Mourning the death of my 2 resident CS and other new ones

Very sad as my 2 cherry shrimps had died from shock yesterday. They have been co-existing peacefully in my tank of guppies and tetras until a wrong move I made killed them.

To further rub salt into my wound, along with them went my other 8 newly bought CS and numerous babies which died of shock during the acclimatisation process. I had exercised care in the process of introducing them but still everything was in vain.....

From a shrimp lover to now shrimp phobic. Sobsob..

[Ningning]

As a shrimp phobic.. do you know where you went wrong?

Originally Posted by Ningning

As a shrimp phobic.. do you know where you went wrong?

Maybe I tell you what I did and that'll shed some light. And I welcome any comments so I can really learn from this.

First I bought some new plants with the intention to create more hiding places for the news shrimps and babies. So I shifted the existing plants in the tank to make room. In the process, I might have upsetted the PH level in the tank since the bottom of the tank is sand and some debris may have been unsettled. In all honesty, I was really gentle and was doing my best to keep the sand as stable as I can. The shrimps were probably also scared by the movement of the plants. The thing I don't understand is why so severe cos' I have done this before and they were ok.

Second, the newly bought CS started going into shock when I float the plastic bags in the tank for about 2 hours to acclimatise them. I immediately transported them home after I bought them to minimise trama. I also scooped some water from the tank into the plastic bag and left for for 30 minutes before repeating the process. Before I could release them I could see some of them twitching and some frozen. Is there something else I'm missing in the steps?

My Condolences =(
This is part and parcel of shrimp keeping.
There are a lot of parameters that might happen that might cause the shock.
Don't give up! Take it as a learning exp.
Loving shrimps is understanding them.
Stress is inevitable but we can try to reduce.
Try this when acclimatisation,
1) off the tank lights and put the bag in the tank for 1/2 hr to 1 hr.
2) Make a few holes on the bag after and let it sit for another 1 to 2 hrs.
3) Cut open the bag and let the shrimps swim out themselves. ( Do not pour the shrimps in or else everything is back to sq one)
4) Don't peek at the tank at all nor disturb them, let them get used to the tank. Check them out the next day.
5) No feeding for the first 2 -3 days.
6) After 1) to 5), you have happy shrimps.

I understand you have fish, things to note is they might stress the shrimps.
Do have some plants for the shrimps to hide in.

Not an expert but just my 2 cents.
Good luck.

P.S I have my tank wiping on me b4 so I know the pain.

Well I guess for shrimp lovers to start a shrimp tank, please read through the sticky as there are a lot of information for us to learn and setup a new shrimp tank without going thru the pain of having lost of shrimp. However what done cannot be undone, just need to find out the reason of their death and rectify it.
Cheer up

opps forget to read your update b4 posting.

One important note is not to shift plants and add shrimps at the same time.
When shifting plants, debris might stirr that will cause imbalance.
I have a planted shrimp tank, so I usually won't add new shrimps after re-planting. Give it a few days then add.

As for the existing shrimps, most prob stressed out. When they see their usual hiding spots changed. One way is to off the tank lights for a while to calm them down b4 you shift.

[QUOTE=Rico_B;8336583] Try this when acclimatisation,
3) Cut open the bag and let the shrimps swim out themselves. ( Do not pour the shrimps in or else everything is back to sq one)
<Question: I am scooping water into the bag as i read that we should not try to pour water from the bag into the aqaurium as it might contain harmful organisms which can jeoppadise the water condition. How ?>

I understand you have fish, things to note is they might stress the shrimps.
Do have some plants for the shrimps to hide in.
<Yes, I understand that's why i have plants in the tank to create hiding places. I know it's a bad idea to have fishes with shrimps. Maybe I should create a shrimp tank without fishes next round.>

Great advice. Thank you.

You're welcome.

1) Allowing them to swim out on their own, gives you an idea whether they are acclimatised to your tank. Those that hang on the mosses or plants that they come in when fresh water is introduced are those that will require more time to get used to your water. Those that swim out after a while, find it comfortable. After you swoop the water into bag, ya net them out into tank? It will be back to sq one again.

No worries about the water condition, usually the bacteria in your own tank will balance out everything if tank is cycled long enough.

I will usually let the shrimp swim out by themselves and retain the remaining water in the bag & pour away.

2) As for fishes, they can co-exist but the shrimplets might become their food.

Originally Posted by goody992828

Well I guess for shrimp lovers to start a shrimp tank, please read through the sticky as there are a lot of information for us to learn and setup a new shrimp tank without going thru the pain of having lost of shrimp. However what done cannot be undone, just need to find out the reason of their death and rectify it.
Cheer up

Yes, thank you. I guess I overestimated these little red fellows.
I will read up further before making any new plans.

[brianz_410]

Hi Bro Caiyan, if you want a few pcs of CS I don't mind passing you for your come back! =)