# What is going on here???



## Exquizique (Nov 19, 2012)

Hoping some shrimp experts here can shed some light on this ...

So i checked on the cherries in the tank right before I go to bed. Some are swimming around actively, and some are hanging around in groups on various plants and decor. 

Then I noticed a really odd behavour. Several of the shrimps are making a beeline towards the stream of water/current that comes out of the filter, they head straight for the current, and when they hit it (and it looks like they fully intended to, the way they were swimming), they then immediately stop "paddling", go limp, and seemingly "ride" the current, taking a "tumble" and making a few somersaults in the process. Once the current "spits" them out and they slowly float down to the gravel again or to the side, they then start swimming/paddling again in the tank, and several more "line up" towards the current and do the same thing. 

How bizzare!! Is this normal shrimp behaviour?? What are they doing?? At first it seemed kind of funny and i thought, "geez, it's almost like they're high on something, having a party and surfing the current!". And then I wondered if it's normal behaviour and anything to be concerned about ...

I asked the husband to try to catch some video of them doing that on his phone. I'll try to post the video tomorrow ... it's so hard to explain without actually seeing it ...

Any ideas??


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## WiyRay (Jan 11, 2009)

I think I read somewhere that the males tend to swim somewhat erratically all over the tank when they sense a fertile female around. 

But as for aiming directly at the water flow and going limp... that I don't know. I would venture to guess that there may be something off with the water parameters and they may be swimming towards the current as it might be the closest thing to a "fresh" water supply.

Again, this is just me guessing.


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## Exquizique (Nov 19, 2012)

WiyRay said:


> I think I read somewhere that the males tend to swim somewhat erratically all over the tank when they sense a fertile female around.
> 
> But as for aiming directly at the water flow and going limp... that I don't know. I would venture to guess that there may be something off with the water parameters and they may be swimming towards the current as it might be the closest thing to a "fresh" water supply.
> 
> Again, this is just me guessing.


Ok, the erratically all over the tank part seems to describe alot of what the males do in general lol ...

Still wondering about them rushing the current though ... hmmmm ... water parameters seem ok. Had to stir up the tank a little and it was cloudy for a bit because the heater died and i had to replace it, but the water had been clear for hours when i observed them doing that ...

This morning only a couple of them (all males as far as i could tell) were still doing it. The rest were off resting in their little spots or scurrying around ...

Still trying to figure out how to get that video posted ... anyone else have any idea what may be going on??


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

It's hard to tell from description alone, but if the shrimp looks active and doesn't go limp, they should be fine.


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## getochkn (Jul 10, 2011)

Or they smell something good in the filter to eat. I find shrimp in my HOB filters now and again, they fight against the stream and climb right up into it.


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## Exquizique (Nov 19, 2012)

Well here's a quick little clip of it - sorry for the quality, it was just a phone camera and every time the record button got pressed the shrimp suddenly got stage fear  Plus it took forever to upload ...


Because it's so short you can only see a couple of shrimp doing it ...

Edited to add: Bah, it's not working ...i give up ...


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

a few of my shrimp did the same thing when i added a canister filter to my 10gal. they swam up to the spray bar then stop moving and let the water push them to the bottom of the tank and then they swim up to the spray bar again. it seems like its a game to them or something. its quite amusing to watch.

only my RCS seem to do this though.


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

Might be lack of oxygen. Mine did that aswell when i had poor air exchange.


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## Exquizique (Nov 19, 2012)

chinamon said:


> a few of my shrimp did the same thing when i added a canister filter to my 10gal. they swam up to the spray bar then stop moving and let the water push them to the bottom of the tank and then they swim up to the spray bar again. it seems like its a game to them or something. its quite amusing to watch.
> 
> only my RCS seem to do this though.


Ahhhh!!! Yes!!!!! This is exactly what they do!!!! You describe it so much better with so much less words lol  It does seem like they are having some fun isn't it?? Why do they do that???

As of yesterday afternoon mine are no longer doing that, just back to scurrying and meandering around the tank ...



Symplicity said:


> Might be lack of oxygen. Mine did that aswell when i had poor air exchange.


Interesting ... how can we tell that there's a lack of oxygen? And if that's the case how would you fix something like that?


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## chinamon (Jun 16, 2012)

Exquizique said:


> Ahhhh!!! Yes!!!!! This is exactly what they do!!!! You describe it so much better with so much less words lol  It does seem like they are having some fun isn't it?? Why do they do that???
> 
> As of yesterday afternoon mine are no longer doing that, just back to scurrying and meandering around the tank ...


I don't know why they do that. Mine stopped doing it after a few days as well.


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

The symptom of low oxygen level is very similar to an ammonia or nitrite spike, because ammonia, and nitrite to some extent, reduce the oxygen carrying ability of blood. Shrimp would be going mad racing to anywhere in the tank with higher oxygen level, be it the surface, filter outlets, ... etc. 

However, they sometimes just do that when there is a sudden change in water (good or bad). You can observe this after a water change, introducing a new filter, or stirring the substrate.

As long as shrimps are fine, you don't need to worry too much. Even if it's something bad, you'll probably fare better without doing anything further anyway.


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## Exquizique (Nov 19, 2012)

randy said:


> The symptom of low oxygen level is very similar to an ammonia or nitrite spike, because ammonia, and nitrite to some extent, reduce the oxygen carrying ability of blood. Shrimp would be going mad racing to anywhere in the tank with higher oxygen level, be it the surface, filter outlets, ... etc.
> 
> However, they sometimes just do that when there is a sudden change in water (good or bad). You can observe this after a water change, introducing a new filter, or stirring the substrate.
> 
> As long as shrimps are fine, you don't need to worry too much. Even if it's something bad, you'll probably fare better without doing anything further anyway.


Ahhh I see ... thanks for the explanation/information  I like to be able to catch problems (if i know there's one) before they worsen!

On the day they were doing that I had just had to replace the heater in the tank and stirred up quite a bit of substrate. They've stopped doing it since yesterday afternoon and they seem alright. When I first introduced them to the tank they were quite pale and the males were close to whitish. Now they are all a nice bright red  I'm assuming that means they are doing well and not feeling threatened in anyway ...


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