a whole lot for them to clean, usually. My water is always crystal clear and I haven't lost a single fish to illness so I'm pretty sure the Nitrate level isn't a problem.

Like I said, my main tank has always gotten up to about 40 PPM by the time it's water change day and almost everything I read said that 40PPM Nitrate is when you know it's time to water change so I've never worried about it.

CRS were back to their normal drowsy selves today. Watching one right now grooming Mr. Mossy the moss ball. Didn't find any dead or listing around the tank this morning. I'm suspecting mating was going on, which surprises me.

 

[venymae]

I was guessing breeding like captiancritical, though your nitrates are high (beating a dead horse right? )

Some girly must have put out the man-bait!