HELP! ghost shrimp are dying and now an otocinclus

[Jasminesea]

Hey guys! I've been having algae problems for a while. In response I purchased a gravel cleaner and have been doing regular water changes to no avail. Recently I went down from 15 ghost shrimp to only 2 and now one of my four otocinclus died.

All i've added to my tank are daily doses of flourish excel and stress coat during water changes. Also I live in New York City and have been using tap water, could this be causing the problem?

I've attached an image below.

 

[Caliban07]

Hey guys! I've been having algae problems for a while. In response I purchased a gravel cleaner and have been doing regular water changes to no avail. Recently I went down from 15 ghost shrimp to only 2 and now one of my four otocinclus died.



All i've added to my tank are daily doses of flourish excel and stress coat during water changes. Also I live in New York City and have been using tap water, could this be causing the problem?



I've attached an image below.

Hi

I doubt the tap water is the cause. How long has the tank been set up?

Have you checked the water for high levels of ammonia and nitrite?

There could be a few reasons why your fish died. Ottos have a reasonably high oxygen requirement. It's hard to tell from the picture but it looks like the surface could do with a bit of movement and perhaps the tank will benefit from more flow.

Water changes are definitely a good thing so continue to do them. The plants may benefit from some form of fertiliser too to help with nutrient load and lowering the light intensity may help with the algae.

Please tell us a bit more about this tank and your routine towards maintenance, flow, water parameters of you have a test kit etc.


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[Fresh2o]

Otos do better in established tanks. More than just the abundance of biofilm (which they consume), stable and safe parameters are important.
Probably same with the ghost shrimp. They are sensitive to certain chemicals such as copper. Unfortunately, they are often treated the same way as feeder fish in terms of transport and holding.
A little history of the tank, as requested in the prior post, would be helpful.
The green stuff coating the substrate and plants appears to be blue green algae (BGA) or Cyanobacteria. I don't think they are responsible for the deaths in the tank. Physical removal via siphoning is best for it. If that does not prove to be successful in the long term, treatment with antibiotics (e.g. - API Erythromycin) will rid the tank of it.


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[Jasminesea]

Hi! Thank you for the swift response! I've had this tank for almost a year now and have introduced plants gradually but the algae has been killing off more delicate plants such as my green myrio (I believe this is what they were ) which get easily covered. I did some tests and ammonia and nitrate levels were normal but the PH was 6.6. I introduced a bubbler so hopefully that helps the ottos. Should I move the filter higher and increase the speed?

I currently have the light running for 6 hours and am adding flourish as my fertilizer. I'll give erythromycin a shot because I've been dealing with this algae problem for months. Will any fish/inverts be sensitive to it? How often do you recommend I use the pump to clean substrate? Are weekly water changes ok? Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Caliban07]

Hi! Thank you for the swift response! I've had this tank for almost a year now and have introduced plants gradually but the algae has been killing off more delicate plants such as my green myrio (I believe this is what they were ) which get easily covered. I did some tests and ammonia and nitrate levels were normal but the PH was 6.6. I introduced a bubbler so hopefully that helps the ottos. Should I move the filter higher and increase the speed?

I currently have the light running for 6 hours and am adding flourish as my fertilizer. I'll give erythromycin a shot because I've been dealing with this algae problem for months. Will any fish/inverts be sensitive to it? How often do you recommend I use the pump to clean substrate? Are weekly water changes ok? Thank you so much for your help!

Hi.

It sounds like you have been doing mostly the right things. Weekly water changes are generally recommended as part of routine maintenance in any aquarium. I do 50% weekly now. They help to remove organic waste build up and harmful toxins as well as stabilise parameters that normally decline when over time without water changes such as KH and ph.

Do you use Seachem flourish or flourish excel? They are separate products and help the plants in different ways. Excel is a liquid source of carbon and the other provides nutrients. I would strongly advise using both. Even more so if you have a strong lighting system.

Ensuring good surface movement and overall flow is always a good thing. You have to push the water that enters the aquarium through gas exchange around the tank. This should also help with the blue green algae if you choose not to use the aforementioned antibiotic.

If you could add excel and macro nutrients to the tank as well as continue weekly water changes and increase flow and gas exchange this should help the plants grow healthily and rid the tank of algae. Plants are net oxygen producers also which helps all tank inhabitants including the microorganisms that prevent build up of harmful nitrogen.

Unhealthy plants produce less oxygen and even reduce the content. They drop organic litter that decays forcing the microorganisms to break it down again reducing the oxygen levels. Low oxygen means low microorganism activity and increased water pollution. Couple this with poor flow and surface movement and you can end up with stagnated anaerobic conditions in filters and substrate etc. This is not good for the aquatic environment.

If you can address these issue I'm sure things will improve for you.

Hope this helps ?


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[Fresh2o]

Hi! Thank you for the swift response! I've had this tank for almost a year now and have introduced plants gradually but the algae has been killing off more delicate plants such as my green myrio (I believe this is what they were ) which get easily covered. I did some tests and ammonia and nitrate levels were normal but the PH was 6.6. I introduced a bubbler so hopefully that helps the ottos. Should I move the filter higher and increase the speed?

I currently have the light running for 6 hours and am adding flourish as my fertilizer. I'll give erythromycin a shot because I've been dealing with this algae problem for months. Will any fish/inverts be sensitive to it? How often do you recommend I use the pump to clean substrate? Are weekly water changes ok? Thank you so much for your help!

For BGA I could not keep up with while removing what I could with a siphon during weekly water changes. I had it for months (not knowing what it was). In the two times I've had it (both were bad) I had great results using API Erythromycin (EM). It's available in most LFSs and big box stores. The regimen I used was:
1. Remove as much BGA as physically possible
2. Do a big water change
3. Start treating with EM on a daily basis for four dosages
4. Do not do a water change until day 10
5. Of course, remove any carbon in your filters (this should be step #1).
6. At day 10, perform a large water change.
Even though treatment is only four days, the EM stays active in the water for several days and even at days 5-9 you may notice the BGA continuing to die off.
I have not observed any ammonia spikes or deaths while using EM. This is with Otos and amano shrimp in the tank during treatment.


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[AquaCheatah]

well just to reassure you i also live in NYC and i doubt its the tap water

cause i use it every 3 to 5 weeks on a base of water changes in my tank

i got a 48gal cube with a 100 gal rated canister filter

but these guys def got you covered when it comes down to it

i do hope your tank is doing alot better tho

 

[Caliban07]

Hi Jessica, any improvements?


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