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RCS Death when to worry

3K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  Doppelgaenger 
#1 ·
Hey all.
I am newish.... To the planted tank scene but very new at keeping shrimp.
About 4 weeks ago i got 8 RCS that i introduced to my plant fish tank.
Last week i had a major set back where i went on holiday for a week only to come back to more than half my fish being dead ("weekender block poisoning")

After huge water change and good gravel vac i found a dead shrimp last night.

My question is when should i start worrying if my shrimp are dying.


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#2 ·
The huge water change and gravel vac could have caused a cycle, which could have lead to spikes in ammonia, nitrates or nitrites. This could have thus affected the shrimp... Although, a huge water change could have also done it, if it caused too much of a change in the parameters.


Do you know what the water parameters were before and after the water change and gravel vac?
 
#3 ·
Hey all.
I am newish.... To the planted tank scene but very new at keeping shrimp.
About 4 weeks ago i got 8 RCS that i introduced to my plant fish tank.
Last week i had a major set back where i went on holiday for a week only to come back to more than half my fish being dead ("weekender block poisoning")

After huge water change and good gravel vac i found a dead shrimp last night.

My question is when should i start worrying if my shrimp are dying.

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I m right there with you. One of the best ways to kill shrimp is by altering the water parameters too quickly. Small water changed are far better than large ones. Also, be careful to not add to many shrimp or fauna at the same time. This can cause an ammonia spike since the nirtobacter have to adjust to other tank inhabitant. Low and slow is the name of the game.
 
#4 ·
There are two camps when it comes to water change.

1) disturb the gravel every water change
2) leave it alone

disturbing the gravel every single water change allows you to keep the aquarium cleaner but is much more work. more so if you have dirt in the aquarium it will stir up and take some time to settle.

leaving it alone is much quicker. however, the issue with leaving it alone is that if you disturb it in the future than you will have an issue with your fish's health as it might stir up material and lead to an ammonia spike
 
#5 ·
I saw your other post. If there were dead fish in the tank for a few days there could also have been a spike in bad bacteria and one of them got sick from that. As to when to worry... if you start seeing more go, I'd worry. But I would be cautious about acting on this. You have already made changes, making more can cause trouble. When your kid gets a cold you change what you feed them sometimes, you may clean the house up a little more. But the cold won't go away by the time you are done cleaning the living room and changing their sheets. It takes time for them to feel better. Immune systems take 3-5 days just to really build up antibody levels. Longer to clam down after an infection. They will probably need time. If they act a little off for a week or two... ignore it. Just keep doing what was working before you went on vacation. If they show weird spots or fuzz on their body... don't ignore that. They might need treatment.
 
#6 ·
Very true. Before adding shrimp i always did 50% water changes. Did the same when i got the shrimp and quickly a couple would always die. Reduced it to about 20% every 2-3 weeks and zero shrimp loss. I also have enough plants to keep nitrite and narite at 0.
 
#9 ·
I'm in the camp of vacuuming the gravel whenever possible. You should do it now before the shrimp start to breed because once they do you're going to risk sucking up the babies while they're hiding in the spaces between gravel.


Lots of crap in your gravel can lead to algal blooms. Also, CRS (not RCS) and other more fragile shrimp require super clean water, and this is something I've switched to in the hopes of keeping my shrimp alive for longer. I do at least a 50% water change over a week, if not more. If I notice the water getting that off-yellow color, it's time to do a water change. Maybe overkill for RCS, but it can't hurt. If you keep your water super clean you're not going to cause as much of a shock with a big change if you change your water often.


I've heard from some sources that Otos should never be kept alone, they are shoaling fish at the very least and you might have success getting 5 or 6. Make sure your aquarium can support that kind of loading though.
 
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