What killed my Shrimp

[HooKooDooKu]

I've had 6 Amono shrimp in a 20 gallon tank with a gold fish and a pair of roseys. The gold fish has never really paid much attention to the shrimp, and they generally hide in crevises around the filter where it's impossible for the gold to reach them. This has been the setup for about 6 months.

Last week, we went on a 5 day vacation. One of the things I did was to place some of those white disolving fish feeders in the tank (two if the big 7 day rounds... this goldie is used to eatting pretty well). We also bug-bommed the house. We specifically used a Raid fumigator (Raid ® : Fumigator) that forms a dry smoke that doesn't seem to leave a residue. To protect the fish, they already have a glass canopy complelety covering them. Additionally, I put the air pump on a timer so that it would not be pumping for the 1st 3 hours after starting the bug bomb.

Well, when we got home, all six shrimp were gone.

Which was the culprite:
1. Hungry Gold Fish?
2. Minor amounds of Bug Bomb getting in the tank?
3. The fish feeders (never saw a warning about invertibrates)?

 

[happygirl65]

It is hard to say, the bug bomb could do it if any chemicals settled on the surface of the water....was it sealed, if there was even a tiny crevace for the filter to go in it could have gotten in there.
The feeder could also be a problem if there was an ammonia spike, and I am not that experienced with gold fish but I would guess that they would eat anything that would fit in their mouth...

 

[WhiteDevil]

You cant bomb your house with pets in it, there is no residue but residue is a by-product the actual chemical itself is airborne and will get into the tank, 3 hours of no air pump did nothing to help the situation being it turned on before the house was ventilated properly. Saran wrap the top of the tank, use and entire roll of it, just the regular no super size or anything like that, also if you can run the air pump outside and just get a cheap air line from wal-mart for 3 bucks per 25'. doing this brings in fresh air while keeping the tank sealed completely.

If you can get a good size plastic tub, and put the fish in there during the fumigating process and a few days after, and keep it somewhere else thats even better. Dont fumigate with pets in the house, that always spells very bad news.


AS far as the skrimps go, did you find any carcasses? also I think amanos are too big for the aquarium gold fish to eat in one piece, fish gulp they dont bite off minus toothy fish like pike and musky as well as walleyes ect.

The goldfish would have to eaten them all whole, it wouldnt have found all of them dead and eaten off of them all.

I am also assuming you had no bodies to account for.

 

[mgamer20o0]

really its hard to say. i think all 3 should be avoided.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

...AS far as the skrimps go, did you find any carcasses? also I think amanos are too big for the aquarium gold fish to eat in one piece, fish gulp they dont bite off minus toothy fish like pike and musky as well as walleyes ect.

The goldfish would have to eaten them all whole, it wouldnt have found all of them dead and eaten off of them all.

I am also assuming you had no bodies to account for.

There were no bodies, but when I cleaned the filter this weekend, it was ultra messy, with "stuff" located in every nook and cranny both before and AFTER the filter element.

I apparently had 2 male and 4 HUGE female amanos. Given that all of them were gone, it now sounds like LESS of a chance that it was simply hungry goldfish.


The tank is covered... but not sealed. There are tiny gaps around the power cord for the filter as well as the air tubing.

I never considered temporaroly moving the air pumps outside. That little bit of fresh air pushing out of the crevases should be enough to avoid any fumes entering the tank.

Since I originally posted, I also lost one of 7 female betta I keep in a sorority tank. It's been over a week since the fumigation... so I'm not sure if that too was caused by the fumigation or just a coinsidence... especailly since it was only one of the 7 that died... and one of the other 7 has had a much rougher week (jumped out of the tank while doing a PWC, and didn't find her for 30 minutes because managed to land in the air vent... but seems ok now).

 

[Mystery]

I would suggest it was the bug bomb, as the tank was not air tight more than enough chemical could get through.

 

[jsoong]

Gold fish loves shrimp!! But unless you have a big comet, it is unlikely to be able to gulp down a big Amano.

The dissolving feeder can be a problem. Did you check the NH3? You might have had a mini-cycle.

But the likeliest is the Bug bomb. ... The chemicals are meant to kill insects, and shrimps, being crustaceans, are closely related.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

...The dissolving feeder can be a problem. Did you check the NH3? You might have had a mini-cycle....

Why could the dissolving feeder be a problem, and why might it cause a mini-cycle? In the time I've spent here at AA, I've never run accross any warnings about these dissolving feeder.

 

[taylorodw]

They release food, which can rot and cause ammonia. So if it was dissolving much faster than your fish were eating it, then ammonia would have spiked.

 

[Nippy Fish]

Shrimp are ultra-sensitive to ammonia. They will be the first to die if you have any ammonia at all. They will die at what is considered "non-toxic" levels. I raise shrimp for my lfs.

I still wouldn't necessarily rule out hungry fish killing them. Those vacation feeders aren't their usual cuisine and I don't think they are especially yummy. Shrimp are a delicacy to just about any fish and sometimes smaller fish will just pick at a shrimp to death, especially if they are really hungry. That could explain why you think you found parts in the filter. Although I'd put my money on ammonia spike. I think at least one of them would have made it through the bug spray, while ammonia will wipe out every one of them. Shrimp are also good at hiding once they sense predation.

 

[mgamer20o0]

Why could the dissolving feeder be a problem, and why might it cause a mini-cycle? In the time I've spent here at AA, I've never run accross any warnings about these dissolving feeder.

its better not to use them then add them to the tank.