Cherry Shrimp problems :(

[sazzyg23]

I have a 33L freshwater tank with 2 balloon mollies (both boys), 5 neon tetras and, up until a few days ago, 10 red cherry shrimp. I have marimo moss, java moss and subwassertang that I am semi-successfully growing in my tank for the shrimp. I have a heater set on 24C but my house does get hotter than that sometimes as I live in QLD and unfortunately I don't have a testing kit but last time I used a liquid test just before buying the shrimp my parameters were all good.

I bought 10 shrimp about a month ago and up until a week ago they had been doing fine. Not very active, but had been moulting lots and definitely all still alive. A few days ago I noticed a dead shrimp and now 6 have died in a week. I did my weekly 30% water change (since my tank is small) but it hasn't helped. The fish are all fine.

My balloon mollies will occasionally nip at one of the shrimps if they fly past them, but the shrimp didn't seem to get hurt and none have died until a few days ago.

I can't think of anything I've changed in the past few weeks to make them die so rapidly like this, but I really don't want them all to die! They're so cute and one of the dead shrimp was saddled

Any suggestions?

 

[TheresaM]

How long was the tank running before you added the shrimp? Once settled cherries are generally hardy and easy to care for but definitely prefer an established tank.

 

[Exigenn]

Could be bullying or water parameters.

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi Sazzy,
Don't get despondent, it took me 3 attempts to get a RCS colony going. This is what I noted:
They like an established tank with plenty of bio-film (almost invisible plant growth on any surface in the tank, including plants themselves).
They like a lot of cover. Moss is about the best, and I see from your photos that you have some, but it's a very small proportion of the tank. More would be better.
Consistent water is essential and the water hardness affects their moulting and breeding. So a good liquid test kit is essential. I test for water hardness, Kh and Gh, and aim for about 5-6 degrees. A Kh of about 5 will also stabilise your Ph - shrimps don't like a fluctuating Ph.
Copper is toxic to shrimp. Minute amounts like there is in some ferts and foods is fine but the high levels in the majority of medication is almost instantly fatal to shrimp.
Fish love baby shrimp, which are only a couple of millimetres long, and so more cover is needed for them to survive. Again, a big clump of moss is perfect.
Now I have hundreds in my main tank and even the fish can't keep the numbers down, so it can be done. My smaller quarantine tank has a large colony too, but half of the water area is moss. Pic below:

Good luck with the shrimp. Don't give in.


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