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Could sand be the culprit?

dougbraz

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São Paulo Brazil
Morning from way down south.
I have a small 30cm cube in which ì have some 30 shrimps, and a seven tiny fish (galaxy rasboras and ember tetras).
A stone, a piece of root wood (underwater already for more than a year) with some mini anubias locked into its branches, some java moss and on the sand, a few cryps.
All doimng super fine - at least for the last 9 months. Regular weekly 40% water change, occasional dosage of Seachem Flourish and the odd "drip" of Seachem Excel.
HOB filter working fine, and lighting on for 5 hours a day.
I started with 4 shrimps, so must have been doing something right..

However...of late.... a dead shrimp is appearing almost every day, very few babies are being found (even accidentally siphoned), the fish are OK but yesterday one started swimming uoside down and in circles (not good..).

My question is where could the sudden (albeit slight) spike of ammonia be coming from? The sand?? Is this spike the cause of the shrimps' demise?
Every time I do a partial water change, the shrimps seem to perk up a little.
I DID brush some excel on small clumps of BBA a few weeks ago, but a very very little amount.
I read somewhere (here I think) that the bubbles that form under the sand could have h2s in them which is also not good for a tank.

water parameters are:
pH7 / GH 8 / Kh 2 / Nitrites 0 / Ammonia 0.25. Same water source being used for my main aquarium which with Amazon soil gives me a pH of 6-6.5 and healhty fish and plants.
My sand is that ultra-fine white aquarium sand.

The anubias are growing beautifully (better than in my main tank), the cryps are all sprouting new leaves, although to be fair, theit colour is fading and the roots are incredibly long (presumably looking for nutrition in the sand).

Will now be doing a 100% water change, but wonder if I should also change the sand for something else (larger grain sand, amazon soil (expensive...) and then allow for a refreshed possible ammonia cycle again..

Any thoughts/hints really appreciated!
Thanks

IMG_0879.jpg
 
Not the sand but no idea what the cause of the issue is apart from possibly over feeding ? tank could definetly do with more plants though.
 
Not the sand but no idea what the cause of the issue is apart from possibly over feeding ? tank could definetly do with more plants though.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, possibly overfeeding could be a logical explanation (will cut down - not that I think I WAS overfeeding, but sure, valid point).
As to the "more plants", I was looking for a more minimalist look - given that my main tank is a semi controlled "jungle look". Fine sand not being the most conducive source for plant growth, where would I benefit? I can always add Seachem fert tabs, sure, but any other reason to fill it up with plants apart from taste?
 
Hi all,
I can always add Seachem fert tabs, sure, but any other reason to fill it up with plants apart from taste?
What @LMuhlen says, they improve water quality.
However...of late.... a dead shrimp is appearing almost every day,
I had trouble with my Cherry Shrimps when the <"water got too soft one winter">. I didn't measure dGH or dKH, but I was down to about 60 microS conductivity. I have a hard tap water supply, but use rainwater in the tanks and it had rained a lot.

cheers Darrel
 
Floating plants would fit nicely, no need to change your layout or substrate, they are easy to remove if you change your mind about them and the shrimps enjoy their roots.

They would consume the ammonia, helping you while you try to understand what is happening.
True, but I tried two types of floating plants (duckweed and azolla) and sadly didn't like "the look". The other available ones here are too big for my teeny tank.
 
Ok, any recommendations for low tech plants that do well in superfine grain sand (with a fert tab or two)?
Thanks


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Quite a lot of stems will do well. Take a look at Plant database to see something you like. Hairgrass and small leaved Bacopa would look good IMO Red Root floaters for your floating plant but l like most floating plants although Duckweed gets a bit invasive
 
If you are worried about the sand, you could decrease the amount. You are growing a lot of plants that really need a lot of substrate. Just syphon a bit out at water changes to gradually reduce - I'd go with gradually as you probably find it's host to some bacteria so you don't want to suddenly remove it all.

Have you tested the source water, with declorinator added, just to see what reading you get, could be a false positive leading you down the wrong track.

If you don't want more plants in the tank, you could consider growing something out of the top. That way you could keep the same look underwater and it would be very efficient at ammonia removal.

What food are you feeding? I would go for a good quality shrimp specific food and make sure it's in date not old. That will help make sure they are getting the right nutrients.

I'm not a shrimp expert, but the population looks quite dense, the lack of babies might just be that's about the max population size for the tank - maybe worth removing a few and see if you find more babies appear.
 
My bet is partial lack of oxygen. Shrimps are oxygen sensitive.
Hmmmm...different train of thought..My HOB does fairly well with distrurbing the surface tension, so presumably lack of oxygen should not be a problem. I had a tiny HOB for several month prior to upgrading and no deaths, in fact, loads of babies!
 
If you are worried about the sand, you could decrease the amount. You are growing a lot of plants that really need a lot of substrate. Just syphon a bit out at water changes to gradually reduce - I'd go with gradually as you probably find it's host to some bacteria so you don't want to suddenly remove it all.
I like the idea if how to remove some sand, but then there would be precious little left for my cryps to root into, wouldn't it?

Have you tested the source water, with declorinator added, just to see what reading you get, could be a false positive leading you down the wrong track.
Tested source water and all other tanks - all give the same reading, all are fine, yet the shrimps look unhappy..in this ONE tank, in another mixed one they are growing like crazy!

What food are you feeding?
Proper shrimp pellets - still valid and fresh.

but the population looks quite dense,
Curiosly enough, there have been many babies, but they seem to disappear - don't really have fish that would eat them, so no idea.
 
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