Will all of my shrimp die

[skargo2009]

So I've already lost at least 2 of my 10 red cherry shrimp. I think it was due to a rise of nitrite in the tank (it was at 2,0 mg/l the other day). I've tested the water again and I've got it down to 0,5 mg/l. It appears another shrimp is dying. It keeps lying on its back with its legs moving frantically. It will then jerk about for a bit then stop.

Most of them appear other wise healthy and are eating and moving around. I've done another water change which should hopefully help

[Cecibella123]

I presume that you mean .5 ml per liter? Mg is a measure of mass/weight, not volume. Even if you meant ml, .5 ml per liter equals out to 500 ppm. That would kill anything in the tank eventually. I'm not even sure a reading that high is possible. Nevertheless, nitrites should always be at 0, or as near to it as possible. How long has your tank been set up? Was it properly cycled before your shrimp were added? How old are the shrimp? I have no idea how long cherry shrimp live, but is it possible that they died of natural causes?

[skargo2009]

Originally Posted by Cecibella123

I presume that you mean .5 ml per liter? Mg is a measure of mass/weight, not volume. Even if you meant ml, .5 ml per liter equals out to 500 ppm. That would kill anything in the tank eventually. I'm not even sure a reading that high is possible. Nevertheless, nitrites should always be at 0, or as near to it as possible. How long has your tank been set up? Was it properly cycled before your shrimp were added? How old are the shrimp? I have no idea how long cherry shrimp live, but is it possible that they died of natural causes?

The tanks been cycled for about 3 months. There are a few guppies in the tank as well. I dont know how old the shrimp are. I've only had them for just over a week

[Cecibella123]

I used to have several cherry shrimp when I had a tank they wouldn't be eaten in. They did well, and bred like crazy. Then, I added a few new fish (tetras, if memory serves), and a week later, not a live shrimp to be found. Water parameters were all fine, so sign of disease in the fish, but something was lethal to the shrimp. I would suppose, in my case, that the fish carried something that was lethal to shrimp, but that the fish had immunity to. Not much help for your case though, sorry.

[PJFISH]

Originally Posted by skargo2009

So I've already lost at least 2 of my 10 red cherry shrimp. I think it was due to a rise of nitrite in the tank (it was at 2,0 mg/l the other day). I've tested the water again and I've got it down to 0,5 mg/l. It appears another shrimp is dying. It keeps lying on its back with its legs moving frantically. It will then jerk about for a bit then stop.



Most of them appear other wise healthy and are eating and moving around. I've done another water change which should hopefully help

RCS are very sensitive to nitrates and almost anything will be killed with elevated nitrites, above 0 ppm. Also, RCS need a lot of plants to hide and feed off of, especially if there are fish in the tank as well!


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[Mr Krabs]

I breed these little guys in a 10G tank.

How is the general hardness in the tank with PPM?

what is the temperature in Fahrenheit?

Do you add iodine for aiding molting?


these are a few details that make it easier to diagnose some other aspects of the water for them.