[punchbuggy]

Hi All,

My tank parameters are 0 NH3, 0 NO2, 5 ppm NO3. I do weekly, sometimes biweekly 25% water changes. Over the past week Ive seen some strange deaths. They all happen in the middle of the tank (or thats where I've found bodies) of mostly juveniles. All my babies, i see are crawling around happily, and so are the adults. I have no idea what is happening. As well only one seems to die at a time, and its usually during the night! This is a species only tank.

As well, some of my shrimpies have a more opaque white body. The flesh under the shell doesn't seem clear, kind of like a cooked shrimp. Tank tempeature is 24 (26 when lights are on) is that normal?

 

[taureandragon76]

Changing water too often? When I kept cherries all I did was top offs with aged water.

 

[punchbuggy]

i'll try not changing the water for a week or so ( I am leaving for vacation anyways!)

 

[pinkjell]

That happens to me as well...just one dies here and there, while the rest are fine.

 

[MadgicBug]

What is your GH as it sounds like you have calcium deficiency? You also may want to check your KH\alk as well to make sure it is not 0, which may cause PH swings at night.

 

[effox]

What's your substrate? I changed mine from gravel to florabase and the random deaths stopped. It must have been a buffer issue.

 

[punchbuggy]

it is gravel, but i'm pretty sure it is leaching ca2+. GH is above the chart (i can't drop enough to change colour) same with KH. Even after a water change it stays like that. I also have snails in there and i have never seen prettier shells so i'm pretty sure its not the calcium. Ill check with the pH, the deaths only started when my DIY started to run low, i just changed it again. Maybe they were used to a small pH swing at night

 

[MadgicBug]

If kh and gh are high from your gravel, are you using crushwd coral, agronite, etc.

Could be missing some other trace minerals. What is your ph?

 

[effox]

You removed the DIY at night? I just left mine on to prevent the swings. Perhaps you're correct with that, now they're having a higher PH and aren't acclimatized to it.

 

[VinnyD]

the DIY co2...could be it if u have one...cuz it can lower the ph quite bit at night...similar happened to me when i first started my tank.

 

[punchbuggy]

no i didn't remove it. it just produced less bubbles as in the mixture was getting too old. I always leave it in day and night.

 

[punchbuggy]

had another single one die this morning. very annoying. i thought at first it could be leftover food and so I've only fed 1-3 pellets for around 40 shrimpies left every other day.. they are practically starving now and no less random deaths.

 

[punchbuggy]

tested water today again. nh3 no2 0, no3 5 ppm, GH 8 dH, KG 4 dH, 24 degrees. ph 6.8

 

[MadgicBug]

The water parameters looks good. The only thing I can think of is the PH swing. Not knowing too much of your setup and other factors, chances are the KH=4 and ph=6.8 tells me the CO2 is keeping it below 7. Are you able to take a PH reading 4 hrs after your lights are on and 2 or 3 hrs after the lights are off. This way you should be able to tell if you have a ph swing due to the CO2 running 24/7 and the plants O2/C02 shift. If so, you may need an air stone running when the lights are off.

 

[punchbuggy]

so yes i think it could be a pH issue. I came back from a short vacation and my CO2 was dying however, i've only had 2 deaths according to my friend over 7 days. I came to though hmmm, maybe when my CO2 (DIY) is running well at night the pH must go down as have been suggested and then go up during the day when its used up by the plants. And when the DIY starts dying obviously there is less input at night and so the swings are less drastic... so i'm going to stop CO2 in my shrimp tank.. its filled with low-light plants anyways, I just hope i own't get more algae now.

PS. I tested morning pH as suggested and it was at 7.4 (so i take this as "night time" pH) and then I tested it 2 hours after the light is turned on and it was up to 8.2. This was all in the presence of CO2. I'm going to turn of CO2 and see what morning pH is.