I ran my tank for 3 months with plants before adding shrimp. I started with 7 shrimp and have probably 100 in there now. I don’t need to do water changes at all, I add water due to evaporation. I don’t vacuum the gravel. That’s a nono in my book. I only scrape algae off the front tank glass so I can see in there. Tons of snails and little tiny critters living along with my shrimps. My plants are growing healthy and I’ve yet to see water parameters outside of normal range.
People fuck with their tanks too much. It’s kind of ridiculous. But I think it’s just excitement and interest manifesting as being super finicky.
Dude this is what I’ve been thinking. Like you really have people tinkering the aquarium like it’s a chemistry project. Like I get it and I understand but when you put on those lenses and then you see shrimp thriving in these conditions, you’re left thinking wtf 🤣
Props to you though! To clarify, basically 6 months you out all this together and now they’re thriving?
I mean this is kinda true for most aquarium things a well aged tank means having a active ecosystem. That’s what the cycle is. The more diverse the inputs in the cycle and the less active you are in maintaining it the better it is. So yes you want diverse bacteria and micro/macro flora and fauna if you can maintain it. Making conditions as natural as possible while highlighting your pets/ aesthetic. There is a science to it but like many sciences implementation is often an art that requires the development of a sense.
The fallacy here is that process doesn’t work for others. Sure it works for many, and they do it and keep shrimp happily never coming online to interact with other shrimp keepers.
And sure, Neos accept a wide range of parameters.
But more of what we see are nonstandard issues and conditions. None of those are solved by letting the shrimp die and not doing anything to improve or care for them.
Sure, this worked temporarily for already okay water parameters, which is unrelated to most who are past the basics and having issues.
Yep this. Once you stop messing around and you have a good established ecosystem. Plants, good light, good substrate, snails. Good food. Things explode. I have had to offload at least 200+ shrimp to the pet shop
I agree for neocaridinas.
They even reproduce in a jar.
But for caridinas like crystal reds they probably need some active soil at least.
I added some tigers and crystal reds to my Neos tank and only saw two caridina shrimplets in months.
Please add some caridinas and report back, I’m really curious if they thrive.
Don’t take me wrong, im on the same boat as you, I don’t mess with pH, GH or Kh. Don’t use RO water and only use inert substrate.
I am responding mostly to posts I see here and on Facebook where people have shrimp dying or not breeding and they give what are supposed to be ideal parameters and then someone will say something like “what about temp?” Then say say like “ 72” then a bunch of posters will be like “that’s it right there! Supposed to be 76.” Or they will say it because they have too many snails or some dumb thing. I think there are some key parameters but maybe they have to do with biofilm quality or something like that.
Ok-Ingenuity6637 
I ran my tank for 3 months with plants before adding shrimp. I started with 7 shrimp and have probably 100 in there now. I don’t need to do water changes at all, I add water due to evaporation. I don’t vacuum the gravel. That’s a nono in my book. I only scrape algae off the front tank glass so I can see in there. Tons of snails and little tiny critters living along with my shrimps. My plants are growing healthy and I’ve yet to see water parameters outside of normal range.
People fuck with their tanks too much. It’s kind of ridiculous. But I think it’s just excitement and interest manifesting as being super finicky.
So basically you made a mini Walstad tank.
Dude this is what I’ve been thinking. Like you really have people tinkering the aquarium like it’s a chemistry project. Like I get it and I understand but when you put on those lenses and then you see shrimp thriving in these conditions, you’re left thinking wtf 🤣
Props to you though! To clarify, basically 6 months you out all this together and now they’re thriving?
Bc everybody overthinks it and spends all day on here reading bad advice.
I mean this is kinda true for most aquarium things a well aged tank means having a active ecosystem. That’s what the cycle is. The more diverse the inputs in the cycle and the less active you are in maintaining it the better it is. So yes you want diverse bacteria and micro/macro flora and fauna if you can maintain it. Making conditions as natural as possible while highlighting your pets/ aesthetic. There is a science to it but like many sciences implementation is often an art that requires the development of a sense.
The fallacy here is that process doesn’t work for others. Sure it works for many, and they do it and keep shrimp happily never coming online to interact with other shrimp keepers.
And sure, Neos accept a wide range of parameters.
But more of what we see are nonstandard issues and conditions. None of those are solved by letting the shrimp die and not doing anything to improve or care for them.
Sure, this worked temporarily for already okay water parameters, which is unrelated to most who are past the basics and having issues.
Yep this. Once you stop messing around and you have a good established ecosystem. Plants, good light, good substrate, snails. Good food. Things explode. I have had to offload at least 200+ shrimp to the pet shop
I agree for neocaridinas.
They even reproduce in a jar.
But for caridinas like crystal reds they probably need some active soil at least.
I added some tigers and crystal reds to my Neos tank and only saw two caridina shrimplets in months.
Please add some caridinas and report back, I’m really curious if they thrive.
Don’t take me wrong, im on the same boat as you, I don’t mess with pH, GH or Kh. Don’t use RO water and only use inert substrate.
I am responding mostly to posts I see here and on Facebook where people have shrimp dying or not breeding and they give what are supposed to be ideal parameters and then someone will say something like “what about temp?” Then say say like “ 72” then a bunch of posters will be like “that’s it right there! Supposed to be 76.” Or they will say it because they have too many snails or some dumb thing. I think there are some key parameters but maybe they have to do with biofilm quality or something like that.