Shrimp Diseases and Diagnosis

[sushant]

Very recently i had some problem with shrimp, i lost many of them to some strange disease . And then i realised that unlike fishkeeping where we have a basic ideas about the common diseases and their cure,in shrimpkeeping these info. are non-existant( atleaset in India). the only information that i was able to find was on Shrimpkeepers forum. Here is the link for future referenceshttp://shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/ind ... diagnosis/

[JayC]

Hi All

A big hello from Australia.
I'm the author of the linked article on Shrimp Keepers Forum.

I'd be happy to assist with diagnosing issues if you'd like to post it here.

I have been keeping and breeding various types of shrimps for a while. And I have been a fish keeper for many more years than that. Since I was a little boy really. Because of the strict quarantine laws in Australia (we cannot import any freshwater shrimp into the country), the Aussie hobbyists have had to become very inventive and efficient at looking after the stock of shrimps already in the country.
I initially wrote the article because there is a complete lack of any information that is stored in one place for this relatively new hobby of keeping shrimp. Unlike the fish hobby, where diseases and medication is widely documented, there is nothing in the shrimp world.

It's still a learning exercise, and a constant need to update the information. So any feedback you have on what helped cure your shrimp is always welcome.

The collection of diseases we have encountered so far in the linked article is from personal experience, and from fellow hobbyist. A lot of personal research, and a lot of reading various articles.
The known medications or treatments have been trialled and some work, but many diseases in shrimps are still incurable due to the fragile nature of shrimps, and their lack of tolerance to medicines. Identification of many diseases are also extremely difficult, unless you have access to a lab microscope. So when you notice the first signs of issues, in most cases, it's already too late.

In all the years of keeping shrimp, what I have learnt is - the best medicine is PREVENTION.
Clean, ideal water parameters are key to disease prevention. A healthy shrimp in a healthy environment will fight any disease.
Shrimps fall not only to disease. The biggest cause of casualties is from incorrect water parameters or presence of ammonia in an uncycled tank. The next might be moulting issues. These comes down to the correct water parameters as well (GH). The cause of death from diseases might be a distant 3rd place.

When you describe an issue you might have, please ensure you provide the following details as a minimum, along with your personal observations:

pH:
Ammonia reading:
Nitrite reading:
Nitrate reading:
KH:
GH:
TDS:
Temperature:

TDS is Total Dissolved Solids, and is fairly critical to get into the right range for shrimps. Each species will prefer a different range.
TDS can be measured very easily and quickly with a TDS pen. TDS pens can be bought online fairly easily.

Most people don't bother testing water parameters until something goes wrong. Or they don't buy test kits until something is wrong.
My strong suggestion is to invest in test kits that will measure the above parameters at a minimum. Collect it slowly and build your kit up overtime if needed.

Cheers and good luck,
JayC.

[SCORPIO]

Nice explanation.

[Abhishek]

Hey Jay very glad to see you here

[VishaalDalal]

yup finally we may get some shrimp talk

[JayC]

yup finally we may get some shrimp talk

Yeah, it's very quiet here compared to my own forum.

[VishaalDalal]

as of now I have some, Babulati, RCS (ranging from Yellow to Black) and Rhino nose. the population keeps going up and down like a YoYo.

[JayC]

as of now I have some, Babulati, RCS (ranging from Yellow to Black) and Rhino nose. the population keeps going up and down like a YoYo.

Why does your population of shrimps keep going down? (I doubt going up is a problem)

Is the Rhino nose a Red Nose shrimp?

Do you keep them in separate tanks ?
Don't these types of shrimp need different water parameters?

Let us know what water parameters you keep them in.
pH:
Ammonia reading:
Nitrite reading:
Nitrate reading:
KH:
GH:
TDS:
Temperature: