What happens when a tank crash

It is becoming difficult to ignore the fact that with rising prices of commodities and inflation, things get more and more expensive and what do we expect can happen in the shrimp industry.

Eventually the shrimp industry will also be hit by the rising cost of raw material and logistics, however as we know these are not beyond our control, it is important to note what is truly important. Additionally, it is also a good time to reflect on what is necessity.

This is the same as what we will try to look out for in a tank that may crash. I have been discussing with a few breeders local and overseas regarding their journey and one of the common reasons for them having dead shrimp is because the tank crash.

Many factors can contribute to a tank crash, one of the more evident issue resulting in tank crash is by adding too many things into the tank. I have been discussing with one of the US breeder who had his tank crash overnight. To his horror when he woke up, most of his shrimp had die of ammonia poisoning.

What did he do differently?

Nothing.

Yes he did nothing differently before 2 of his tank crash, but why would something like this happen. This is the fallacy of the shrimp industry and i chalk this up to knowledge and experience. As more and more breeders continue on their breeding journey they’ll realized that what they’ve learn in the beginning may not apply to what they are experiencing or doing now.

So how can someone do everything the same he has always been doing and the tank just ‘miraculously’ crash over night? He did the same water change and added powder bacteria.

The prognosis:

From this, we understood that over time the bacteria powder have caused the accumulation of ammonia that resulted in a spike. Some of the shrimps couldn’t take the spike forces them to force molt, some got stuck, and die. This dead shrimp over a few hours released higher ammonia, together with all these created an Armageddon.  This is not even coincidental, as 2 tanks with the same method done had the same cause and effect.

These are two pictures of his tank.

What it really meant is the water parameters have already been peaking to a point where the tipping point came when the water change was done and powder added. Is there a way to tell if the tank is breaking?

Like one of my topics on ammonia vs porosity, where we cannot measure the amount of beneficial bacteria we can however measure the porosity of filter media. In other words, if the filtration is unable to handle the added powder the tank has reached it’s tipping point.

When hobbyist encounter such incidences majority may quit the hobby and totally give up. Some persist on after finding out new found knowledge. Those who continue will then get afraid of doing what they normally do. I think while powder bacteria is not an issue, using in large dosage and frequently after water change have caused the tank to crash when the filtration/media no longer able to convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrate, robbing away oxygen during the bacteria bloom process.

So while we may be in this hobby being taught different things, there is no one best way and i guess there can only be one way that suit you better.

Recommendation:

• While setting tank up, it is optional to add bacteria powder (it is the dormant state of nitrifying bacteria). If you don’t use it, it is perfectly fine.
• There is no requirement to add bacteria powder after every water change, colonization of beneficial bacteria will not be entirely loss because of water change.
• Clean your sponge filter to unclog it before they start jamming up

For me i treasure the simplicity of the hobby and to keep them as fuss free as possible, streamlining things, eliminating optional stuff whenever possible. This would then help to enjoy the hobby a lot more.

Hence, when there are issues such as tank crash, it is important to have a standby tank or emergency tank where you can immediately transfer the shrimp into the tank or hang breeder box to house the shrimps and hopefully you rescue them in time.

There isn’t much you can do at this point but to reset the tank and continue on the hobby with the new found knowledge.

I’m still in contact with him and i’m sure now he will now be able to breed back the number of shrimps he use to have.