# Crystal Red shrimp inactive



## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

Nice looking tank and good parameters  It usually seems to take a couple of weeks for shrimp to feel safe for me, so unless they are dying off or not looking well, I wouldn't worry too much yet.

How's the oxygenation? They do get much more lethargic without oxygen rich water.

Only other thing is to watch for molting issues as 4 dGH is the lower end of their range. Most remineralizers recommend 6 dGH (though that may be so they can sell more...), and that's where I've always kept mine.

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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

Thanks Nate! The good news is that I can't find a single dead shrimp since acclimating them. But, with so little shrimp showing up at a time, it's hard for me to know if the bodies are hidden somewhere. 

As for oxygenation, I think there's plenty of it. I have a sponge filter in there creating water movement. In fact, I had to turn it down yesterday because it was creating more movement than I would like. The shrimp seem to be nearly as active with the lights on as they are with the lights off, so I doubt it's oxygen. 

Alright, I'll slowly bump up the GH to 5 or 6 when I top off or do pwc.

I personally think my tank looks messy. The plants in the back seem to be growing unevenly and the moss looks kind of gross, but I'm hoping they'll grow out in a couple months and look better.


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## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

I kind of like messy, more natural looking tanks 

One other thought that I missed last night is that I'd double check your nitrates. The test kits for this are sometimes hard to use, but you shouldn't have 0 ppm in there. The plants need some and the shrimp should be generating at least a little bit. 

If the test isn't working properly, you may have more than you realize. Although with a TDS of 160 and GH of 4, it probably isn't overly high 

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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

Yea, the tank should be generating some nitrate, but from what it seems like, it's negligible. The plants are barely growing, including the duckweed. Algae doesn't seem to be growing much either despite the lighting. They used to grow a lot when I first started the tank and there was a lot of nitrate from the cycling process.

The shrimp are more active now, but it seems like only about 10 of them show up and swim around. I have no idea where the other 20ish went. I never saw a single dead body, but I did see some molts lying around before disappearing overnight. I'm really worried about the other shrimp that don't show up. I mean, if they all died, how come I don't see a single dead body at all?


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

Shrimp are very good at hiding, if there are no bodies I wouldn't worry.
But if they are dying the bodies may have been eaten by the snails and other shrimp.

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## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

Heh, I remember the first shrimp I lost... The others ate a fourth of the body in the few minutes it took me to go get my tweezers, take off the lid, and get the dead body out of there 

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## shrimpkeeper (Jun 17, 2012)

Update: So a snail died a few days ago and I didn't realize it until today. A power outage also happened this morning, and the aeration from the sponge filter went out for several hours. 

During the power outage, the shrimp started swimming a lot around the tank, and they started to gather around the surface of the tank. However, they are still grazing around the tank.

At first, I suspected the dead snail was leeching ammonia. So, I did a water test and the parameters during the power outage with the dead snail are as follows:

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrate: ~0 ppm

GH: 4 

pH: ~6.4

After testing the water, I suspected the shrimp are gathering near the surface because of an oxygen issue. However, after the power outage, the aeration resumed and the lights turned on as usual, so the plants start producing oxygen. However, some of the shrimp, not as much, are still staying at the top of the tank. A few are still swimming around. I don't know what's going on and I'm worried the shrimp might die. The shrimp are still grazing around the tank. 

No shrimps have died yet, except one yesterday, but I suspect it might be a molting issue because I see a bunch of empty molts from the other shrimp. I think that molting issue might be because I'm trying to up the GH too quickly. It's still at 4 though.


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## Opare (Sep 9, 2015)

A GH of 4 is fine I wouldn't try and change it. It is better to keep things stable, rather than try and change things to get the ideal.
Possibly an oxygenation issue maybe add a powerhead to get more surface agitation or something.


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## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

When power goes out, your pumps and everything stop adding heat to the tank. If the temp got too low, they'll hang out up top since warmer water rises. 

The temperature probably lowered enough to get a few of them to decide it was time to molt. I wonder if the one you lost was because it wasn't healthy enough to make it.

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## al4n (Nov 18, 2008)

my tank of crs has been setup for years, and i only seem to see them roaming around when the lights are off (night time).


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