Cherry Shrimp (?) Dying off ...

[Aaron]

I have a 40 gallon tank that I have set-up. It contains about 20 Neon Tetras and thats all. The water is quite established, as is the filter. The ph is 7.0, temp is at 74, no nitrate/nitride or anything else I can detect.

I bought 5 shrimp the other day, what I believe to be cherry shrimp, but riverfront was calling them zebra shrimp. Anyways, they are bright red, seemed to be doing well, and I came home today to find 3 of the 5 I bought dead.

They were all active and looking healthy for the last 2 - 3 days since I bought them, and now they are dead!

I AM USING AQUARIUM SALT (Does this matter?) I've heard it helps them molt ....

Maybe I didn't let them acclimate long enough?

What could be the cause, all other fish seem healthy, the remaining 2 are eating algae and active.

Help to save the last 2 !

[sharuq1]

I have some RCS as well. It may be that pH of 7.0 is slightly low for them if they were used to higher. (water in Alberta tends to be fairly hard generally). I had read somewhere that they prefer slightly harder water so that they can use the minerals in it to make their exoskeletons. (someone correct me if I am wrong). However, your water is not acidic so that should not be the problem unless it is an acclimation issue.

I don't use aquarium salt in my rcs tank, but I am not convinced it would harm them, unless there was a lot of it. If you have ever used copper to treat your tank that could kill them. It is a common additive to many fish medicines as well as snail-killer. They are very sensitive to heavy metals. Water quality is also very important, I do 1-2 or more water changes a week on my rcs tank of 25%-50%, using treated tap water from the cold tap at room temp. (adding hot water form the tap ups the tds content in it and makes it that much more possible for more heavy metals etc. to be introduced that you don;t want)

As long as you don't have ammonia/nitrate/nitrite present they should probably be alright. Also, if you are dosing plants with excel or some other fertilizer, stop using it, as it it contains nitrate.

http://www.azgardens.com/shrimpfactory.php

http://www.petshrimp.com/redcherryshrimp.html

The following excerpt was taken from www. petshrimp.com, thank you to you for your information.

Common Name:

Red Cherry Shrimp

Scientific Name:

Neocaridina denticulata sinensis (red)

Size:

2.5-3.5cm

Temperature:

wide range, but best kept at 70°F-80°F

Water Parameters:

Can live under conditions that are soft and slightly acidic (ph 6.6-7.0) to very hard and alkaline (ph 7.0-8.4 and above). Very adaptable shrimp. Is most productive and does best in soft to medium hard water with a ph in the alkaline range. Might not reproduce at all in water that is too acidic.

Food:

Algae, fish food (flake, pellets etc)

Origin:

Taiwan (this red variety does not occur naturally anywhere, but originally bred in Taiwan. Wild form occurs in Southern China and Taiwan)

Larval Development Type:

Completely Suppressed: Larvae assume a benthic lifestyle after hatching, i.e. they are miniature versions of the adults. There is no planktonic larval stage.