Losing a shrimp about every week and half...update post #42

[ravensgate]

Originally Posted by Bananariot

Maybe it's what you are boiling your food in and your CRS strain is just weaker than your other shrimps?

I use RO to boil it in, then freeze it, so it's been boiled, drained, and frozen before I feed.

[ravensgate]

Originally Posted by alexopolus

I think salty shrimp GH is the best you can get form your tank, I use this stuff and I love it (I hope shrimp too). Just be careful to don't overdose it because it will spike your TDS (I use one measure spoon for each 4G and it gets my Gh to ~5 and TDS around 140). Also why don't you try some barley pellets? For some reason shrimps love to graze on this stuff and you can leave it in the feeding dish.

Going to try the Salty Shrimp but need to figure out how to dose it to one gallon containers...fun. Also you're talking to someone that has a variety of over 30 dried foods...lol, they get fed barley about once every two weeks (just goes with the rotation I have).

[Loumeer]

Originally Posted by ravensgate

Going to try the Salty Shrimp but need to figure out how to dose it to one gallon containers...fun. Also you're talking to someone that has a variety of over 30 dried foods...lol, they get fed barley about once every two weeks (just goes with the rotation I have).

You need a very small amount. In 2 gallons I use half of the spoon it comes with to raise my tap water to about 100 tds. That give me a gH of 4.

[Loumeer]

Also, I would try and change your rotation to feeding 2x a week. I think 3x a week is too much food. Even if they finish the food in 2 hours the probably don't need it and some may just be getting too much.

[ravensgate]

I'll try it and see what happens. Will switch to Salty shrimp, cut back feedings to twice a week and go from there. Thanks for the help everyone!

[jkan0228]

Originally Posted by Loumeer

Also, I would try and change your rotation to feeding 2x a week. I think 3x a week is too much food. Even if they finish the food in 2 hours the probably don't need it and some may just be getting too much.

Although if nitrates are still at zero, there shouldn't be any negative effects in feeding often.

[ravensgate]

Originally Posted by jkan0228

Although if nitrates are still at zero, there shouldn't be any negative effects in feeding often.

That's how I feel as well but heck, something I'm doing isn't right...I figure cutting down feeding is worth a shot. Still don't think it has anything to do with anything but figure I can give it a try.

[jkan0228]

Originally Posted by ravensgate

That's how I feel as well but heck, something I'm doing isn't right...I figure cutting down feeding is worth a shot. Still don't think it has anything to do with anything but figure I can give it a try.

I see your point. No matter if you feed 2 or 3 times a day the shrimp will have plenty of food so cutting down won't do harm ^_^

[ravensgate]

Originally Posted by jkan0228

I see your point. No matter if you feed 2 or 3 times a day the shrimp will have plenty of food so cutting down won't do harm ^_^

Haha, you meant 2-3 times a week right? I don't feed 2-3 times a day...ever

[Bananariot]

Originally Posted by ravensgate

I use RO to boil it in, then freeze it, so it's been boiled, drained, and frozen before I feed.

Oh I mean like what cookware do u use to boil it.

[ravensgate]

Originally Posted by Bananariot

Oh I mean like what cookware do u use to boil it.

Been doing this a year in the same cookware for a year...never a problem. Have CRS/CBS in other tanks...no problems. Everybody gets fed the same thing.

[ravensgate]

Wanted to update this thread. So the tank is a 3 gallon and I was running a small sponge filter on it when I was having all these problems. I added a Toms Rapid Mini Canister filter to the tank, customized it a bit, swapped out the stuff that came with it with Seachem Matrix, Eheim Substrate, and Purigen and I have only had one death since the install and that was of a berried female who was acting very stressed during her pregnancy. Within a week and a half of installing the filter I had to change out the Purigen because it was coffee brown and exhausted. Soooooooooooooooo apparently my dang water was filthy...no wonder they were dying. Survival rates on babies has seemed to increase as well. I still have the small sponge filter in there even though the canister is on it, too lazy to take it out, the babies love it and its not hurting anything.

So that's my conclusion, lack of filtration/dirty water seems to have been what was taking them down. I only have a few adults left from the onslaught but have probably 40-60 babies/juvies in there ready to take over when they get grown.