# shrimp died



## cowgirlsue1 (Nov 22, 2013)

Both my ghost shrimp died; one the day after purchase, the other about 10 days after. All parameters in tank are normal which include ammonia 0, nitrates 0 and Ph which is a little high 7.6. I do water changes about every 4 days at 20%. Betta is fine as are snails. What causes these little guys to perish? It's sad. My substrate is still bubbling when I penetrate it to aerate it . Do you think that might have caused it?


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## lainaxoberst (Sep 18, 2013)

I'm so sorry for your loss  I don't know anything about shrimp though


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## MysteryWafflez (Jan 24, 2014)

Are you sure you were feeding them enough? Snails (epically nerite) tend to stick with algae. Ghost shrimp can eat algae, but I believe is not a efficient food source.


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## cowgirlsue1 (Nov 22, 2013)

He retrieved the flakes I sank in the tank just for him. Maybe it was too soon to put them in. Dunno.


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## Fabi (May 29, 2013)

Im very sorry for your shrimp... actually i kept ghost shrimps bfore but after a week or 2, they died...


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## duskydolphin (Oct 30, 2013)

Sorry to hear 

Unfortunately, this seems to be a common thing with Ghost Shrimp. Since they're usually bred as feeder shrimp they're not often well taken care of before they get purchased. For the stores it's like "Why take good care of something that's going to die anyway?" The first time I tried to get Ghost Shrimp I had to order them in through my LFS. When I went in to pick them up I was told that they had died because they got too cold on the truck. To the supplier they were just food, so they didn't even bother to pack them properly.

My point is it's quite possible that you didn't do anything wrong. Because they're often kept in poor conditions they get sick and diseased, and then people like us buy them. I started out with 16, now I'm down to 8. 2 of the smallest ones were killed outright by one of my girls, the rest died of some kind of fungal or bacterial infection within the first month. The remaining ones all seem to be strong and healthy, so hopefully they'll live long happy lives. If your water params are good, you're feeding them right, and they weren't having moulting issues you probably just got a couple of shrimp that weren't in top shape to start with.


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## peachii (Jan 6, 2013)

How long has your tank been set up? In order for shrimp to survive they need a very mature and healthy tank. 2 to 3 months (or longer) after a tank has been running may be ok to introduce shrimp.

As stated above ghost shrimp are seen as "feeders", some will survive and some won't. We've been lucky and had a good success rate and after they get big enough old enough had them start breeding.


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## kman (Dec 10, 2013)

Just give it another shot.


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## G26okie (Jan 16, 2014)

It happens. Luckily my five are doing fine.

And I added them a few days after using tetra safestart. They have been in the tank for a few weeks.


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## cowgirlsue1 (Nov 22, 2013)

Thanks...I'll wait until the spring to try again.


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## kittenfish (Dec 1, 2013)

What kind of acclimation did you do before adding them to your tank? They're very sensitive to changes in water parameters. The first time I bought ghost shrimp I just floated the bag and dumped them in, and they all died within the next 3 days or so. Since then I've followed this guide for shrimp acclimation, and have had no more deaths (besides the fish-related ones).


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## cowgirlsue1 (Nov 22, 2013)

I basically did the same thing as recommended by planetinverts. 1 died after a short time; the other was around, eating and scurrying around like normal for about a week. Got along with the betta just fine. Just a mystery. Just remind me not to name them.


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## kman (Dec 10, 2013)

cowgirlsue1 said:


> I basically did the same thing as recommended by planetinverts. 1 died after a short time; the other was around, eating and scurrying around like normal for about a week. Got along with the betta just fine. Just a mystery. Just remind me not to name them.


Good plan. Enjoy them for what they are, and replace as needed, trying not to get too attached to any particular individual. Fortunately, other than size they all look pretty similar.  Once they're well established, they only live for about a year to a year and a half.


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