Many newbies get small shrimp and put them in their newly set up tank. They then start to notice the shrimp hide more often and aren’t breeding.
The reason is a lack of proper acclimation. Water should be dechlorinated to remove chlorine and chloramines before it is used for a tank. This is especially important if you have fish.
Ammonia
Ammonia is the result of fish and invertebrates producing waste, so it’s not unusual for this to build up. When bacterial nitrification can’t keep up with the waste, ammonia levels rise, causing stress and eventually death in shrimp. Ammonia can be found in both ionized (NH4+) and unionized (NH3) forms, with the latter being more toxic. The ionized form is found in freshwater, but the unionized form tends to be found in brackish and saltwater tanks.
Ammonia poisoning directly damages the gill tissues of shrimp, and this impacts their osmoregulation and metabolism, as well as their ability to fight off disease and parasites. This results in lower survival and higher susceptibility to infections. In addition, ammonia stress decreases intestinal immunity via oxidative and ER stress as well as induction of inflammation and apoptosis.
One of the most important things you can do to ensure your tank water is safe for your shrimp is to test it regularly using a liquid test kit. Shrimply Explained recommends starting with a kit that tests for pH, KH, GH, Nitrites and Ammonia as the best option to find out what your tank is up to. You can also get cheaper water tests but these are often inaccurate, which may result in you either not knowing there is a problem or discovering it too late.
Tap water is regulated to be safe for humans but it can still contain unhealthy levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, which could overwhelm the beneficial bacteria in your tank. This is why it’s essential to measure your water before each water change, and also to use a detoxifier like Seachem Prime. Prime will help to detoxify the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates so that they aren’t harmful to your shrimp.
Another way to keep ammonia in check is to avoid overfeeding your tank. Feeding more than your shrimp can eat quickly causes it to break down and produce ammonia, so make sure you’re only adding food that your tank will be able to handle within an hour or two. You can also add floating plants to your tank, which can help to pull ammonia and nitrates from the water as they grow.
Nitrate
Nitrates are another nitrogen waste molecule that can build up in an aquarium. Nitrates form in the water when ammonia is not removed quickly enough or if there are high levels of nitrogenous fertilisers in the soil. High nitrate concentrations can also result from improperly cleaned filters or from plants that are not properly fed. Nitrates can be harmful to shrimp if they are consumed in high concentrations over long periods of time. Chronic nitrate exposure can lead to shorter antennae, abnormalities in the tentacles and gills, and hepatopancreas lesions in shrimp.
High nitrates can be a problem for shrimp raised in lower-salinity waters, because those shrimp must spend more energy on regulating their osmotic pressure levels to compensate for the reduced saline environment. This stress causes the shrimp to be more susceptible to nitrate toxicity. Nitrate toxicity can be identified by dark cuticular lesions on the carapace and anterior segments of the shrimp, as well as abnormalities in the gills and hepatopancreas.
A good way to reduce nitrate levels in an aquarium is through regular water exchange, important for lava tiger shrimp. This is an effective way to remove waste ammonia, but it can be difficult for the average aquarist to do on a frequent basis. Another option is to feed the fish and shrimp a low-protein diet, which will allow the bacteria in the tank to consume the waste proteins before they are released into the water.
Adding fast-growing aquatic plants to the aquarium can help with nitrate reduction, as they can quickly take up nitrogenous waste from the water. However, it is best to add plants slowly into an aquarium, so the biofilter can be prepared for them. It is also a good idea to vacuum substrate regularly, because the decaying feces can contribute to small spikes in ammonia and nitrate levels.
Changing the entire water volume of an aquarium at one time can disrupt the biological cycle. It is best to increase the number of fish slowly, over a period of six to eight weeks, giving the biofilters time to adjust to the increased level of ammonia generated by the added fish.
Carbonate Hardness
When water evaporates in your aquarium, it leaves behind minerals and salts that can affect the GH and KH levels of your tank. This is especially true if the source of your water is hard (high in calcium and magnesium). When this happens, GH and KH slowly creep up. To avoid this, try doing your water changes with reverse osmosis or distilled water instead of tap water. This will dilute all the water parameters, including GH and TDS.
If you find that your GH is low, there are several options to raise it, such as adding wood, commercial plant substrate, or peat to the aquarium. These items release tannins that help to lower the pH of the water and may even increase the GH level a little bit. However, you should not be in a hurry to raise your GH to some specific target number. Both Caridina and Neocaridina shrimp are quite happy with a GH of 1.
Another way to increase the GH is by using a sachet of powdered KH. However, these products should be used cautiously because they often add a lot of unneeded dissolved minerals that can quickly lead to a high TDS level.
Increasing the GH of your aquarium can also increase the amount of CO2 that is needed to maintain a desired pH level. This is because carbonates and bicarbonates are responsible for a large portion of the alkalinity of the water.
In nature, carbonate hardness acts as a buffer against rapid changes in pH levels, which is a critical function for the health of freshwater fish and shrimp.
In addition, the GH of your aquarium can influence the concentration of other dissolved minerals in the water, including potassium (K), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe). However, it is not unusual to have a high TDS and GH reading while having a low reading for other minerals. The reason is that GH and KH are only one part of the story and TDS is also affected by other things in the water such as nitrates, phosphates, urea and heavy metals.
pH
One of the most important factors to consider when establishing your shrimp tank is the pH. The water must be within the species’ recommended level for breeding and a stable pH is essential for good health. Extreme changes in pH can lead to stunted growth, molting problems, diseases and other issues that can be fatal for the shrimp.
The pH of water is the measure of acidity or alkalinity and ranges from 1 to 14. Pure, freshwater has a pH of 7 and is neutral being neither acidic nor basic. The higher the pH number, the more acidic the solution. The lower the number, the more alkaline or basic the solution.
pH is very important for many reasons, including that the pH of shrimp hemolymph (blood) determines their immunity to pathogens. In addition, it influences the rate of dissolved oxygen in water, the nitrate and phosphate levels, the hardness of the water, the presence of algae and more.
Having too high or too low pH causes stress for the shrimp, slows their metabolism and reduces their appetite. A change in pH can also cause a decrease in the absorption of nutrients, especially nitrogen from the feed. During the day, pH increases because of phytoplankton density and CO2 production from the bacteria in your tank while at night it drops due to respiration. A good amount of alkalinity and buffering capacity can prevent the pH from going too low or too high.
When pH changes rapidly, it is likely because of an imbalance in the nitrogen cycle or bacterial death. The nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia into nitrite and nitrate and do their best work at a pH of 7-8. When this cycle is disrupted, the ammonia builds up and becomes toxic to shrimp.
There are chemicals available in most pet stores that claim to lower the pH of the water but they are not a long term solution. These products contain acids which can quickly burn your shrimp’s gills and can be harmful to the ecosystem of the tank. Instead try using a drip acclimation method to slowly introduce new water into your aquarium. This will give the shrimp time to adjust and prevent sudden pH changes that may harm them.
