6 Causes of Sudden Dead Shrimp & How to Prevent it

The problem that often occurs in the process of shrimp farming is the sudden death of shrimp, especially when the shrimp are young. To anticipate this, you must know the cause of the sudden death of the shrimp.

Shrimp is a living creature that has the most basic immune system and cannot be renewed unless it gets certain stimulation. The body's immune system cannot increase its body's protective ability even though it is often exposed to disease continuously.

It is not surprising that shrimp are sensitive to disease attacks, causing premature death or sudden death. This article will describe the causes of sudden death of shrimp and how to overcome them.

Causes of Sudden Dead Shrimp

Generally, there are no specific symptoms, but these sudden deaths tend to occur in the late afternoon. In addition, not all cases of death occur suddenly, but there has been a decrease survival rates (SR) of 30%.

There are 6 factors that cause sudden death in shrimp, including shrimp experiencing stress, weather factors such as rain, decreased water quality, overfeeding, failed moulting, and certain diseases.

1. Stress

When the shrimp's stress level increases, their body's immunity will weaken so that it is more easily exposed to bacteria and viruses. Shrimp get stressed easily when there is a sudden change in environment.

Environmental changes in question can be caused by physical, chemical, or biological changes. Changes in the physical environment that can stress shrimp are salinity, water pH, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen levels.

As for chemically, changes such as mineral content and concentration of organic wastes such as ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and hydrogen sulfide. Biological environmental changes occur due to an imbalance in the phytoplankton population.

2. Rain

The cause of sudden death of shrimp due to rain is caused by 3 factors, including a decrease in water pH, decreased salinity, and the presence of aluminum content on the surface of the pond.

Rainwater is acidic so it can lower the pH of the water. In addition, the acid content in ponds can bind aluminum which is at the bottom of the pond, then carried to the surface of the pond water. The aluminum content is very dangerous for shrimp, if the shrimp is exposed to aluminum, the shrimp can die quickly.

Rainwater is also tasteless, so when it mixes with pond water it can lower its salt content. When it rains for a long time, the threat of flooding will be even greater, and if it does, the shrimp may die because they are carried away by the current.

3. Dirty Water Quality

Pond water that is rarely replaced makes the water dirty, thus supporting the growth of bad microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses. In addition, dirty shrimp pond water can also reduce important elements such as dissolved oxygen levels, pH, and water temperature. As a result, shrimp become easily stressed, their appetite decreases, poisoning, and even death.

4. Overfeeding

Overfeeding or overfeeding has a long term impact on mortality in shrimp. The rest of the feed will settle to the bottom of the pond and turn into ammonia. Ammonia is toxic, so it is harmful to shrimp and indirectly affects water quality, especially reducing dissolved oxygen levels.

5. Moulting Phase

The moulting phase is the phase in which shelled animals (crustacean) change shells at certain periods. In this phase, shrimp experience a decrease in the body's immune system, making it susceptible to viruses and bacteria. This condition causes molting failure and sudden death. You can recognize the symptoms by observing the behavior of the shrimp, usually the shrimp are more defensive and behave erratically. In addition, shrimp appetite has decreased which can be seen from checking the feed in the anco which is not used up or left over.

6. Detected Disease

As previously mentioned, the shrimp's immune system is difficult to update because the memory in its immunity is weak to create an immune system that can fight the diseases it has suffered from.

Disease White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) is generally the cause of the most sudden and massive death of shrimp. In addition, several other shrimp diseases that cause sudden death, among others Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS), Vibrosis, Infectious Myonecrosis Virus (Myo/IMNV), White Feces Disease (WFD), Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND), and Infectious Hypodermal and Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV).

How to Prevent Shrimp Death

Even though it is difficult to detect symptoms before the shrimp suddenly dies, you can avoid this incident by paying attention to several factors such as water quality, feed, supplements and vitamins, routine shrimp health checks, and pond conditions.

1. Paying Attention to Ponds When It Rains

When the rainy season arrives, you can cut or reduce the feed because shrimp metabolism tends to decrease when the temperatures are cold during the rainy season, so it is hoped that there will not be much feed left which can later become ammonia. In addition, you can dispose of excess rainwater through the upper drain so that the rainwater is wasted immediately, so that the salinity doesn't drop drastically.  

2. Maintaining the Quality of Shrimp Pond Water

Then, maintain the quality of pond water by routinely checking dissolved oxygen levels, water pH levels, and water temperature. Use an additional aeration system and regularly change pond water.

3. Paying attention to feed, vitamins and supplements

Overfeeding will have an impact overfeeding. However, if the feed is lacking, the shrimp will eat each other because they have cannibalistic properties. Therefore, pay attention to the nutritional needs of shrimp. The nutritional needs of shrimp are different for each age. If needed, you can provide multivitamins or additional supplements.

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