# Are shrimp really intolerant of large water changes?



## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I keep fire red cherry shrimp in both my community tank and also a 20 gal tank on their own(no fishes).
I perform 50 % water changes in both with no ill effect's judging from number's.
I do not dose full EI for my tank's are low energy NON CO2.(moderate light)
Maybe I add 1/4 EI to both tanks.GH 12 ,pH 7.6 from the tap.


----------



## thedood (May 30, 2015)

I think it would depend on how close in chemistry the tank water vs new water is and how slow the new water is added. @roadmaster Do you drip your new water in? I want to do larger changes but the last time I did I had a shrimp die so I am going to start dripping my new water in and go back to 30% changes. I had read that shrimp are intolerant of water changes as well. Maybe that is the answer for @WaterLife is slow addition of new water when doing larger changes. I'm curious myself.


----------



## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

My water comes from the tap through Aqueon water changer.
I just try and keep water temp warm when re-filling and add enough Tetra pond safe for the tank's volume rather than that which I removed.


----------



## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I do exactly what roadmaster outlined. ~50% water change from the tap, dose my dechlorinator, go on about my business. No issues with my shrimp. They are actually reproducing, so I can't call them finicky.


----------



## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

IMO...
The water changes need to be very consistent to work for shrimp better. They are better if that especially includes the amount. I think this 50-80% is detrimental to them.
EI REQUIRES 50%, but the Zorfox recently told me that less is possible for lower doses of the EI. Example: I have med level of plants and no injected. So I dose two doses of
3ml of a solution which calls for three doses of 5 ml per dose. The second dose combo is
after I skip one day and primarily is for the micros which don't last a whole week.
Concept disclaimer...LOL...I no longer keep shrimp in this tank. I introduced a micro
predator fish(1) into this tank and since have not been successful in keeping shrimp in there.


----------



## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

My shrimp (Amanos and cherry shrimp) do not seem to like big water changes. It's not that they die, but they hide and are less active. They just seem happier and more active if I change a little a day rather than 50% a week. 

I like EI dosing, but I am switching to PPS, to accommodate smaller water changes.


----------



## miataisalwaystheanswer (Jun 12, 2015)

In my community tank i have amano and my rcs culls. Its EI dosed, diy co2 injected and daily capfull of excel. The tank is too heavily planted to really see if they are hurting but even after my weekly 50% water changes i can still count all 10 amanos and at least 15 rcs. I think I've put about 20-25 in there so far,and i have seen some new shrimplets. In my experience these shrimp are enchanted with magic cause they've survived a lot of my newbie mistakes.


----------



## Nuthatch (Jun 18, 2014)

Raymond S. said:


> IMO...
> 
> Concept disclaimer...LOL...I no longer keep shrimp in this tank. I introduced a micro
> predator fish(1) into this tank and since have not been successful in keeping shrimp in there.


What micro fish did you put in? I'm wondering if my CPDs are killing the shrimp I try to introduce.


----------



## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Very definately. They can smell when a shrimp molts and they attack it while it's defenseless. At times they seem to be contented/w the regular fish food because of programming through the regular feeding that they grow up on in captivity.
But it's in their blood to hunt.
This is a link to my fish. Okefenokee Pygmy Sunfish for Sale at Sachs Systems
You will notice that these fish are listed as "live food only" so good luck on keeping shrimp in/w them. They only get 1.25" but that doesn't mean they don't
harrass the poor shrimp to death/w bad nerves...LOl...


----------



## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

I usually do not do such big water changes...

Stability is the key for the shrimps. Even the NeoCaridina - which is very hardy - can suffer from big changes, and IMO, 50% is too much.

As long as you have cycled your tank, install a good filtration and check water parameters, I don't see any reason why you change water every week. From my side I top up the tanks when necessary, and change 10-15% water every 3/4 weeks.
No losses so far, and very active shrimps 

Just my .02


----------



## jem_xxiii (Apr 5, 2013)

Matuva said:


> I usually do not do such big water changes...
> 
> Stability is the key for the shrimps. Even the NeoCaridina - which is very hardy - can suffer from big changes, and IMO, 50% is too much.
> 
> ...


yep, exactly what I do as well. just top off w/ RO water


----------



## Kramflowz (Aug 6, 2014)

Even with EI dosing methods?


----------



## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

Kramflowz said:


> Even with EI dosing methods?


Honestly I can't tell in that case. I don't dose a lot in my tank, just a few Flourish Excel.
I'm happy with that and with the shrimp colonies thriving, I have enough nutriments for the plants

In the case of EI dosing, yes, weekly water changes may be a must


----------



## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Matuva said:


> I usually do not do such big water changes...
> 
> Stability is the key for the shrimps. Even the NeoCaridina - which is very hardy - can suffer from big changes, and IMO, 50% is too much.
> 
> ...


I change mine because with the driftwood in the tank the ph is steadily dropping. The ph in mine has dropped from 8.4 to 8 maybe almost 7.8 in less than two months. I am afraid if I dont keep up with it that it will drop at an accelerated rate as the buffers are used up causing even bigger ph swings when I do a change. I think that this ph difference is what caused one of my shrimp losses after a water change of 40% or so. Going forward I will be dripping my new water in. I am not 100% sure that the water change caused a stress death but seems plausible and maybe probable.


----------



## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

What shrimps are you breeding? Neocaridina ones?

Usually, they like a PH between 6.4–7.6. They do accept a wide rang for the KH, from 0 to10, opposite the caridinas which don't like KH over 4. 
PH at 8.4 to 8 seems a bit high to me


----------



## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Theyre RCS. Doing fine. Baby shrimps everywhere. I just watch how I do water changes.


----------



## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

Yup, what I mean is that if your PH drops a bit, you will be just fine. No need to change water if PH is your concern.


----------

