Topic: "Why shrimp die" comments

[bulrush]

I wanted to comment on the article "Why Shrimp Die" at http://www.petshrimp.com/articles/whyshrimpdead.html. It's a good article and I wanted to add some things.

You may think, from reading the article, that all shrimp you buy are going to be bad quality. But what the article said is most shrimp you will buy from *commercial institutions* are going to be bad quality. Why is this? They have to economize and stuff many shrimp into small shipping containers, and they get most of their shrimp from half way around the earth. That's a long way for a shrimp to be stuffed in a box.

The solution? Buy shrimp from a local or online breeder/hobbyist. They are not in it for the profit and they care more about how their shrimp are packed.

Also a note about meds and metals, like copper. Where can copper come from to kill your shrimp? Maybe your little brother threw a coin in the water and made a wish, then he thought he did something bad and covered the submerged coin with gravel. So the coin sits in your tank slowly killing your shrimp.

Perhaps you got a used tank and the previous owner used a copper-based medication in it. I have heard, though I can't confirm, that meds can seep into the silicone and then slowly seep out over time. This could be a clue to mysterious shrimp deaths. It certainly seems possible that meds could also soak into ceramic type ornaments and even wood pieces. (Gravel is sealed so should not be a problem.) When in doubt, remove all ornaments, do a water change, and see if shrimp deaths slow down or stop.

Perhaps you bought a cheap Chinese HOB filter. The impeller axle was not solid steel, it was actually chrome covered copper. Now the chrome is coming off, exposing the water to copper.

When diagnosing problems, the issues in the article above are the most common. But for more mysterious deaths, some deep thought is required, like "Where could copper possibly be coming from?"

Regarding copper sulfate in fish foods. Copper sulfate is safe for shrimp. I have been feeding foods containing copper sulfate to my shrimp for years. It is elemental copper, like from copper pipes, that is the problem.

[wendyjo]

bulrush, if you don't mind I'd like to add something I just recently read to this.  Please feel free to have it removed if it's incorrect.  But in doing some research one article I read suggested that you should carefully read the labels of any food you feed to your shrimp as many foods contain copper.  Same goes with any ferts you add - be sure to read the labels carefully.

[bulrush]

Gak! That's a good point. One I didn't think of because I add nothing to my water except dechlorinator. I like to keep things simple.

Have you found foods that contain copper as a supplement? Do you have any names of foods that contain copper?

[wendyjo]

No, actually after I posted the above I went thru each of the foods I have (I have alot of different kinds of food even tho I hardly have any fish, lol) and didn't see any that have copper in them (unless it has some other fancy name, which I doubt), so maybe that is not as much as an issue as it made it sound in the article that I read.  But I'd say it's probably still a good idea to read the labels before you use it.

[Mollielover]

Some turtle foods have copper in them.  One of the foods I feed my snails is turtle food, so I have to carfully read lables too.

[bulrush]

Copper compound can also be called "cupric" as in "cupric sulfate". Copper sulfate and cupric sulfate are the exact same thing. Thus the symbol for copper, Cu, comes from "cupric". I don't know if cupric is latin or not.

[Chelle]

SHrimp Pellet Formula by wardly has Copper Sulfate in it.  I dont know that there is alot in it, because I did feed it for months to my fish and snails and such..  before I read the lable.

[Chelle]

oh wait, there might be no connection, but for quite a while my ghosties would last a short time, I would replenish my tanks about every 2 months. not a big deal where I live, I get a dozen for a little over a buck.  but I have only had a few die in the last few months. and they were big ones that I had gotten from the pet store over 4 months ago. I havent lost any babies at all. they  are thriving. of course, they are also tank raised ( my tank) and have not been through the shipping/gathering/mass raising trauma that ghotsies usually go through.

 but either way, there is copper in wardly's shrimp pellets.

[Chelle]

Hmmmm. wardley's algae disks have it also.  and I still feed these on a regular basis.. daily to my snails, and shrimps. not to mention they are put in each tank for everyone to munch on. and the shrimps really go after them.... ?? I havent checked the rest of my foods, as they are all live.. All I have unlive is the aforementioned shrimp pellets, disks, and some flakes that I feed if I am being lazy.

[wendyjo]

^#(*&^#%$*&!!!  GOSH DARN IT!  Ya know, I just set up my cherry tank like 2 hours ago, and what did I dump in there?  A freakin Wardley Shrimp pellet.  I sat here the other day and read the ingredients of all my foods, then I bought those stupid pellets yesterday and didn't read the ingredients and now I probably just poisoned my brand new shrimp tank.  I found it and removed what I could but it was all mushy and dissolving already and the shrimp were all over looking for food - I'm sure they ate some.  Dang it all.