# Pregnant Cherries dying :(



## Sugardaddy1979 (Jan 16, 2012)

Bet water changes are forcing them to molt. That will kill a berried female. Is water change water not same parameter including temperature?


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## arktixan (Mar 12, 2010)

" I dose Excel (daily), macros, and Flourish trace"
Along with the 50% water changes... 

I got a feeling this could be the issue... 

Though like you've said... your other shrimp seem unaffected which is strange, so it could be a tough call...

How are the parameters? temp? Chance on the age of the shrimp?


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## Xerobull (Jan 9, 2012)

You should cut way back on your water changes. I had an issue with my rcs aborting eggs and cut back from 50% a week to 20% a month. Boom, population explosion after a few weeks of no changes (and my plants really blew up too). The water had some tannins from the driftwood but was otherwise crystal clear. And most importantly, the shrimp were happy.


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## thechibi (Jan 20, 2012)

Mine seem to be happy. I change about 20% a week and make sure the water temperature is about the same, too. I also slowly refill the tank.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

A few factors here.

A swing in water parameters between the tank and new water may evoke a molt. When shrimp aren't ready to molt, they would either get stuck or pass away.

Pregnant shrimp must drop their eggs to molt so your water changes are likely not helping here. 

Also, pregnancy often is one of the largest strains on a female shrimp so they are the most vulnerable, second to being newly molted or shipment. 

Your plant dosing also further complicates the water chemistry in the tank. Without knowing more about the tank setup or water parameters of the tank, and wc, it seems you are likely responsible for the events in your post.


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## fusiongt (Nov 7, 2011)

Why are you dosing Excel daily? That's too much from my experience. Maybe it'll say differently on the bottle but don't forget the more you use, the more you buy $. I only dose excel when I do a water change. It can be every other day, and only a 10-20% water change. Even then I find myself skipping excel to every other change (so 3-4 days). 

Excel is interesting as it's hard to see a clear difference for the plants so we might dose more in hopes to see it. But from articles I've read of people who closely observe their shrimps, it's not good for them. Cut back on that immediately and I'm sure you won't even notice a difference in plants - hopefully your shrimps will rebound.


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## ciaong (Nov 18, 2010)

Sorry for the long wait - I had to replace my testing kit. :/ 
Here's the basic setup: 
4 gal finnex + 26watt CF 
Heavily planted (from water sprite to macrandra for about 6 months) 
Daily Excel: 2mL 
Weekly Macros + Micros (on diff. days) using EI 
Weekly 50% Waterchanges 
Nitrate: <20ppm
Nitrite: <0.5ppm
Hardness: 250ppm (liquid rock, geh)
pH: 8.4

Note: I've had cherry shrimp before, in L.A. water, and never had a problem with water hardness or losing shrimp.

Sugardaddy1979, Xerobull, thechibi, acitydweller: Water changes aren't exactly the same temp. (i'm bad), but not more than a few degrees cooler. I've never had trouble with cherry shrimp and slightly colder water changes. I've also never had a berried female be killed during a moult when I kept them before. (Only seen them drop their eggs.) But triggering moult could be it. I rarely see my other shrimp moult, tho. *puzzled

arktixan: It could be the Excel, but they berried and reproduced before without issue. And the females *might* be old, but it seems suspicious that only the berried ones are dying.

fusiongt: I'll try cutting back on Excel. My Tropica 49 and rotalas love it, tho. And at my size tank, I only need to buy a bottle once every 6 months. So it's not too expensive.


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## cookymonster760 (Apr 30, 2011)

the ph is a little bit too high even for rcs and the 50% water change its way too much i think you should change 10 to 20 % at the most


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## Kunsthure (Aug 2, 2010)

Did I miss where you said how big your tank is? IIRC, Excel is supposed to be 1ml/10g, so if you've got anything smaller than a 20g, you're using too much. 

-Lisa


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

Nanos are already higher maintenance tanks. Overstocking plants with shrimp and running an oversized lamp has raised the overhead of this setup and really complicated the setup. You are better off upgrading to a larger 8 or 10 gallon with a larger water column. 

the ph is on the extreme limit for these shrimp. The water temp is a shock to em and any flux in ph will surely push these berried ladies over the edge. Use RO or distilled water or a peat floss filter to lower the ph of your tap for water changes. cherries do much better in a more neutral ph. Their deaths are a sign that they are stressed in their environment. I know how difficult it is balancing the demands of plants and shrimp but your plants will likely outlive the shrimp if this isn't addressed. If you cut back on the photo period, the fert dosing can be toned down a few notches. Easier on the shrimp.

Also consider adding a tds pen tool to your test kit. it tells me when water changes are needed. Very useful tool to have and relatively affordable.


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## MochaLatte (Nov 19, 2011)

What is the ammonia reading? I'm assuming there is ammonia since you have a registering of nitrite which isn't good.


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## Kunsthure (Aug 2, 2010)

MochaLatte said:


> What is the ammonia reading? I'm assuming there is ammonia since you have a registering of nitrite which isn't good.


I saw that nitrite reading too but forgot to comment. This tank is all out of whack. 

-Lisa


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