Shrimp Deaths Explained (Bacterial Infections)

[Dincho]

More so than ever there seems to be more and more threads about "unexplained" shrimp deaths, i thought a topic should be started to explain these and allow people to share their experiences and remedies.
9 times out of 10, these unexplained deaths are caused by bacterial infections. If the water parameters are all within range, no plants, hardscape or filter media has been added or changed, then it’s highly likely a bacterial infection has taken hold.

In my experience there seems to be a wide range of different infections, some that are slow to take hold, killing one or two shrimp every few days, other infections seem to wipe out a whole colony in a couple days. From personal experience I have found the main things that cause outbreaks are mixing shrimp colonies, high nitrate levels, low oxygen levels and stress from shipping. The freshwater dwarf shrimp seem to have a VERY sensitive immune system, even the slightest change in conditions seem to stress them and lower the immune system.
As we know, no 2 aquariums are the same, each aquarium has its own eco system and bacterial colony. It also seems that no 2 shrimp colonies are the same, each colony seem to have their own tolerance to certain bacteria and environments, because of this it extremely dangerous to add shrimp from one colony to another, without preparation.

Personally I do a lot of selective breeding, selecting shrimp from different colonies to start a new one, so bacterial infections are something I have encountered on many occasions. I wanted to share how I deal with it and hopefully hear how others do, I think it’s the responsibility of us shrimp keepers to share our methods, experiences and knowledge of certain areas of the hobby. I know there are many people on this forum who have years of experience and would have also encountered bacterial infections, hopefully they pitch in with their own methods and see if there is an easier solution than mine. There is nothing worse than a shrimp keeper in the hobby writing “secret ingredient” or “secret method”!

Firstly I ALWAYS quarantine new shrimp, its essential. Most my new shrimp arrive by mail so stress levels are high, it’s almost certain they will contract an infection of some sort when added to a new aquarium. Personally my quarantine tanks always have new filter media, I never rush the cycle or ‘feed’ the cycle with anything from another aquarium. 2 weeks prior to the arrival of new shrimp I also dose the quarantine tank with beta glucan, I add one spoon every 3 days (the spoon you get with most Asian shrimp products). Once the shrimp are in the quarantine tank I add a spoon once every 5 days, I quarantine shrimp for 2 weeks. One week before I transfer the new shrimp into an existing colony I also dose the tank they will share, I add a mixture of beta glucan and white willow bark (powder) mixed at a ratio of 4:1, 4 parts beta glucan, 1 part pussy willow. I always make sure high oxygen levels are maintained in all shrimp tanks, this really helps the good bacteria.

Some of my methods may seem extreme, but I do a lot of selective breeding and have lost a lot of high quality shrimp by mixing them.

Penny for your thoughts?

[Hwynette]

I am very new to shrimp keeping, so I cannot contribute to your experiences, but I wanted to say how very sad I am that I've lost most of my new shrimp just a few days after I got them. I tried very hard to do everything exactly right, the water params were all good, temp was good, java moss doing okay. The driftwood has this slimy film and it looks like there are bubbles under the slime, but I don't think that's the issue? Finding one or two dead each day this week. It makes me very discouraged and I feel very badly as I try to take good care of all my little souls. I probably didn't let the tank cycle long enough. Set it up 1/23/12 using water and filters from another established tank. Had the params checked out at the LFS before I added any shrimps. I'm just waiting for the last 3 to bite the dust. I do frequent water changes with tap water treated with Prime. I use very small amounts of Seachem ferts for the java mosses as they started to turn brown, but I've stopped that. Is there anything I can do?