Re: Shrimp Still Dying

["Alex R" <pcalex at hotpop_com>]

Thanks everyone for your advice regarding keeping Amano shrimp. Some things
that were suggested are not enough iodine, too much heavy metals like
copper, pH too low, and CO2 too high. I did add a few drops of iodine when I
first added the shrimp, and continued dosing it with water changes. I
eliminated the likeliness of too much heavy metals because from what I read,
they basically interfere with the shrimps' molting process, which would not
cause them all to die so quickly. Now the pH and CO2 issues seem more
likely. My KH is between 4 and 5 degrees, and my pH can go all the way down
to 6.4 at night, although I'm not too confident about my pH test results.
The way I gauge CO2 is by the presence of algae. If I get a certain type of
algae, I increase the CO2 flow, and the algae goes away after a couple of
days. I may have had more than 40 ppm CO2 at times.

Friday night I found a lone shrimp hiding under my driftwood. It looked very
stressed and like it was going to die soon. What I did immediately was turn
down my CO2 quite a bit, and add some baking soda to increase the KH.
Unfortunately, it didn't save the shrimp. I found his body next morning (at
least I think it was the same one). Last night I measured the pH, and it was
6.8.

Well, I guess I don't have any shrimp left. I doubt I will try again. I
already spent way too much money on these shrimp, and ended up with none in
my tank. My luck in this hobby hasn't been the best. But I think I can
safely say that potassium chloride does not really kill the shrimp.
___
Alex R
pcalex at hotpop_com