Can't keep shrimp alive - help!

**talldutchie** · 03-18-2013, 03:11 PM

It's certainly a possibility. If you want to be sure stay up late and monitor every 2 hours from 2 hours before lights out until 4 or even 6 hours after.

**Bolsen27** · 03-18-2013, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by talldutchie

It's certainly a possibility. If you want to be sure stay up late and monitor every 2 hours from 2 hours before lights out until 4 or even 6 hours after.

I can tell you that we aren't finding dead shrimp during the day. It is always in the morning after we get up and the lights come on.

Also on another forum someone mentioned that the solar salt that my water softner system uses could be my problem because it is adding salt to my water. Any truth to this?

**talldutchie** · 03-18-2013, 03:44 PM

You didn't mention that!

What is solar salt? It's tricky to get a complete picture now.

Since the deaths occur in the night ph shift seems most likely, start by measuring that.

**Bolsen27** · 03-18-2013, 03:54 PM

Ok I will get a PH reading tonight right before the Co2 goes off and then in the morning right before the Co2 comes back on. And report back what I get. I was going to lower my Co2 when I got home but I am going to wait so I can see what I get for readings right now.

**~firefly~** · 03-18-2013, 08:05 PM

I can't really offer any advice here, but I genuinely sympathise. I'm losing shrimp for so-far-unknown reasons too and it's very frustrating, and upsetting to keep finding bodies.

**talldutchie** · 03-18-2013, 08:19 PM

It is and the causes can be extremely difficult to pin point. That's why I'm just writing down everything that comes to mind no matter how far fetched. I had a bout of failed mouldings ages ago. Never did figure it out why exactly since GH was quite high but that didn't go away until I dropped a quarter egg worth of eggshell in the tank out of desparation.

I've lost 2 shrimp since I set up my new tank. No big deal since the rest is thriving but I'm happy I don't have one of those mystery death syndromes in my tank.

**~firefly~** · 03-18-2013, 08:28 PM

What would eggshell do? Not trying to hijack this thread but I don't notice many moults in my tank. At all.

**madagascariensis** · 03-18-2013, 10:15 PM

Solar Salt is just salt created by dehydrating seawater. Water softeners using salt replace the hardness in the water with salt, and that could certainly build up to levels harmful to freshwater animals. I your tap water really hard or why are you using a water softener?

**Bolsen27** · 03-18-2013, 10:30 PM

Well water. In order to pass water tests we needed to have a water softener system installed.

**talldutchie** · 03-19-2013, 05:23 AM

What kind of water test?

Originally Posted by ~firefly~

What would eggshell do? Not trying to hijack this thread but I don't notice many moults in my tank. At all.

That in itself isn't strange. A moulting shrimp will hide and eat the old shell for nutrients. When you find them half in and out a shell you've got moulting problems.
I think mine missed calcium somehow.