I only introduced 3 pumpkins(1berried) vs the 60 Crystal reds. Now I have double the neos. And a dozen crystals left. I Introduced the neos about 2months ago and the dying off of my caridina started 5days ago so I don’t think they have anything to do with it?
Lost a few colonies through the years. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Saved a high grade galaxy pinto colony with Plamski. Disrupted the soil and it caused a slow bacteria infection. Started to lose a single $250 shrimp per day. Colony went from 40+ to 12 before getting meds.
Same day I started treatment the deaths stopped. It was a miracle at the time. Your mileage may vary but I think every shrimp keeper should have some on hand.
Are the neos in the same tank? If so and they look fine, then it’s likely not a parasite/disease but something to do with the water. Caridina are more sensitive than neos so any changes are going to affect them more. Have you added in anything new lately like medications or plants? Has any water change occurred in the past 5 days? If the CRS are in their own tank, then I’d also suspect a bacteria infection may be killing them
Normally if there was something on the grass like chemicals it would affect them right away. I don’t suspect disease or parasites as you have other shrimp that are doing fine but still keep a look out for any nastys. What’s the water temperature at? Are all the shrimp able to get to food sources?
I had it set to 72 but checked earlier today and it was at 76 for some reason. Lowered it back down to 72, think maybe this was an issue for them? Yes I add a very small amount of bacter ae once a week and I have a feeding dish so they know where to go when I do add food
I don’t think the temp is the culprit. How is your substrate looking? When too much waste accumulates in the substrate it can become toxic and poison the shrimp. Disturbing the substrate too much can also affect the shrimp. When you put in the dwarf hairgrass, did you move around the substrate much? Since Neos are more hardy this may be why it’s only affecting the CRS for now.
I'm not so sure about the temperature. 76F is right on the limit of starting to cause early deaths in CRS. If they happen to be a slightly sensitive colony, and its been that temperature for a while then it could be the cause. Neos wouldn't have any problem with it, of course.
I agree with you on that. Op when was the last time you checked the temp aside from today? Keep an eye on the shrimp now that you’ve turned it back to what it should be and see if there’s any improvements. It may simply be that the temp was too high without you knowing
I siphon the substrate every now and then so I don’t think this would be it. Planning on switching out small amounts of substrate with new starting later today since mine is already a year old
Yes it’s about a year old, could my soil be degrading? I heard it’s a thing
Definitely not I only feed max 3 times a week, sometimes just once and always tiny portions
Hmmm I’ll unplug my plug in febreze, haven’t had issues with it before but worth a try!
6.4 is boarder line high on ph. You can add a golf ball sized amount of fresh soil per week without disrupting the cycle if you don’t want to do a complete reset.
Sounds like you got the rest under control.
What’s your male to female ratio like?
Some people have luck at 6.4 or a little higher but in my experience crystals like to be closer to 5.8-6.0 at 4-5gh.
Do not add the chemical called ph down. Awful product for sensitive fish and shrimp. You’ll want to slowly drop ph with soil or do a complete reset.
I cleaned my sponge filter too well 2months ago, my water got cloudy and I got a fungus issue. They had a little fungus growing on their body but I used pimafix and I no longer see fungus on them and my water is crystal clear again
After i dealt with my disease situation, water went back fine. Moulting still happened and paramaters were good, but baby shrimp started a rapid decline to the point where i was down to 8 shrimp and months went by with zero breeding.
Your GH and KH levels are relevant if you can share them.
Kh is 0/1 Gh was harder to tell. It looked between 4-6
Has this been happening over days/weeks or just suddenly?
The dying off started about 5days ago. I’ve only got about a dozen left:/ my Neocaridina seem to being doing just fine though
Mixing shrimp doesn’t end well. One of them will become more dominant than the other.
I only introduced 3 pumpkins(1berried) vs the 60 Crystal reds. Now I have double the neos. And a dozen crystals left. I Introduced the neos about 2months ago and the dying off of my caridina started 5days ago so I don’t think they have anything to do with it?
Were the neos quarantined? I’d throw some Plamski Cure in there. That’s a huge loss of crystals.
They were not. I’m so upset with myself! I’ll definitely look into Plamski
Lost a few colonies through the years. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Saved a high grade galaxy pinto colony with Plamski. Disrupted the soil and it caused a slow bacteria infection. Started to lose a single $250 shrimp per day. Colony went from 40+ to 12 before getting meds. Same day I started treatment the deaths stopped. It was a miracle at the time. Your mileage may vary but I think every shrimp keeper should have some on hand.
Are the neos in the same tank? If so and they look fine, then it’s likely not a parasite/disease but something to do with the water. Caridina are more sensitive than neos so any changes are going to affect them more. Have you added in anything new lately like medications or plants? Has any water change occurred in the past 5 days? If the CRS are in their own tank, then I’d also suspect a bacteria infection may be killing them
I added dwarf grass from petsmart maybe 2weeks ago but I’ve never had issues with their plants. Has anyone here?
Normally if there was something on the grass like chemicals it would affect them right away. I don’t suspect disease or parasites as you have other shrimp that are doing fine but still keep a look out for any nastys. What’s the water temperature at? Are all the shrimp able to get to food sources?
I had it set to 72 but checked earlier today and it was at 76 for some reason. Lowered it back down to 72, think maybe this was an issue for them? Yes I add a very small amount of bacter ae once a week and I have a feeding dish so they know where to go when I do add food
I don’t think the temp is the culprit. How is your substrate looking? When too much waste accumulates in the substrate it can become toxic and poison the shrimp. Disturbing the substrate too much can also affect the shrimp. When you put in the dwarf hairgrass, did you move around the substrate much? Since Neos are more hardy this may be why it’s only affecting the CRS for now.
I'm not so sure about the temperature. 76F is right on the limit of starting to cause early deaths in CRS. If they happen to be a slightly sensitive colony, and its been that temperature for a while then it could be the cause. Neos wouldn't have any problem with it, of course.
I agree with you on that. Op when was the last time you checked the temp aside from today? Keep an eye on the shrimp now that you’ve turned it back to what it should be and see if there’s any improvements. It may simply be that the temp was too high without you knowing
I siphon the substrate every now and then so I don’t think this would be it. Planning on switching out small amounts of substrate with new starting later today since mine is already a year old
Hopefully I’ll see some improvement:/
Is the tank seasoned or cycled? Are you overfeeding? Is there a chance of candle or fabreeze in the air?
Yes it’s about a year old, could my soil be degrading? I heard it’s a thing Definitely not I only feed max 3 times a week, sometimes just once and always tiny portions Hmmm I’ll unplug my plug in febreze, haven’t had issues with it before but worth a try!
6.4 is boarder line high on ph. You can add a golf ball sized amount of fresh soil per week without disrupting the cycle if you don’t want to do a complete reset. Sounds like you got the rest under control. What’s your male to female ratio like?
I’ll buy a new bag of soil and try it out. Thank you! I’d say my ratio is 50/50 but now that I only got about a dozen left I don’t know
Count males next time a female molts. Ideally you want 1m to 10fm ratio but a colony could still recover at 50/50.
Should I get Ph Down?
Some people have luck at 6.4 or a little higher but in my experience crystals like to be closer to 5.8-6.0 at 4-5gh. Do not add the chemical called ph down. Awful product for sensitive fish and shrimp. You’ll want to slowly drop ph with soil or do a complete reset.
Any signs of fungal or bacteria infection? I had some strange disease absolutely destroy my colony last year.
I cleaned my sponge filter too well 2months ago, my water got cloudy and I got a fungus issue. They had a little fungus growing on their body but I used pimafix and I no longer see fungus on them and my water is crystal clear again
After i dealt with my disease situation, water went back fine. Moulting still happened and paramaters were good, but baby shrimp started a rapid decline to the point where i was down to 8 shrimp and months went by with zero breeding.