My shrimp in 2 differant tanks have suddenly died.

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Thebobcats

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 23, 2023
Messages
1
2 weeks ago I got up and turned on the aquarium light and my shrimp were darting around the tank and landing on their backs and sides. Their legs couldn’t grab on and they seem like they want to be upright but can’t. ALL of my shrimp, neocaridina adults, babies, and Caridina shrimp are doing the same thing suddenly. The only thing I can think of that made them unhappy is adding in some brine shrimp for my small choli rasboras but they were rinsed and even if I hadn’t it’s a minuscule about of salt to water. Other than that I haven’t added anything, not even put my hand in the tank. None of them seem to be dying, just suffering which is making me very upset. I have a video of what is happening but I’m unsure how to add a video as this is my first post.
I did some testing on the tank and there was 0 ammonia, and 0 nitrates, the ph is a little high but I don’t have anything that would have raised it.

Thank you for your time reading/helping.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

You can upload videos to YouTube or another video hosting website, then copy & paste the link here. We can go to the site to view it.

If you use a mobile phone to film stuff, hold the phone horizontally so the footage fills the entire screen.

A couple of pictures of the shrimp might help too.

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How long has the tank been set up for?
What is the nitrite level and pH of the aquarium water?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the aquarium?

Have you added anything new to the tank in the 2 weeks before this started? This can include things like fish, shrimp, snails, driftwood, plants, ornaments, etc.

Do you have buckets and hoses specifically for the fish tank?

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TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

If you don't have live plants in the tank, you only need the light on for a few hours in the evening. You might turn them on at 4 or 5pm and off at 9pm.

If you do have live plants in the tank, you can have the lights on for 8-16 hours a day but the fish and plants need 8 hours of darkness to rest. Most people with live plants in their aquarium will have the lights on for 8-12 hours a day.

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BASIC FIRST AID FOR FISH & SHRIMP
Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.
 
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