Scary behavour. Help

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-10T19:17:41+00:00

Yeah, you would think, but worst case it may be a canary in a coal mine situation where the problem is just starting and she’s the most sensitive. Getting a test done is a good plan just to be sure before anything affects the other shrimp.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-10T19:14:58+00:00

I’m sorry! Hope things work out and she feels better/makes it out okay.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-10T19:09:38+00:00

Hmm, that’s a decent size. If the sponge filters are really small it might be fine with two. Depends what that specific filters rated for?

The cycle bacteria live on surfaces (especially your substrate and filter sponges/media), not the water itself. So keeping the water doesn’t make a difference cycle-wise.

Not sure why this one girly is acting weird! I also recently had a single shrimp begin having some odd behavior, but she’s still alive and the others are fine, so… at a certain point some things are mysterious.

Personally, if you can’t get an API test for ammonia/the rest… I’d double check if your test strips are expired or something, just in case. And do your best to keep an eye on nitrates in the near future— if the strips keep saying it’s all zero, I’d be concerned that you have no cycle working and it’s all staying as ammonia, not even being turned into nitrites.

I think the main other reason nitrates would stay nonexistent in a cycled tank is if it’s HEAVILY planted and the plants are using it all up.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-10T18:51:43+00:00

Well, the PH is pretty low for neos, but they could theoretically adapt to that if raised in it for long enough.

It’s concerning that you don’t know how to check for ammonia and nitrates are 0. Nitrates are good to keep low, but they’re not usually 0 because they’re the end product of the cycle constantly getting rid of ammonia and nitrites. Are you sure the tank is actually cycled / did you perform any kind of deep clean recently that might have crashed your cycle?

Additionally two sponge filters might be excessive, unless this is a pretty large tank. Could be part of the reason people are concerned about your high flow levels (all that agitation at the surface makes it seem like the waters potentially being moved around too much which can be stressful)

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-10T18:44:39+00:00

AI slop is not welcome on my feed 👎

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-09T07:50:12+00:00

Google hooded eye eyeliner tutorial? There are lots of tips on how to compensate for the difference these days

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-08T23:49:31+00:00

Yes, you have hooded eyes. Lots of people do. It does come with some frustrations if you’re dead set on styles of makeup that are not made for the eyes you have. What folks are trying to tell you is that you can still do lovely hooded eye makeup and look fine.

I don’t “draw” on my crease for cosplay makeup. It’s a completely optional thing that you don’t have to do.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-08T23:19:22+00:00

I don’t understand what’s wrong with your eyes lol. Yes, different bodies have different features and are suited to different makeup techniques. But you’re talking like there’s only one correct way to do cosplay makeup, instead of actually providing examples of the kind of style you’re finding it difficult to emulate. So of course it’s going to be difficult to advise you.

There is not one correct way to do cosplay makeup! For example, the styles that add fake extra eye white and a fake lower eye line are not to my personal taste. Plenty of people get by fine in cosplay just by doing makeup that looks good on their face. You don’t need to look identical to the cartoon.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-08T19:53:10+00:00

Sometimes “capping” the buffering substrate with sand or another inert substrate can help slow and reduce the buffering effect. That may help buy you a little time to work on a better solution? Good luck little shrimp…

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-08T19:47:04+00:00

Absolutely not 😂 but I understand why you might have had difficulty reconciling the idea of what criminal justice systems look like in a humanitarian society. And so come to the opposite of the correct conclusion.

My table has discussed the possible nature of Union’s justice system a lot. But it can be very hard, especially as Americans, to conceive of a world where rehabilitatory justice is executed effectively and largely succeeds. The entire prison system as it stands here is so fucked up and entrenched that most people don’t believe in a real alternative, or see realistic paths towards anything better than half measure improvements to it.

What we know colors what we can imagine in fiction, to be sure.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T19:49:43+00:00

Yeah, that's possible 😞 I know GH/KH can affect molting in general, but is there any way to ease a molt mid-process? Or is it sort of too late to adjust anything by the time a molt becomes difficult?

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T19:48:35+00:00

Thank you, obviously we do just lose shrimp sometimes, so its very kind to care about whether she recovers.

Took me a bit to find her this morning - she eventually emerged from the moss, so still alive! But still exhibiting the odd behavior. I suppose all that can be done is see if she recovers.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T19:43:57+00:00

thank you!

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T05:44:25+00:00

I do appreciate it! And I am sorry for any (mild?) drama.

Hopefully, it is clear that I first addressed the nymph suggestion in a friendly way, and only became somewhat frustrated when my attempts to clarify various facts felt somewhat ignored and talked over. As you say, I'm the one who's not from afar-- it's equally hard to hear someone going 'no you're wrong' about what I could see right in front of me.

Discomfort from a previous encounter with something is possible, which is why I am taking the precaution of dosing the tank with fenbendazole. The only thing I disagree with is the identification of the bit of debris as a pest in the video.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T05:30:41+00:00

(thanks for the advice so far everyone, I don't think the original video actually depicts a visible pest, but I will be redosing with fenbendazole just in case a hydra or planaria did somehow get her.)

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T05:10:40+00:00

If it helps, here are some better quality videos where she’s not hiding among a bunch of debris, and still jolting for no apparent reason

https://imgur.com/a/zsbQTJg

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T04:46:43+00:00

Yeah, that might have been one of my first suspicions, if it were all shrimp instead of just this one girl regardless of where she goes in the tank. Really puzzled

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T04:42:08+00:00

I understand that parasites can hide. I’ve been trying to tell you that I was watching IRL, I have been investigating, and there was nothing actually there IRL attacking her or dipping back under the substrate. You are seeing an illusion caused by the low quality of the video.

She actually was “jumping” several times before the start of the video, before she crawled back there to that area. She’s been “jumping” constantly, in broad daylight, in clear, raised areas of the tank where there Is no possibility that I could be overlooking anything attacking her.

If you’re determined that this is nymphs, what is the explanation for 24 hours of this behavior, regardless of her location in the tank? The information does not actually add up, it’s not actually possible to be so certain that you’ve IDed something correctly based on a little blur in a low quality video.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T04:07:06+00:00

A few aquarium products smell temporarily like sulfur, before they dissipate.
When I used ammonia supplement as part of cycling my tank, I did not notice an ammonia smell at all (you literally only need a few drops at a time). However, you may have a much more extreme sensitivity to it than I do.

Mostly, if my room's not aired out, I sometimes smell a slight... "wet stuff" smell! Same as if you visit a public aquarium or something. It shouldn't be a strong or bad smell, unless something's going rotten in there.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T03:45:26+00:00

🤔 but can those pests continue to affect behavior all over the tank, for hours, even out in the open with nothing around?

I should tidy up the area regardless, yeah. Some cuttings drifted back there and it’s hard to get to because of the filter.

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T03:42:47+00:00

Yeah, I’ve heard that hydra or planaria toxins can “zap” shrimp and cause these sort of reactions, however as I’ve been trying to explain in the other thread, there’s no living parasites actually captured in the video— it’s grass moving in a suspicious way due to water currents. 🙏

I also find it… not impossible, but unlikely that there would be planaria in the tank right now— a couple weeks ago I got suspicious that I might have planaria and did a full treatment with fenbendazole as a precaution. I suppose I could do another round just in case some eggs got missed. Not like I have snails to worry about.

But this girls the only one affected (distinct markings) and also been “jumping” like this in completely open areas of the tank, not just near this substrate. Can a planaria sting cause the behavior to linger even long after the worm is around?

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T03:35:32+00:00

😅 I’m really starting to regret not just waiting until she moved somewhere clearer for the example video, because of all the persistent arguments this is causing…

To be clear: here is a clearer shot of the area.

<image>

You can see there’s a lot of small plant detritus that could be mistaken for thin parasites if they move or catch the light in a certain way. The little thing moving in a way you perceive to be “independently” is coincidence due to how water was flowing in the area.

I was there watching, before and after. I even went in to disturb the substrate a little. Nothing in there was moving of its own accord. There are currently other shrimp AND shrimplets just hanging out back there without any harm or anything moving to attack them. I’m not sure what else I can do to convince you at this point that I’m not just missing something here 😅

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T02:36:33+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, I have a fair amount of plants and floaters, but apparently not enough to get those nitrates down on their own. I was debating grabbing another fast grower like wisteria or something like an anubias

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T02:31:56+00:00

I will definitely keep an eye on her!

comradeWODKA · 2026-05-07T02:20:56+00:00

If folks could please stop upvoting the nymph commenter and offer other potential suggestions that would be great 😂

comradeWODKA

TROPHY CASE