Which of these fish most likely killed my ADULT red cherry shrimps?

How many fish did you add at one time? How big is the tank?

I don't believe that it is the fish directly. My experience is that fish eat, not kill, shrimp. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, among other pollutants, kill shrimp. Do you have adequate biofiltration? How did you introduce the new fish, to allow the nitrifying bacteria to stay on top of the added bioload?

longgonedaddy said:

How many fish did you add at one time? How big is the tank?

I don't believe that it is the fish directly. My experience is that fish eat, not kill, shrimp. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, among other pollutants, kill shrimp. Do you have adequate biofiltration? How did you introduce the new fish, to allow the nitrifying bacteria to stay on top of the added bioload?

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I added the new fish maybe 50% one day and maybe 25% over 2 more times.

The tank is 55 gallon, I have a SunSun304 I think with 264 GPH flowrate and an airstone in the middle. Tank has been established over 1 year. However the flowrate is much less due to the fact snails keep getting clogged in the filter.

The UV sterilizer in that filter has a small little ring were the water passes and it gets clogged with snails so the water does not flow very fast.

I do have a seachem Ammonia alert which seem to say the water is good as far as Ammonia is anyway.

Some of the shrimp were cut in half which is why I suspected a murder but maybe as you say they were eating when they died of something else.

Thanks.

I vote for the serpae tetras. They are quite nippy. Really though, I am with longgonedaddy as above, the fish tend to eat the shrimp, even if they murder them first. Maybe an ammonia spike from the new stock? Also, just a thought, did you buy fish that might have been treated for ich at the pet store, and introduce the pet store water to your tank? Are you by any chance treating your tank for ich with a copper based med? Spray any bug spray in the room with the tank lately? They could all be kicking off from heart failure with all those predators swimming around with them.<<JOKE-maybe

Even smaller tetras like cardinals will gang up on adult dwarf shrimp if hungry enough.

Turningdizzy said:

I vote for the serpae tetras. They are quite nippy. Really though, I am with longgonedaddy as above, the fish tend to eat the shrimp, even if they murder them first. Maybe an ammonia spike from the new stock? Also, just a thought, did you buy fish that might have been treated for ich at the pet store, and introduce the pet store water to your tank? Are you by any chance treating your tank for ich with a copper based med? Spray any bug spray in the room with the tank lately? They could all be kicking off from heart failure with all those predators swimming around with them.<<JOKE-maybe

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I did add a lot of new fish in a relatively short period of time however usually with established planted tank there is a lot of beneficial bacteria in the substrate, glass, etc....

My 75 Gallon tank, I clean the filter, change the water, and I have chloramides( which turns into ammonia when Chlorine is removed however safe for 24 hours due to prime)

By the next day, the ammonia alert badge indicates the ammonia is all gone. I'm not sure its the plants or just beneficial bacteria from an established tank.

I must tell you my gust reaction is that the serpae tetras were responsible since they are the only fish listed here which is considered a " semi-aggressive fish" although I have found they are not as bad as other semi-aggressive fish I have seen before.

If the shrimp keep dying, I might have to move the serpae tetras into my 75 gallon tank.

Thanks.

I wouldn't rely on that ammonia alert alone. It might be worth testing ammonia and especially nitrates. With the added bioload, you may have had a short period where your beneficial bacteria had to catch up and made some of them sick. Also, you probably now have more nitrates being generated than you used to and would be good to check. Shrimp are much less tolerant to nitrates than fish.

Even smaller fish can stress them out which could lead to them getting sick, but if you have enough hiding places to make them feel safe, that probably isn't the issue.

As for the canister filter, I would recommend cleaning the snails out really well and then put a prefiler or sock on the inlet to prevent them from getting in there

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natemcnutty said:

I wouldn't rely on that ammonia alert alone. It might be worth testing ammonia and especially nitrates. With the added bioload, you may have had a short period where your beneficial bacteria had to catch up and made some of them sick. Also, you probably now have more nitrates being generated than you used to and would be good to check. Shrimp are much less tolerant to nitrates than fish.

Even smaller fish can stress them out which could lead to them getting sick, but if you have enough hiding places to make them feel safe, that probably isn't the issue.

As for the canister filter, I would recommend cleaning the snails out really well and then put a prefiler or sock on the inlet to prevent them from getting in there

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That is another mystery I'm trying to figure out.

I have added one of those sponge filters on the canister filter as a prefilter on the canister's intake and yet snails have constantly been in that filter. I don't know if maybe they are microscopic when babies snail catch and find their way in or something?

I think I have cleaned out snails like 2 or 3 times. I am almost considering changing the canister filter to one that does not have the UV filter in order to stop this problem.

Do you have any ideas as to how these snails are getting in the filter?

Thanks.

Overwatch said:

That is another mystery I'm trying to figure out.

I have added one of those sponge filters on the canister filter intake and yet snails have constantly been in that filter. I don't know if maybe they are microscopic when babies snail catch and find their way in or something?

I think I have cleaned out snails like 2 or 3 times. I am almost considering changing the canister filter to one that does not have the UV filter in order to stop this problem.

Do you have any ideas as to how these snails are getting in the filter?

Thanks.

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You must have mini ramshorn snails? Those guys are absolutely tiny when hatched, and you'd need a pretty fine sponge to stop them. The downside to that is it clogs a lot faster...

I've never used a SunSun, so sadly I can't comment much on that. I do wonder if something like a piece of nylon or similar could be used between the sponge and canister (before or after the intake strainer).



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Definitely would say its the Serpae tetras. As others have mentioned tetras in general can be a little more nippy than you would think. Most of the time smaller ones like neons are totally fine with shrimp but if they were ever to get too hungry they will pick at anything they can.

GreenTerror said:

Definitely would say its the Serpae tetras. As others have mentioned tetras in general can be a little more nippy than you would think. Most of the time smaller ones like neons are totally fine with shrimp but if they were ever to get too hungry they will pick at anything they can.

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I guess it also does not help that I have like 12 of them in my 55 gallon tank.

Maybe more Sepae = more chances to kill shrimp. Do you think I should start to move them to another tank ? Thanks.

I'd check those loaches.....

Nordic said:

I'd check those loaches.....

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I was told by my lfs that I absolutely couldn't keep khuli loaches with shrimp because they would kill the shrimp.


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Do the shrimp have cover plants, hiding places? Would be nice to see some readings from a relatively inexpensive API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

I've also noticed that some fish will acquire a taste for shrimp. I used to keep a colony of red cherry shrimp in a tank with Pearl Gourami, Cardinal Tetras and Rummynose Tetras, and Otos. I can no longer do so, as the Gouramis (and perhaps the others as well) will eat them. Any time I introduce new shrimp, they start disappearing, and in one instance, I saw tell-tale red fish poop.

Loaches do love invertebrates. I would look to the loaches before looking into the water parameters.

I would guess the Loaches would go for the shrimp. Loaches also eat snails and other invertebrates. But just about any fish --- if it fits in their mouth and they can catch it, they will try to eat it. I haven't kept Loaches in years because they completely eradicate my beneficial snails... then they go after my Angels' slime coats.

I have some RCS and Amano in a heavily planted 55 community tank with mollies, guppies, platys, kribensis, flag fish, bristlenose pleco, cory cats, angels. The RCS have even bred in the community tank... I started with 10 and now I have 40-60 (I can't possibly keep count... it's heavily planted after all). I'm sure a lot of the babies get eaten... and a few jumpers end up on the floor (uncovered tank).

Ive never had one so I have no facts to back it up.... but my first suspect would be the loaches

It wouldn't be the dojo loaches. They wouldn't leave bodies behind. They would eat the whole shrimp.

I have Red Cherries in my 20-gallon that only has White Cloud Minnows, several small snails, and Amano Shrimp along with the Red Cherries. The Amanos and many of the adult Cherries are as large or larger than the White Clouds. None of my snails are carnivorous. This is the safest environment I can create for the Red Cherries. It has lots of plants they can hide in and fish too small to bother them, unless they are newly-hatched babies or very small specimens.