# is Anubias poison to shrimp?



## joon (Jul 17, 2004)

few months ago , in this forum,
somebody wrote something about anubias is harmful for shrimps in europe 
and all of ppl are disagreed with it here 
do u remember?
im looking for that thread. i want to read it again.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

No that's fake. The rumor is that cutting the rhyzome and then immediately placing it into the shrimp tank will poison the shrimps.


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## joon (Jul 17, 2004)

I bought 46 anubias 
i put 6 plants in 20gal long tank , snowballs in that tank

i put 40 anubias in 55gal tank (2 hydro pro 5 sponges + one aquaclear 70 filter)
about 300-400 RCS in this tank, it was hard to find a single dead shrimp for last 6 months 

next day when i turned on the light, all of my RCS in 55gal weree dead
something killed 100% of them over one night
all of ramshorns were alive


20gal snowball with 6 anubias are all fine



my loss is okay, i will upgrad to fire red
but im really feel sorry for my shrimps
i never killed this much life before :S

lets find out what killed my shrimps
what do u think?


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

joon, I would say it was something on the plants rather than the plants itself. To kill an entire tank, the plants had to be dipped in something strong.


Another reason I gave up planting my shrimp tanks, just moss and some floaters. Why risk anything with plants, plants need ferts which raises TDS, CO2 helps which shrimp don't like, plants need to be trimmed or leaves die, decay and create ammonia spikes and high nitrates in the end. I just pulled all my plants from my shrimp tanks and went back to just moss on wood or rocks. They were doing better before I got the idea to plant a bunch of star grass in them.


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## arktixan (Mar 12, 2010)

I've seen many many many tanks with Anubias in shrimp tanks... not as much anymore cause lots are just pulling moss/floating only tanks.

Yup Something on the plants could have easily wiped out your entire colony...

I got a feeling some sort of chemical(s) used from where your purchased.

I personally would remove from the Snowball tank just to be on the safe side... sure it's just the 6 plants... but something could eventually get them.

40 plants in the tank with that much leech of chemical could have easily wiped out the entire colony. 

Did you quarantine the plants at all? give them a bath? or did you just plop them into the tank?

Any type of plant/moss i get.. i always do some form of quarantine prior to placing into the tank directly, cause you never know what could be on it.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

If those plants can in emeresed form from a a pllace like Florida Aquatics they were probably treated with a pesticide or insecticide to keep the bugs from eating them up. Unless you throughly washed and quaratined the plants before putting them in your tank that is what probably did it.


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## joon (Jul 17, 2004)

i agree. 
all of my shrimp tanks , i put only java fern , anubias and moss 
because i dont like to add co2 or ferts to my shrimps
strong plants with only lights


i got my anubias 2 days ago
i put all of them in 120gal tank floating for 1 day
about 40 of my baby white clarkii in there are okay
then next day i moved all to my shrimp tank
and it happened...:S


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh my god, sorry for your loss! I really think it's pesticide or something on the anubias @[email protected]


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## Aben314 (Feb 14, 2012)

where did the plants come from joon?


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## arktixan (Mar 12, 2010)

joon said:


> i agree.
> all of my shrimp tanks , i put only java fern , anubias and moss
> because i dont like to add co2 or ferts to my shrimps
> strong plants with only lights
> ...


I got a feel that 1 day just wasn't enough..

It's a huge kick in the pants thats for sure!

I hope you can get everything sorted out though!


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## wmsvn (Mar 23, 2009)

I have 5-6 anubias in a 6G and 3-4 in the 15G and the shrimps are thriving.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Anubias hasnt affected my shrimps.
And it hasnt affected the shrimps in the LFS and in my friends tanks..
I would say its pretty safe.


I did get in some plants though that I didnt quarantine.
4 days later, all my yellows were dead.


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## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

My shrimp are also fine with anubias. Like the others are saying it has to be pesticide related.


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## angelsword (May 16, 2009)

I'd worry what was on the hood of that truck. It's a weird place to pose plants for a picture. Best case scenario the truck is freshly washed and has soap residue or wax or something. Or it was parked next to the flower bed where someone sprayed pesticide. Or sitting in traffic with exhaust blowing all over it. You know, just general road crud.


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## jeremyTR (Mar 21, 2012)

yea whats up with the plants being on the hood of your vehicle? lol

terrible loss though man, that's a lot of shrimp. the plants are definitely safe though, I have some in my tank. Shrimp are doing fine.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Where did you purchase them from?

All plants should be cleaned prior to introducing them to a new tank.

This includes soaking, draining water and soaking again. :^(

I lost a huge breeder group of Sakura previously in a 33 gallon long because of it. All the fish dead. Was $$$

Sigh.

-Gordon


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## [email protected] (Mar 4, 2012)

I have had some shrimp issues also in my tank with co2 and ferts. But what Iv'e read on these forums is that Amanos and cherrys are beasts, you can hardly kill them. I think I read that on the Barr Report but I could be wrong. So what gives with the shrimp? What is the real deal?
Jimbo


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

Joon,
Sorry for your loss. I bet you were excited to decorate the tank, as would I.


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## phreeflow (Feb 13, 2010)

I had this same problem. My 34 gallon red sea max was stocked from top to bottom with Anubias and all my crs were doing fine. I added just a few more Anubias specimens and bam, lost them ALL overnight. There was a thread on TPT regarding Anubias rhizomes releasing toxins when cut or injured that ran for a bit. Sorry, I can't find the link right now, but in the end, Tom Barr chimed in and blasted the the idea and said there was no truth to it...said it was likely pesticides on the leaves.

I'm sorry you lost your cherries. I lost about 75+ CRS...mostly SS to SSS+ grades . I quit shrimpin' for a long while after that and am now a lot more careful about what I throw into shrimp tanks. Always quarantine your plants! Btw: I also put some of the same Anubias in a fish only tank and they were not bothered at all by the pesticides.


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## Bananariot (Feb 28, 2012)

Maybe they're hibernating..........
jk

Sorry for your loss, I would definitely look towards pesticides as a culprit. I've noticed that crayfish are a lot more durable than shrimp.

Also maybe not all the anubias are contaminated with CONCENTRATED amounts of pesticides, maybe like 4 or 5 have high concentrations and that's enough to do em all in.


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## randyl (Feb 1, 2012)

Some plant exporters use certain chemical for transportation or sanitation purpose and some of the chemical they use can kill inverts.

Sorry for your loss, like your signature though. If it doesn't go the way you hope for, you can use the $20 to ship those 10 OEBTs to me lol


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## reefdive (Aug 16, 2011)

I am not trying to stir anything up but there are compound's in Anubias more specificaly the sap , ( which is released but cutting dividing or from being squashed in shipping ) that can stun or kill shrimp . It is documented . Now here's the kicker it would have to be a lot of anubias and a lot of sap getting released at one time . I have anubias galore in close to 100 tanks and have only had 1 issue and lost about half the shrimp in a few hours but was able to save them by doing almost complete water change's and removing the anubia's . It was right after shipping and I had a lot of them and they were large plants more or less squashed together for shipping and I did a bunch of division as well . Coincidence ? I doubt it . In small amounts it is not harmfull but large dose's of it will stun or kill shrimp . Did it stop me from using anubia's ? Heck No , but when I divide , it goes in a fish tank for a few days first to be sure .


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## reefdive (Aug 16, 2011)

Oh by the way I had endlers in the tank and did not lose a one even the babies and some CPO and they were fine as well . I think shrimp's have a more primitive structure than many other inverts and almost all fish , and may be the first to get effected by changes


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## AquaPipes (Jun 4, 2012)

I'm also voting pesticide. My LFS has stopped putting plants in his cherry tanks because too often within minutes/hours of putting new plants in the tank all his cherries will die. If the plants are getting imported from overseas, they have to be sanitized to keep them from bringing in invasive bugs and snails. Even plants the LFS purchased from a popular Florida based nursery have ended up killing his cherries.

So unless you are buying plants from an individual who can vouch they have grown the plants and not treated them, its a good idea to quarantine them before putting them in with your shrimp.

I use a bucket, add an airstone, and add a copper + medicine absorbing resin, and leave them in there for a week while doing a few water changes.


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## angelsword (May 16, 2009)

Does this poison Anubias theory include all types of Anubias?

Those pictures are awful. I lost several fish in each of my tanks about a year ago the morning after doing water changes on all my tanks. My husband (a non fish person) called me at work when the lights came on. By the time I rushed home he had dead breeding Angel pairs, a bunch of my Africans, tetras, cories etc floating dead in a five gallon bucket. I imagine you felt just as devastated seeing that tank as I did looking in that bucket. 

I don't have any input to offer. Just wanted to say sorry for your loss. It's not like they're cuddly puppies or anything but we put so much work into our tanks that something like that just sucks.


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## reefdive (Aug 16, 2011)

Anubias does not have the same effect on fish and of course your plants could have a copper based chemical or whatever to eliminate snail's . I assumed everyone knew that . How else will growers of plants keep them clean . Of course any good plant nursery will rinse their plants before shipping . Take the good advice here to soak and rinse plants before using . But anubias poisoning is real and though very rare it can happen in the circumstances described .


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## Rony11 (Jan 21, 2012)

Sorry to hear about your loss. Like many people who've responded to your post.
It must've been some kind of pesticide or chemical that entered your tank and wiped out your entire shrimp colony.


I have kept anubias in tank with diff. kinds of shrimps but this never happened to me.
I use bleach and water to clean the new plants/moss then quarantine them for alteast a week or two 
before adding them to my shrimp tank coz I fear some kind of fertilizer or chemical may enter the tank thru 
them and harm the shrimps.


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## Danni (Aug 19, 2021)

Well I put 10 red shrimps in my 12 litres tank (cca 3,3 galons). Tank contained just Flame moss, Vesicularia dubyana mini, Drepanocladus aduncus (Stringy moss) and almost dead or vanished Eleocharis sp. mini and Eleocharis acicularis (for me as a beginner the worst possible choice). Aftery first day one shrimp vanished ... I don´t know why and where but suddenly just nine out of ten remained. On fifth/sixth day almost all shrimps were dead and started to decompose ... Just two female shrimps survived and after the remake of aquarium and moving from my girlfriends house to my flat shrimps started doing better (it is still too early to say "very well"). Moreover one shrimp got pregnant during being for a while with one of the three male shrimps (which all of them unfortunately died during that 5th-6th day) and yesterday gave birth to at least eight small almost invisible shrimps swimming fast like real bullet fired from a gun. What cause that mysterius mass death of 80% of my shrimps remains a mystery. 

But I recall that at that time I was using some liqud carbon dioxide (CO2) and larger amount of fertilizer in order to wake up Eleocharis, but that didn´t work so if was completely useless to waste any chemistry and to sacrifice all the shrimps in order to save some "ungrateful weed". It was my fault that I didn´t realize I am a beginner and thus I shall pick just low maintenance and low demanding plants and to choose right substrate containing nutrients which plants need instead of gravel with some old soil from the bottom which actually didn´t work and almost half of the soil came out to the surface and changed water colour to brown and who knows what else it did with the chemical structure of the water but necessary to mention that few day ago when shrimps were added also two neritina snails died in that aquarium :-( So that aquarium became like a cemetery for animals while being at my girlfriend´s house. Today everything seems different and working out really well.

Conclusion is that some ****ty chemistry must have been used or some overdose of certain nutrients happened. But none of us is about to stand by the aquarium 24/7 to measure all the parametres to control water balance. ;-) All I know is that when having a shrimps it is best to avoid or minimalize to a minimum dosing any artificial chemistry and stuff like that (altough manufacturers and selles claim something else but they are just making their bussiness). Naturally led aquarium is best in a way that you can leave it on it´s own for some days when you are about to travel to some vacation or few days´ trip and second fact is that all what is done and achieved in such an aquarium is just a result of your wise steps! ;-) So far I´ve been talking to some guys who breed shrimps and almost everyone says "NO CHEMISTRY"!

P.S.: One of my friends said when shrimps became sick or some plague was hunting them, so he added a bit of common salt used for cooking and shrimps got well again. Dosing was just a half of tea spoon I think. Important is that this worked and so I hope this advice might be helpful to all of you. ;-)



joon said:


> I bought 46 anubias
> i put 6 plants in 20gal long tank , snowballs in that tank
> 
> i put 40 anubias in 55gal tank (2 hydro pro 5 sponges + one aquaclear 70 filter)
> ...


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Danni said:


> Well I put 10 red shrimps in my 12 litres tank (cca 3,3 galons). Tank contained just Flame moss, Vesicularia dubyana mini, Drepanocladus aduncus (Stringy moss) and almost dead or vanished Eleocharis sp. mini and Eleocharis acicularis (for me as a beginner the worst possible choice). Aftery first day one shrimp vanished ... I don´t know why and where but suddenly just nine out of ten remained. On fifth/sixth day almost all shrimps were dead and started to decompose ... Just two female shrimps survived and after the remake of aquarium and moving from my girlfriends house to my flat shrimps started doing better (it is still too early to say "very well"). Moreover one shrimp got pregnant during being for a while with one of the three male shrimps (which all of them unfortunately died during that 5th-6th day) and yesterday gave birth to at least eight small almost invisible shrimps swimming fast like real bullet fired from a gun. What cause that mysterius mass death of 80% of my shrimps remains a mystery.
> 
> But I recall that at that time I was using some liqud carbon dioxide (CO2) and larger amount of fertilizer in order to wake up Eleocharis, but that didn´t work so if was completely useless to waste any chemistry and to sacrifice all the shrimps in order to save some "ungrateful weed". It was my fault that I didn´t realize I am a beginner and thus I shall pick just low maintenance and low demanding plants and to choose right substrate containing nutrients which plants need instead of gravel with some old soil from the bottom which actually didn´t work and almost half of the soil came out to the surface and changed water colour to brown and who knows what else it did with the chemical structure of the water but necessary to mention that few day ago when shrimps were added also two neritina snails died in that aquarium :-( So that aquarium became like a cemetery for animals while being at my girlfriend´s house. Today everything seems different and working out really well.
> 
> ...


This thread is from nearly 10 years ago.

But also... What?

No experienced shrimp keeper is going to tell anyone else not to test water parameters before adding shrimp to a tank.

Those shrimp (plural, one S) died because the tank wasn't cycled. You also likely used an active/buffering substrate that released ammonia into the water - which, again, tank wasn't cycled.


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## Danni (Aug 19, 2021)

Oh, I am so sorry to say anything. Should I ask for permission or any approval to say something about this topic? Or is the level of experience banning someone from discussion? But let´s make it clear: I have just written few words about what happened in my aquarium nothing more, nothing less - just facts without any opinion of mine in first and second paragraph. Then in third paragraph added few words what OTHER EXPERIENCED AQUARIUM KEEPERS said and adviced, so these words were not mine. None of the advices comes from my head and all the advices are solely just collected from what other experienced guys said. And sorry to add P.S. with good advice what some other guys did to heal the shrimps. I wanted to sent this message further to other who might be more grateful and keep disrespectful words for themselves.



somewhatshocked said:


> This thread is from nearly 10 years ago.
> 
> But also... What?
> 
> ...


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Insulting people - including moderators - violates our Acceptable Use Policy. Keep it civil. Period.


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## Dan.14 (Aug 19, 2021)

Sorry but who was insulted by what? Sort of irony or sarcasm withou vulgar words is no offense moreover in liberal world we live in. I have just mentioned my experience, experience of other much more experienced aquarium keepers than I am and their succesful methods. I have never said even a word about not to test a water before adding any living organism to the aquarium. There was not a word about that and you used a lie and claimed that I said something what clearly for everyone to see is not in my post. I haven´t marked anyone with disrespectful or offensive words while you came and responded in a way of a supremacist or a boss holding the only truth and right to discuss. There is no rule mentioned in policy that less experienced people in keeping aquarium aren´t allowed to talk to more experienced or share their experience or send forth the message from their more experienced friends. So therefore I would be happy if the discussion will be still holding on to useful advices and not bullying or boasting. There are some certain things in which I am really good and I have never sink so low to ban anyone from any discussion, or giving me questions or his/her own view. Sometimes it might enrich me or get me to think about whole thing once again, what makes me not so self-confident but at least I never put a words which someone didn´t said into his mouth/pen. I am really disappointed how the rules can be bent and flexible, or blind for a while when it comes to equal validity upon all of us. I expected this to be peaceful hobby bringing joy and plenty of good discussion, but not censorship and straying the discussion away from its merit.



somewhatshocked said:


> Insulting people - including moderators - violates our Acceptable Use Policy. Keep it civil. Period.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Enjoy having both of your accounts permanently banned for defying a moderator request to remain civil and for violating thread posting limits put into place.


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