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Tiger shrimp disappeared

3028 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  aquariumhobbyist
Ok, so I have an interesting experience to share and inquire about as well.

I purchased around 25 tiger shrimp last month. I added 4 to my 20 gal tank with small guppies and java moss, 15 (along with 5 amano shrimp) to my second 20 gal with red cherries and albino BN juvies (four in total) and the rest (along with 2 amano shrimp) to my 33 gal community aquarium with 15 guppies, 16 neon tetras, 3 rasboras and 3 corydoras (all medium sized except for 2 corydoras that are of breeding age). I acclimated the shrimp before adding them in.

I saw the amano's that I had added at the same time as the tigers on many occasions, especially in the cherry tank and the 33 gal community tank, but the tiger shrimp have all disappeared... I haven't seen a single one! Now I understand they may have hidden from the fish due to their nature but the fish are really small (the shrimp were large, 1.5 cm+ each) and also the amanos are just hanging about in the open...

Could the shrimp have died off without me being able to see a single one? Or are they still hiding? I know my fish couldn't have eaten them because their mouths are too small and the shrimp were too large (unless if the BN juvies hunted them down, but then why the tigers and not the red cherries?)...

Any thoughts?
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maybe they died and the fish/amanos ate them? tigers are a little more picky about their water than cherries
Sounds like a classic case of who did it lol.
maybe they died and the fish/amanos ate them? tigers are a little more picky about their water than cherries
Parameters seem ok, temp was around 23-24 Celsius... would that small a difference cause all of their deaths?

edit: they were being kept with the amanos in the store though. Also, they were of the same size as the amanos. Still nothing is impossible I guess...
Sounds like a classic case of who did it lol.
lol, yeah perhaps... but they were too large to be eaten in the guppy fry tank, which was kept at 24 degrees... can't figure out how they would have been eaten.
Check your filter...lol

Or they died and were picked apart by their tankmates

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I had 6 amano shrimp with CPDs and black darter tetras (all 1.25" fish) and 3 of them disappeared. I removed the other 3 and they are still alive today 4 years later. Even small fish are able to make shrimp disappear to include amanos. I would suspect the fish in 2 of your tanks, but the tank with RCS and BN fry it has got to be something else. Are you adding equilibrium to your tanks? I read somewhere that it can hurt shrimp. I have been using it in the past and lost a shrimp pretty frequently. Since I stopped using it in the shrimp tanks and use Saltyshrimp bee shrimp minerals, there is a lot less dying going on. But this is just a suspicion. Not based on any type of proof. If shrimp die BTW they are often consumed within a short period of time and odds are you never see a body especially with fish and snails in the tank.
List yoour tank parameters, all fish eat shrimp but otos so they could have just been real expensive food! Temp is huge with tigers, as they do not like higher temps.
edit: they were being kept with the amanos in the store though. Also, they were of the same size as the amanos. Still nothing is impossible I guess...
i doubt the amanos would have killed them, just cleaned up after they died
I had 6 amano shrimp with CPDs and black darter tetras (all 1.25" fish) and 3 of them disappeared. I removed the other 3 and they are still alive today 4 years later. Even small fish are able to make shrimp disappear to include amanos. I would suspect the fish in 2 of your tanks, but the tank with RCS and BN fry it has got to be something else. Are you adding equilibrium to your tanks? I read somewhere that it can hurt shrimp. I have been using it in the past and lost a shrimp pretty frequently. Since I stopped using it in the shrimp tanks and use Saltyshrimp bee shrimp minerals, there is a lot less dying going on. But this is just a suspicion. Not based on any type of proof. If shrimp die BTW they are often consumed within a short period of time and odds are you never see a body especially with fish and snails in the tank.
No, I am not adding equilibrium or anything else for that matter... perhaps I should?

I guess my fish had an expensive meal on me and in my other tank, the MTS did so as well then... :(
List your tank parameters, all fish eat shrimp but otos so they could have just been real expensive food! Temp is huge with tigers, as they do not like higher temps.
I guess I should have done more research. The LFS that sold them gave no warning and in fact said they love warm water and I should keep the tank warm around 26 degrees. Luckily I had read something about amanos and so kept it at 24 degrees celsius. TBH tiger shrimp were the first shrimp I got so far that prefer cooler water :( Anyway, we learn as we go I guess... an expensive lesson nonetheless
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