RCS Molting Problem

[ProxyBlue]

So I scoured the earth (ok just my corner of it) and finally found an LFS that had exactly 3 cherry shrimp. So I bought these elusive suckers at a ridiculous price and brought them home. They are juvenile, at least 1 was definitely a female and the other two were unknown. I've had them about a week and 2 of them have perished already. The third one has developed a saddle so I know I'm left with 1 girl. The problem seems to be molting. I check on them every night and both the dead ones I found in the morning (on different days) on the bottom of the tank hunched over with a white/yellow band around their middle. I am assuming they tried to molt during the night and didn't make it out of their shells. I have since done a massive water change, before I had about equal parts distilled and tap water. I was thinking my tap water was too hard and that was the problem? I added way more distilled water so it's about 15-20 percent tap now and the rest distilled. I have no idea if the 1 I have left has molted yet or not, as they like to do it while I'm sleeping. I think she looks bigger but that might just be me. If she hasn't already I know she will soon and I don't want to loose the last one. Is there anything I could do to ensure her survival? I don't have a testing kit yet, I plan on buying one the next time I go to the city. I live in the stix and the closest LFS to me is almost an hour away. Anything I could do without having to run out and buy something would be a great help.

 

[Jev12]

You really need to add some sort of calcium supplement such as cuttlefish bone which you would find in the bird section of pretty much any pet store don't get any flavored kinds just the plane old cuttlefish bone...but since you can't run out and get something i don't know of anything else you can put in there maybe someone else can give a suggestion

 

[ProxyBlue]

I'm confused, if my water is hard, why would I need to add more calcium? There are no other cracks in the shells of the shrimp, like they are too soft and there's not enough calcium in the water. I was thinking their shells were too hard from too much calcium and they couldn't molt out of their shells. Is that not what's happening?

 

[Jev12]

Ohhh sorry I missed that part I guess...then yeah it might be too hard for them

 

[ProxyBlue]

So I guess my question becomes, is there anything I can do to make the water softer, other than the wc with distilled water that I already did?

 

[Jev12]

I BELIEVE...now I'm not 100% sure about this but I think cholla wood and peat moss helps with that

 

[ProxyBlue]

Oh I've got tons of peat moss since I raise carnivorous plants, I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the tip. So far she's still kickin and I did break out the flashlight and magnifying glass to really check out her shell, kinda hard to do with her dodging the bright light, but I didn't see any cracks or bands. Maybe the water change was enough. Can't wait to get my dang kit, this guessing game is terrible. I'm totally gonna be a liquid kit advocate now lol.

 

[Jev12]

Ohh that's good yeah look in to that to see if thats what it does...I have a feeling that that might be a way to lower ph but I'm not sure...and do you need peat moss for carnivorous plants??? I have a VFT that doesn't have any and it seems to be doing just fine

 

[Coursair]

I buy packets of Indian Almond Leaves here or on The Planted Tank for my Shrimp tanks. Not expensive.

 

[Fresh2o]

Been there, still doing it.

Similar story, brought 2 RCS in May, 2 weeks later 6 more (established tank). Within 10 days lost 7 of 9. Most died shortly after molting. Added some cuttlebone. Last 2 doing fine. Fast forward 5-6 weeks...
This past weekend added 6 more RCS; did a slow 2 hour drip acclimation. A few days ago I saw 2 shrimp molts and counted 7 of the 8 running around (there are lots of hiding spaces under the DW). Today I found 1 lifeless RCS today near the molts. Hope this is not a trend.
When I get the last batch I should had tested the LFS water (pH, kH, gH) against the tank water. Good luck with this.

 

[GodFan]

In my experience death after molt is due to low gh.

 

[Fresh2o]

In my experience death after molt is due to low gh.

KH/GH has been steady at 5 and 9 respectively. Did not test the LFS water so I don't know if there is a big difference.
Don't mean to hijack

 

[ProxyBlue]

Ohh that's good yeah look in to that to see if thats what it does...I have a feeling that that might be a way to lower ph but I'm not sure...and do you need peat moss for carnivorous plants??? I have a VFT that doesn't have any and it seems to be doing just fine

sry for the late response, and this is a little off topic, but yes i plant my vft in a mix of peat moss and perlite, both fertilizer free (and not easy to find lol). i then top off the soil with long fibered sphagnum moss. i raise more than vtfs, like sundews and pitchers. they will do fine in just spagnum moss, as long as it doesn't get too water logged. just sphagnum alone tends to rot the rhizome due to too much water as well as having a tendency to mold.

back to the topic at hand, the water change seems to have done the trick, she's doing well so far. frankly i'm amazed she's still alive. i did look into the peat, and have read that it will soften the water and make it more acidic. i'm thinking this is due to the tannins in the peat. so it's like using indian almond leaves. i think the next time i do a wc i will start with a simple peat rinse and use that water.

 

[ProxyBlue]

KH/GH has been steady at 5 and 9 respectively. Did not test the LFS water so I don't know if there is a big difference.
Don't mean to hijack

don't mind the hijack, it's relevant to my problem, although it sounds like the other end of the spectrum. my shrimp couldn't molt and died in their shells.

i appreciate all the advice, this forum is great and i'm glad i stumbled onto it.