[GeToChKn]

Is this a fungus starting or something? If so, whats the best thing I can do to treat it now.

 

[HolyAngel]

Maybe molting? Idk, it's kinda hard to tell from the pic but I'd think that first.. How long has it been there?

 

[GeToChKn]

I just noticed this morning and just found a 2nd one with it. Crap. lol. I got a few better pics here.

 

[GeToChKn]

Well reading online, others have had this too. They suggest doing a water change and then doing a weak salt dip for a 15seconds with the affect shrimp. There are cherries anyways, so hopefully can take the quick salt dip and it will kill the fungus. Others just did a big water change and induced molting and it came off with the molt, so maybe I'll do a water change now and dig them later, I unno.

 

[redfalconf35]

Judging that the shrimp looks healthy and all, i don't feel guilty saying, "haha, that shrimp has hair!"

In all seriousness, as long as the shrimp stays colored up and happy, i would be tempted to let it keep its hair.

 

[GeToChKn]

Well I just did a 50% water change and I'll keep an eye and see if it clears up. They are still bright red, eating fine, the one is a female and saddled, and everything, hopefully they will molt soon. Going to put in a bit of Mosara Gravidis too to help the molting process. If they don't seem ok in a day or two, I'll try a salt dip I guess and go from there.

I did rescape my tank and set it up to 3 divisions instead of 2, so I did stir up a bunch of crap and I couldn't do much work on the cherry side because they are a dozen or 2 babies all running around the substrate and didn't want to suck them up, so maybe I stirred up too much crap and started a mini bloom or something.

 

[shrimpnmoss]

Looks like Vorticella, it is a fungal infection. Your water quality is likely poor.

 

[GeToChKn]

Looks like Vorticella, it is a fungal infection. Your water quality is likely poor.

Well I just did a water change. Should I try a salt dip, or try and do some more changes and let them ride it out?

 

[shrimpnmoss]

I think you have to medicate. I don't know with what though...never had it.

 

[GeToChKn]

I think you have to medicate. I don't know with what though...never had it.

Well if you can find out anything, let me know please.

 

[GeToChKn]

Well, whatever it is, it doesn't like the salt dip. I did 2 20sec salt dips, about quarter teaspoon into a 2lb margarine container the first dip to make sure nobody died from the dip, then another quarter teaspoon again for the 2nd dip.

The couple that I dipped so far, it's almost gone. As soon as it hit the salt water, it shriveled right up on them, so we'll see. I'll do a few more water changes over the next few days and going to add a few HOB filters to my tank. Having it separated into 3 units, the canister filter isn't able to pull the water from that area, so I'm going to switch to 3 aquaclears + 3 giant sponge filters and that should help keep the water in each area more filtered.

 

[madness]

I seem to be having good luck with the Filter-Max pre-filters (from the people who make the Hydro Sponge sponge filters) on AquaClear hang on back filters (models 50 and 70 tested so far). Seem to be able to go a while without cleaning filter (it has a tube inside of the giant sponge filter so it doesn't 'collapse' like when you just put a regular sponge over the intake) and like any sponge filter surface the shrimp seem to love picking at it and climbing on it.

 

[GeToChKn]

Well it seems to be getting worse, the salt dips didn't help that much. I'm setting up a QT tank and going to put some API ick/parasite meds and some API fungus meds, turn off the fan so it warms up a bit and put in a few tester cherries and see whats happens. I found a few more with it. I also torn down my tank today, cleaned all the substrate, added more filtration, etc, to try and avoid the conditions that caused it. I had separated my tank into 3 with plastic screen dividers, but doing that with the tank setup, I ended up with like 3" of gravel on the cherry side and all the mulm from the other sides and with 1 canister filter on the tank, the flow and intake wasn't doing good through the 2 screen dividers, so I cleaned the gravel, removed the canister filter and put 3 HOB filters on each division along with 3 sponge filters, so hopefully it won't get any worse and I will avoid each division having dead spots, but I still have to try and cure the ones that are infected still, whatever it is.

 

[GDP]

I wonder if you could just split the intake tube into 3 intakes and the same with the output. Might have to use something like a 2217 or something though.

 

[GeToChKn]

I wonder if you could just split the intake tube into 3 intakes and the same with the output. Might have to use something like a 2217 or something though.

Its fine. I rather have the 3 HOB filters on here and the Rena on my cube glass tank as thats where my crystals are. It had an aquaclear 70 and sponge filter, but rather have the canister on their tank since the crystals are the more picky of the species. lol.

 

[gordonrichards]

Do water changes in the tank.

Happened to me in one of my cherry/crystal colonies.
Lost quite a few of them. Nasty infestation.

-Gordon

 

[GeToChKn]

Do water changes in the tank.

Happened to me in one of my cherry/crystal colonies.
Lost quite a few of them. Nasty infestation.

-Gordon

I just redid my tank today, so it got a full water change, gravel cleaning, upgraded filtration. I have the 7 I found that were infected in a separate tank with a half solution of API ick/parasite meds and API fungus cure, both containing no copper. I added 2 to see how they did, and they were fine, hanging on the driftwood looking for food, not freaking in the tank or anything, so I added the other 5 and will see in the morning. The first 2 that I added so seem to be doing better and the white looks likes its going down, falling off, or something. Its hard to tell with the water being tinted green from the meds though. lol.

We'll see and hopefully the rest in the tank that aren't showing any yet will be ok from the water/gravel change and the better filtration and the others will recover.

 

[GeToChKn]

Well it still seemed to be spreading, with those meds and no improvement, so I ran some carbon and did at 50% to get rid of those meds, and got some Seachem Paraguard as I've read it has helped others. I did a 33% of a normal dose to test the shrimp reaction to it. Poor little fellers been through a lot.

It does seem like a parasite though, after watching through it my magnifying glass for a while, they do seem to be moving independent of the shrimp moving, so hopefully this will help them.

 

[GeToChKn]

So overnight I slowly added more paraguard to test the shrimp to it and they seemed fine, so did a big water change this morning and did a full dose, everyone seems fine so far. Its hard to tell really if it a parasite, fungus or what. It look like little white creatures sometimes, then others like a fungus. In a tank with a filter moving water and shrimp that don't stay still, you can't tell if the white things are moving or being moved. The good thing is paraguard treats for parasite, fungus, bacteria and virus, so if that don't kill it, not sure what will. lol. So far though, all 7 are fine, eating, chilling on the driftwood. When I tried the other meds, they were flying around the tank too much for my liking and wasn't sure if they were trying to escape. With the paraguard they are eating normally and hanging out picking at moss and stuff, so well see. Keeping up on water changes each day right now on the main tank to make sure that if any others have it that I can't see, the clean water will help them molt and rid their shells of it, and keep them healthy. Also, took the fan off the main tank to let it warm up a bit and help fight any that I can't see being infected either.

 

[RoyalFizbin]

Have you been keeping the shrimp for long? If you have, you should have a tank thick with cherrys. If it were me, I'd kill the infected ones and be done with it. It's not like its some expensive mosura crs.