aquaprawn Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I'm new to shrimp keeping and I have a 15 gallon planted tank with lots of algae. I'm actually fighting an algae problem - and its really driving me nuts. I've never fed my shrimp before as I assume they will eat the algae. Is this okay? I started with four shrimps, and three died 3 days later and I think its due to my new tank syndrome. But one shrimp has been with me for seven days now, and it looks fine, so I'd assume it didn't starve for a week. In fact I'm thinking of tossing an army of twenty Amano shrimps into my tank and I don't intend to feed them so they'll eat up the algae. Only until the tank is reasonably clean, then I'd start dropping shrimp food. Is that alright? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metageologist Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Well first thing first. I see you are new so welcome. Now on to your tank. Couple questions to help answer your first question and possibly figure out your deaths. What are you tank water peramiters. PH, kh, gh, tds, temp, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite. What is your water source? How long has it been setup? What is your substrate? What else is in your tank? How did you acclimate mate your shrimp to the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Welcome! Lots of help here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 aquaprawn. In your case I would not feed the shrimp for now . What type shrimp do you currently have ? Remember faster growing plants are great when it comes to combating algae . If your tank is new as far as not cycled I would not add anymore shrimp. I have and like nerite snails a lot for algae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Welcome! Just wanted to clear up any confusion. Cherry shrimp do not eat algae. They eat the food algae produces. So you'll never get rid of algae by using cherry shrimp. Amanos, when younger, will eat hair algae, but not touch powder or algae on the glass. As they get older, they become more scavenger. Best tool for those types of algae are ramshorns or nerites. Ramshorns will breed, Nerites won't- but will leave white sesame seeds in your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpo Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Some types of algae will release toxins, maybe be that what killed your shrimp but I could be wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaprawn Posted July 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 Thanks everyone, for all the replies. Regards to my water parameters, well here it is:- 16 gallon tank ADA Amazonia soil Temp - 77-79F (25-26C) PH 6.0 (but it fluctuates) Ammonia - 0 Nitrite - 0 Nitrate - 20-30ppm TDS - 66 PO4 (phosphate) - 0.25 to 0.5 CO2 - insufficient (drop checker) Lights - 55W (6-8 hours a day) After injecting CO2 until the drop checker solution was green (indicating normal CO2 level). My PH also dropped to 5.0. Due to the low PH, I could not really continue to inject CO2. Cycled for exactly 22 days now Inhabitants are :- 5 small tetras, happy as can be for over a week now 6 amano shrimps just added yesterday (July 26) 4 wild shrimps caught from the river, also added the same time as the amanos I didn't acclimate them to the tank - apart from the normal plastic float in the aquarium for ten minutes. The only reason to add shrimp at this stage is to combat algae - especially the thread algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metageologist Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 Well assuming you still have the cherry red shrimp you pH is a bit low, your temprature is a bit high and TDS is low. Check out this site it will give the peramiters and there ranges for most shrimp. http://shrimpkeeping.com/water-params/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 I wouldn't worry too much on temp, but I agree with what Meta said otherwise. Also, have you done a reading on your gh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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