Mass Ghost Shrimp Death

[theotheragentm]

I had three Ghost Shrimp die recently. I saw their bodies this morning. Unfortunately, I had to get to work, so they were left there. The fish will probably make a meal out of them.

This is a 55-gallon tank, and it was understocked. By understocked, I mean that a measure of water shows 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5 PPM nitrates after a week. I did add a few Danios to the picture, but I have also done multiple water changes more frequently than would normally even be warranted to remove any waste levels. I will measure when I get home, but I really doubt this is a problem with water quality.

No fish have died, nor do they show any signs of stress. Everything else in the tank looks healthy as one of the Platies just gave birth to fry and they seem to be doing fine as well.

I know invertibrates are susceptible to other things in the water such as metals, but I don't know where I would be suddenly getting metals in my water.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do? I'm not overly concerned about the Ghost Shrimp specifically. I just want to make sure the rest of the tank is healthy.

 

[Devilishturtles]

How long have they been in the tank?

 

[gu2high]

I have four and 3 of them have died. From beginning, 1 died for about every 2-3 weeks due to unknown reason. Maybe get bite from fish when molting.

 

[theotheragentm]

They've been in the tank for almost two months. I read somewhere that they turn white before they die. One of the ones that died is one that has been white for a couple weeks. Is being white a sign of anything else that I need to rectify?

 

[gu2high]

White one is dead already.

 

[theotheragentm]

White doesn't mean dead already, because I had one walking around white. Unless he's a zombie... 8O

 

[hsherman1986]

ghost shrimp die easy. I have owned a lot of ghost shrimp, and they all died very quickly. If I want to keep them, I buy 40 of them, and usually end up with about 10 that live for longer than 2 weeks.

 

[theotheragentm]

Yeah. I know they're not that hardy. This makes four that I've seen die. Who knows how many I've actually lost. They seem to be doing okay as a whole I think, because half a dozen of them or so are carrying eggs. I had about two dozen to start. I believe I have over half them still, probably 2/3.

 

[zenkatydid]

i have heard that ghost shrimp are very susceptible to chlorine. when you do water changes, be very careful about treating the water with dechlor first.

 

[gu2high]

Agree, they maybe very susceptible to chlorine. Yesterday evening I change 5% water (vaccum gravel on some spots) and add a bucket of new water with dechlorine added first. This morning I found one dead ghost shrimp. Maybe the water was not dechlorined well before add-in.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I bought 60 in one shot. (the guy gave me closer to 75) and they were all dead within 2 weeks, Most eaten by the Bala Sharks and Congo Tetras. (but I never removed a body..) They are very dependant on Calcium in the water, and there are other things. I found they were too fragile and cheap to worry about losing them.

The fact that you've had them for 2 months is amazing to me. only topped by my sisters under-maintained tank that had 1 last for 9 months+

 

[theotheragentm]

Yeah, my water quality is fine, so I'm not going to worry about it. I figure the tank is generally healthy as the fish are growing and thriving and there are lots of pregnant fish and shrimp.

 

[toddnbecka]

Shrimp are more sensitive than most fish, and the stress of being collected, shipped, and transferred through several different water chemistries in the process takes a toll on them. That's provided they were young, healthy shrimp to begin with, not mature specimens. Given good conditions and suitable tankmates, the survivors may reproduce. If they're a species that doesn't require brackish water for the larvae to survive, and any of the larvae survive the predatory adults and hungry fish, they will be much better suited to the aquarium than wild-caught shrimp.

 

[theotheragentm]

How likely is it that some of the shrimp will be found in my XP3 filter?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Maybe a high chance

I have had one that has been living in my 10 gallon planted tank for about 3 months now. They are definitley susceptiple to a lot though. I got a shipment of them in when I worked retail, on two occasions, that there was no air in the bag, just water. All the shrimp are alive and kicking. I open the bag to allow some air in and still leave it sitting in the tank acclimating, and within 5 minutes they all die. Just little things like that are weird, but happen with ghost shrimp.

 

[toddnbecka]

I got a shipment of them in when I worked retail, on two occasions, that there was no air in the bag, just water. All the shrimp are alive and kicking. I open the bag to allow some air in and still leave it sitting in the tank acclimating, and within 5 minutes they all die.

Were the bags w/out any air breather bags or standard plastic bags? Breather bags won't "breathe" under water, you need to empty the contents into another container to acclimate the critters.

 

[Argblarg]

Maybe a high chance

I have had one that has been living in my 10 gallon planted tank for about 3 months now. They are definitley susceptiple to a lot though. I got a shipment of them in when I worked retail, on two occasions, that there was no air in the bag, just water. All the shrimp are alive and kicking. I open the bag to allow some air in and still leave it sitting in the tank acclimating, and within 5 minutes they all die. Just little things like that are weird, but happen with ghost shrimp.

There is a good explanation for this that I have read a few times- the pH in the bag was lowered due to increased CO2 from respiration, and the ammonia is less toxic at this lowered level. Once you opened the bag, the CO2 gassed off very quickly and the pH rises and makes ammonia toxic, killing the shrimp. That is why breather bags are a good idea and if you don't use them, you should dilute the shipping water right when you open it up with fresh water to keep the ammonia levels down.

 

[theotheragentm]

That doesn't explain why shrimp suddenly die when established in the tank for over a month. I've just concluded they are just weak organisms. It's too bad, because they're a lot of fun to watch when they scramble for pieces of food that are larger than their bodies.

 

[cabezon]

I must be lucky, because of all the livestock I have bought, the shrimp have been the longest living (knocks wood).

I bought a good group of them and put a few in each tank. they all lived. I should keep a log, but I know its been months.

 

[Argblarg]

Have you ever used any medication on this tank that may have copper in it? It will linger forever and eventually be fatal. Some foods contain a lot of copper sulfate that may build up after while too.