# Shrimp swimming to top of water?



## lll (Apr 29, 2014)

Hey All, 

I was just wondering why my shrimp are swimming to the top of my aquarium? Around a week ago, I moved a few of my crystal shrimp into another tank. These were some that I had hatched and raised and are currently 2 months old, maybe less than half an inch big. 

They are constantly swimming to the top of the water in their new aquarium and some stay there, as if trying to escape. Not too sure why. Is this something I should be worrying about? 

Tank is 7.5 gal, 0 ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. pH of around 6-6.5 and room temperature. 

The original tank they came from which is in the living room (the new one is in the basement) is 10 gallons and has similar water parameters (at least that's what my test kits say). 

Both tanks have bolbuitis (is that how you spell it?), and some peilia moss (sorry for butchering the spellings) along with Indian almond leaves and bamboo leaves. 

Thanks for any tips guys. Hope you have a great day.


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## razoredge (Dec 31, 2011)

I had the same thing happening with my pinto hybrids about 6 months ago. The shrimps kept on trying to climb out of the tank in one corner of the tank. They eventually stopped doing it and I don't see any escaped shrimps. I put in an air stone just in case it was a water issue.



lll said:


> Hey All,
> 
> I was just wondering why my shrimp are swimming to the top of my aquarium? Around a week ago, I moved a few of my crystal shrimp into another tank. These were some that I had hatched and raised and are currently 2 months old, maybe less than half an inch big.
> 
> ...


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## lll (Apr 29, 2014)

Thanks razor, 

They stopped doing it for me too, or at least, they don't seem as interested in escaping anymore.


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## hoody123 (Oct 24, 2012)

This happened with my upstairs tank when I had too much moss. I hadn't paid too much attention to the tank in some time and it was probably 60% full (genuinely) of moss. When the lights were on, all was good, but when it was night and lights were off all night the shrimp would go right to the surface.

My explanation (simply my thoughts, I didn't actually test anything) was the huge biomass of the plants was depleting the oxygen of the tank (I'm sure some of the moss in the interior of the huge mass was probably decomposing and using oxygen) while in lightless conditions. When the lights were on, all was good because the plants were producing oxygen.

As soon as I trimmed back more than half the plant mass, all was good again.

My theory at least.


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## lll (Apr 29, 2014)

Thanks hoody, 

I don't have that many plants in the aquarium, aside from a piece of bolbuitius. My air pump is a bit worn out, so I'll probably try and replace that soon.


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