Your tank isn’t cycled yet! The ammonia is toxic, a cycled tank breaks down ammonia as fast as it is created. Look up fish in cycling on YouTube for some guida to help get the tank cycled!
Because the tank isn’t cycled yet. Did you use any old filter media from another tank? Any ammonia source? Shrimp need a fully established and matured tank, not a brand new one. Nitrite should be 0, which means the tank isn’t cycled. Also, the test strips aren’t the best or accurate especially for GH
besides the advice people gave i see in the second pic a larvae in the leaf,you should pay attention to remove them when you add leaves and stuff,i once let one in and it turned into a nymph that attacked small fish and shrimp
I’m not seeing many folks touch on the fact that you are using aquasoil. I know you consulted a LFS, but in my opinion, neocaridina & aquasoil are tough for beginners.
Not only does aquasoil leech large amounts of ammonia after flooding the tank, for weeks, but it also buffers pH and KH, lowering them.
Above all, shrimp prefer stability. They do poorly with fluctuating pH, which is likely what is happening when you water change, top off, etc as you have a lot of factors here changing your water chemistry.
In terms of “where do I go from here,” personally, since it is a nano setup, I would use RO water and a remineralizer like SaltyShrimp GH/KH+. That way you can control exactly what your parameters are. When dosed appropriately, it brings RO water to a KH of 3 and a GH of 6. This will still be buffered by your aquasoil, but you can add more after testing and monitoring.
Do you know the GH and KH of your tap water? That is a good place to start. The bone rock (not sure I’ve heard of that) and crushed coral are good, but unless you are measuring exactly how much it’s increasing KH and GH, and making adjustments, as it sounds like your KH and pH are still dropping due to the aquasoil and driftwood.
I know a LFS told you that the tank was ready for shrimp, but I never recommend putting them in a tank less than a month old. It’s stability you want, and you wont get that with a newer setup. Take the guessing out of it, accept these shrimp might not make it, and find a more consistent way to get your parameters for pH, KH and GH where you need them.
Also, seasoned tanks have biofilm and other natural food sources shrimp need. Just sets you and them up for success.
You’ve gotten some really good advice here! I just wanted to add something as a side note because I noticed the spray bottle in the background. Be sure to not use any spray cleaning products near the aquarium. Those chemicals getting into the water even in small amounts can hurt your shrimp.
Your ammonia levels are too high. “Low levels of ammonia 0.03 mg/1 (PPM) or less are not harmful to shrimp or fish, any level above is considered harmful and something that needs to be addressed in your tank.” Your tank probs isn’t cycled since there is no NO3 being produced from ammonia.
I’m sorry this happened. Starting out can be rough because there is a lot to consider. This may be a dumb question, but are you feeding them? The tank is so new there may not be any biofilm yet. Your tank is also a bit acidic. Try to raise it to 7.2ish. I Believe shrimp need it a bit alkaline for their exoskeleton. Until then, keep with water changes, keep a stable temp, and check your own parameters.
Your lfs was wrong. They gave the common advice so don’t be too upset with them. But shrimp are delicate and need incredibly stable parameters. Waiting 3-6 mo while the tank settles in is safest. You should be fine to add fish for this part of the cycle, if you don’t want it sitting empty while you wait.
Looking like two weeks wasn’t enough time to cycle the tank. Be happy only two died.
Either remove the shrimp, or let them fight the battle to help cycle that tank, I’d find freshly used filter media like many have said and shake it all out into your news water. Sounds crazy but it’s almost an instant cycle. It’s the only way I start tanks. I have far too many and lots of experience.
Tank isn’t cycled. It takes longer than 2 weeks. Personally, I add mystery snails because they’re very hardy and help the cycle. Continue 10% water changes every 2-3 days to keep them comfortable. Some people feel this is cruel to the snails, but if you keep up with water changes, I personally, think it’s ok.
Any amount of ammonia present in shrimp tanks can be rapidly deadly to shrimp. Keeping the shrimp already in there alive will be difficult while you get the ammonia in check. The best you can do is do daily water changes until it gets to zero. Be sure to drip your changed water in slowly over a period of longer than an hour, and try to match the kh and gh of the of the existing water.
Do not add more shrimp into the tank until you get your nitrogen cycle sorted. It sucks having to wait, but you will lose all of your shrimp if you don’t get your nitrogen cycle sorted.
Ammonia-0ppm Nitrites-0ppm Nitrates-(no more than) 10ppm
To get these results you need to START the cycle by introducing beneficial bacteria. That can be from bottled bb, using your fish/shrimp to start it (just adding them into a new tank), using pure ammonia, using a used filter/substrate or using fish food to make it dirty. Either way it requires patience, 3-6weeks. Weekly testing and then another dose of food/ammonia/bottled bb once you think it’s cycled so you can put it to the test and make sure there aren’t spikes before you add your livestock
2 weeks isn’t enough! you need to cycle for a month or longer to develop beneficial biofilms
i’ve had my tank set up since late october and it’s still not ready 😅 also you’ll want next to no ammonia. cycling for 2 weeks is probably good for a fish but not for shrimps who rely on lots of yuck to eat
Ok so your tank isn’t cycled as others have said. However, I would also consider other reasons why your shrimp could be dying.
Just cause you got a 0.25ppm for ammonia doesn’t mean ammonia is killing your shrimp, because
1) The API test often gives a false positive of 0.25
2) Even if your ammonia really is at 0.25, your pH is so low that you actually theoretically have next to NO AMMONIA in your tank
Given that:
1) Had you cleaned the tank with any detergents/soap or chemicals prior to setting up?
2) Do you dechlorinate your tap water?
3) Is there a chance something could have contaminated your tank with anything?
4) Where did you get the leaf from? Possibly unlikely, but given your situation, I might be suspicious of any pesticides/unwanted things leeching into your tank
Stop using tap water and use remineralized distilled/RODI/Spring water for a month or longer to test it out. I mean it doesn’t hurt using good quality water that you personally remineralized. Also do less water changes. Make sure to get a TDS pen.
Moving shrimp from tank to tank can cause deaths too. So I think at least 2 of those deaths could possibly be from that.
Often people say to just use your tap water and have your shrimp acclimate to that but I don’t think us shrimp owners can trust tap water with how often we see deaths with tap-water water changes. We lose so many colonies after tap water changes where all other parameters are the same.
i wanna add that it seems that ur water is too soft in general, so u want to add crashed coral, rocks, limestone, etc. driftwood will lower the PH and make it even softer. both KH and GH make it so ur tank hardness is on very low end of what’s generally recommended for neocaridina. and also low KH means that PH fluctuations are going to be more apparent, so the driftwood and leaves can actually alter PH way more than if ur KH would be higher
I would put the shrimp all back into the Betta tank. It’s already cycled and likely will be a safer environment. If the Betta can’t be trusted around shrimp do the fish in cycle in the new tank with the Betta, they are much more hardy and likely to survive water issues than those poor shrimp. Just make sure you are doing daily water changes and keeping an eye on him. Fish in cycles are not ideal for healthy pets.
If the Betta leaves the shrimp alone I would just let them all live in harmony until you can get the new tank properly cycled. Honestly shrimp will do better in a tank that has matured, not just cycled. Throw a snail or the Betta in the new tank to keep it cycled, plenty of plants and leaf material, and let it sit and grow for a month or more. Then and only then add the shrimp.
1) Your tank isn’t fully cycled. Even with adding the beneficial bacteria it’s best to cycle the tank for a couple weeks at least. Shrimp in particular are finicky with water parameters.
2) Even once it’s cycled, it’s better to ‘Age’ your tank with shrimp. Allow time for biofilm and algae to grow that the shrimp will eat
3) I see you’re using aquasoil which is good. But it can throw water parameters off for a bit at first. Can make creatures as sensitive as shrimp to die
Well you have ammonia so that will kill them but also you should add cuttlebone to your filter it will prevent failed molts and bring your Ph closer to 7.8 which would be ideal for neos
One of the most important things in the aquarium hobby and especially shrimp is patience. Aquatic animals want stability and stability only comes with time. The question people always ask is how fast can I cycle? what bottles of chemicals ammonia and bacteria can i add to make it faster? Do these colors look good on my test kit? That’s the wrong way to approach creating a slice of nature in your home. If you can get used filter media like a sponge filter and squeeze it out onto your tank that might help.
Well for starters even having .25 PPM ammonia can be lethal. I’d start by getting that to 0. It seems like 2 weeks isn’t long enough for a tank to be cycled unless you’ve been following the directions for the beneficial bacteria supplement to a T. Most recommend adding an amount everyday for a few weeks.
Second of all and most important for shrimp keeping is you HAVE to drip acclimate. Idc how pristine your water is. Unless you have the exact same tank water that you’ve dumped into another you will be drip acclimating. This ensures a 99% survival rate guaranteed vs those who don’t.
Some Shrimp can be hardy, but they have to be acclimated to be that way. I’m not surprised those employees kind of led you astray but now you know what to do from here on out.
Your tank is very new, which is a problem. but, sometimes, shrimp die because they are not good at changing tank parameters, and the stress of moving to new tank and different water will kill some off. You might get lucky, the rest might live, and then you have a breeding colony.
Tank is too new. If you look at a true shrimp keepers tank they will be covered in algae on the walls. I had a similar problem with my shrimp until I just let the algae build up and only scraped the front glass. Now I have shrimplets everywhere and everyone is happy. You need to cycle you shrimp tank for up to 9 weeks, and in this cycling you need to be growing algae.
Not sure if anyone mentioned yet, the tank is near a kitchen area… does anyone use spray disinfectants, fresheners or pesticides near the tank? Because many of those products can be toxic to aquatic lifeforms and inverts. If such aerosol or fumes get into the tank it can cause shrimps deaths too.
First thing i’d do to save the remaining shrimp is call around to the local fish stores including the big box ones, find out if they have guppy grass, water wisteria, hygrophila, water sprite, or hornwort. These plants grow well free floating and don’t need to become established to be beneficial. My goal would be to get enough of these plants to pack the tank from top to bottom and front to back. These types of plants hit the water hungry for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, as well as other elements and chemical compounds. Floating plants do the same but too many would block light enough to limit the submerged plants efficiency. I’d also ask if you can buy a filter cartridge from an established filter they currently have that’s been running for at least a month or two. The goal with obtaining a filter cartridge is that it would likely have established bacterial colonies and all you’d need to do is add it to the tank somewhere near the filter outflow. The shrimp would find it soon after and begin feeding off of it also which would be a good thing in your new setup and eliminate the need for adding any additional food. You may need to visit more than one store to get everything you need but once the tank is packed with free floating plants they will begin eating any free ammonia & nitrite that becomes available and help stabilize the water parameters without the need for excessive water changes. Any water changes you do should be done with water that has been treated with a good water conditioner, aged a few days, heated to the same temp as the tank water, and added very slowly. Other things to address once the plants and established filter cartridge are in place is removal of the bone rock. Of it is indeed bone or once was bone, water with a pH below 7 will slowly dissolve it increasing the GH and/or KH. Another reason shrimp experience failed molts is due to water that’s too hard making their shells too hard and thick for them to escape during molting. In addition, as mentioned already, if your substrate is anything but UNS controsoil, it may release ammonia during the first month or so when newly added which the additional plants mentioned above will address. Lastly, once the plants and filter cartridge are in place, you will have time to address pH, GH & KH parameters but this should be done slowly and only after you know the pH, GH & KH of your tap water is. Distilled water is readily available at practically any grocery store and is a reliable and economical way to buffer tap water that is too hard. If however your water is softer and slightly acidic as yours seems to be according to your stated parameters, Salty Shrimp and other aftermarket products can be added using specific dosages to change water parameters so they’re more suited to your shrimps’ needs.
Wow this tripped me out almost the same exact setup and location in apartment. I feel like everyone answered the question for you. Shrimp are more sensitive to changes in general but I had a handful of super hardy shrimp survive my beginner mistakes lol even beyond some of my fish.
But yeah now I always cycle before getting animals or I’ll prep filter media in an old tank for a month at the very least
Another tip if you put a cheap led strip on t he edge of the tank it looks very cool
Hey there, had similar problem recently, except for I left my tank alone for 3 weeks, but it still wasn’t fully cycled. I have 4 khuli loaches (which were added in week 3) who are thankfully still all alive and well, but I panicked when I checked my nitrites.
There was some minor ammonia issue which I treated with ammo lock for 4 days to neutralise it and after the second test ammonia was gone, but my nitrites were the last to stabilise.
I did some large water changes for the first 3 days and tested nitrites every time pre and post water change then down to 30% water changes daily. I had to do this for a week or so in total and everything managed to stabilise with no casualties. Hope this helps.
boafish 
Your tank isn’t cycled yet! The ammonia is toxic, a cycled tank breaks down ammonia as fast as it is created. Look up fish in cycling on YouTube for some guida to help get the tank cycled!
Because the tank isn’t cycled yet. Did you use any old filter media from another tank? Any ammonia source? Shrimp need a fully established and matured tank, not a brand new one. Nitrite should be 0, which means the tank isn’t cycled. Also, the test strips aren’t the best or accurate especially for GH
besides the advice people gave i see in the second pic a larvae in the leaf,you should pay attention to remove them when you add leaves and stuff,i once let one in and it turned into a nymph that attacked small fish and shrimp
I’m not seeing many folks touch on the fact that you are using aquasoil. I know you consulted a LFS, but in my opinion, neocaridina & aquasoil are tough for beginners.
Not only does aquasoil leech large amounts of ammonia after flooding the tank, for weeks, but it also buffers pH and KH, lowering them.
Above all, shrimp prefer stability. They do poorly with fluctuating pH, which is likely what is happening when you water change, top off, etc as you have a lot of factors here changing your water chemistry.
In terms of “where do I go from here,” personally, since it is a nano setup, I would use RO water and a remineralizer like SaltyShrimp GH/KH+. That way you can control exactly what your parameters are. When dosed appropriately, it brings RO water to a KH of 3 and a GH of 6. This will still be buffered by your aquasoil, but you can add more after testing and monitoring.
Do you know the GH and KH of your tap water? That is a good place to start. The bone rock (not sure I’ve heard of that) and crushed coral are good, but unless you are measuring exactly how much it’s increasing KH and GH, and making adjustments, as it sounds like your KH and pH are still dropping due to the aquasoil and driftwood.
I know a LFS told you that the tank was ready for shrimp, but I never recommend putting them in a tank less than a month old. It’s stability you want, and you wont get that with a newer setup. Take the guessing out of it, accept these shrimp might not make it, and find a more consistent way to get your parameters for pH, KH and GH where you need them.
Also, seasoned tanks have biofilm and other natural food sources shrimp need. Just sets you and them up for success.
Some aqua soils release ammonia for a couple weeks something to keep in mind
You’ve gotten some really good advice here! I just wanted to add something as a side note because I noticed the spray bottle in the background. Be sure to not use any spray cleaning products near the aquarium. Those chemicals getting into the water even in small amounts can hurt your shrimp.
Wrong parameters for Neocaridina, Aquasoil and 120TDS // 6.0-6.8 ph is better for Caridinia
Neocaridinas struggle / or barely breed in softer water.
Neos prefer 150~200 tds and 7.0+ ph
Is anyone else concerned with the overhang OP has the tank on? You’ll have all shrimp dead at once if that tank falls.
Your ammonia levels are too high. “Low levels of ammonia 0.03 mg/1 (PPM) or less are not harmful to shrimp or fish, any level above is considered harmful and something that needs to be addressed in your tank.” Your tank probs isn’t cycled since there is no NO3 being produced from ammonia.
[https://www.theshrimpfarm.com/posts/understanding-ammonia-freshwater-shrimp](https://www.theshrimpfarm.com/posts/understanding-ammonia-freshwater-shrimp)
[https://www.shrimpscience.com/articles/shrimp-tank-ammonia/](https://www.shrimpscience.com/articles/shrimp-tank-ammonia/)
[https://www.plantedtank.net/threads/red-cherry-shrimp-and-ammonia.90777/](https://www.plantedtank.net/threads/red-cherry-shrimp-and-ammonia.90777/)
I’m sorry this happened. Starting out can be rough because there is a lot to consider. This may be a dumb question, but are you feeding them? The tank is so new there may not be any biofilm yet. Your tank is also a bit acidic. Try to raise it to 7.2ish. I Believe shrimp need it a bit alkaline for their exoskeleton. Until then, keep with water changes, keep a stable temp, and check your own parameters.
oof another one tricked by active substrate
Your lfs was wrong. They gave the common advice so don’t be too upset with them. But shrimp are delicate and need incredibly stable parameters. Waiting 3-6 mo while the tank settles in is safest. You should be fine to add fish for this part of the cycle, if you don’t want it sitting empty while you wait.
Looking like two weeks wasn’t enough time to cycle the tank. Be happy only two died.
Either remove the shrimp, or let them fight the battle to help cycle that tank, I’d find freshly used filter media like many have said and shake it all out into your news water. Sounds crazy but it’s almost an instant cycle. It’s the only way I start tanks. I have far too many and lots of experience.
Tank isn’t cycled. It takes longer than 2 weeks. Personally, I add mystery snails because they’re very hardy and help the cycle. Continue 10% water changes every 2-3 days to keep them comfortable. Some people feel this is cruel to the snails, but if you keep up with water changes, I personally, think it’s ok.
The store owners have no way to tell if your tank is cycled unless they tested your water for you.
Your LFS lied to you
Any amount of ammonia present in shrimp tanks can be rapidly deadly to shrimp. Keeping the shrimp already in there alive will be difficult while you get the ammonia in check. The best you can do is do daily water changes until it gets to zero. Be sure to drip your changed water in slowly over a period of longer than an hour, and try to match the kh and gh of the of the existing water.
Do not add more shrimp into the tank until you get your nitrogen cycle sorted. It sucks having to wait, but you will lose all of your shrimp if you don’t get your nitrogen cycle sorted.
Cycled tank means
Ammonia-0ppm Nitrites-0ppm Nitrates-(no more than) 10ppm
To get these results you need to START the cycle by introducing beneficial bacteria. That can be from bottled bb, using your fish/shrimp to start it (just adding them into a new tank), using pure ammonia, using a used filter/substrate or using fish food to make it dirty. Either way it requires patience, 3-6weeks. Weekly testing and then another dose of food/ammonia/bottled bb once you think it’s cycled so you can put it to the test and make sure there aren’t spikes before you add your livestock
2 weeks isn’t enough! you need to cycle for a month or longer to develop beneficial biofilms
i’ve had my tank set up since late october and it’s still not ready 😅 also you’ll want next to no ammonia. cycling for 2 weeks is probably good for a fish but not for shrimps who rely on lots of yuck to eat
Ok so your tank isn’t cycled as others have said. However, I would also consider other reasons why your shrimp could be dying.
Just cause you got a 0.25ppm for ammonia doesn’t mean ammonia is killing your shrimp, because
1) The API test often gives a false positive of 0.25
2) Even if your ammonia really is at 0.25, your pH is so low that you actually theoretically have next to NO AMMONIA in your tank
Given that:
1) Had you cleaned the tank with any detergents/soap or chemicals prior to setting up?
2) Do you dechlorinate your tap water?
3) Is there a chance something could have contaminated your tank with anything?
4) Where did you get the leaf from? Possibly unlikely, but given your situation, I might be suspicious of any pesticides/unwanted things leeching into your tank
Stop using tap water and use remineralized distilled/RODI/Spring water for a month or longer to test it out. I mean it doesn’t hurt using good quality water that you personally remineralized. Also do less water changes. Make sure to get a TDS pen.
Moving shrimp from tank to tank can cause deaths too. So I think at least 2 of those deaths could possibly be from that.
Often people say to just use your tap water and have your shrimp acclimate to that but I don’t think us shrimp owners can trust tap water with how often we see deaths with tap-water water changes. We lose so many colonies after tap water changes where all other parameters are the same.
Shrimp love tannins and are they drip acclimated?
i wanna add that it seems that ur water is too soft in general, so u want to add crashed coral, rocks, limestone, etc. driftwood will lower the PH and make it even softer. both KH and GH make it so ur tank hardness is on very low end of what’s generally recommended for neocaridina. and also low KH means that PH fluctuations are going to be more apparent, so the driftwood and leaves can actually alter PH way more than if ur KH would be higher
I would put the shrimp all back into the Betta tank. It’s already cycled and likely will be a safer environment. If the Betta can’t be trusted around shrimp do the fish in cycle in the new tank with the Betta, they are much more hardy and likely to survive water issues than those poor shrimp. Just make sure you are doing daily water changes and keeping an eye on him. Fish in cycles are not ideal for healthy pets.
If the Betta leaves the shrimp alone I would just let them all live in harmony until you can get the new tank properly cycled. Honestly shrimp will do better in a tank that has matured, not just cycled. Throw a snail or the Betta in the new tank to keep it cycled, plenty of plants and leaf material, and let it sit and grow for a month or more. Then and only then add the shrimp.
[deleted]
I’m seeing a few things.
1) Your tank isn’t fully cycled. Even with adding the beneficial bacteria it’s best to cycle the tank for a couple weeks at least. Shrimp in particular are finicky with water parameters.
2) Even once it’s cycled, it’s better to ‘Age’ your tank with shrimp. Allow time for biofilm and algae to grow that the shrimp will eat
3) I see you’re using aquasoil which is good. But it can throw water parameters off for a bit at first. Can make creatures as sensitive as shrimp to die
Well you have ammonia so that will kill them but also you should add cuttlebone to your filter it will prevent failed molts and bring your Ph closer to 7.8 which would be ideal for neos
Did you drip acclimate the shrimp before adding them to the tank?
One of the most important things in the aquarium hobby and especially shrimp is patience. Aquatic animals want stability and stability only comes with time. The question people always ask is how fast can I cycle? what bottles of chemicals ammonia and bacteria can i add to make it faster? Do these colors look good on my test kit? That’s the wrong way to approach creating a slice of nature in your home. If you can get used filter media like a sponge filter and squeeze it out onto your tank that might help.
Well for starters even having .25 PPM ammonia can be lethal. I’d start by getting that to 0. It seems like 2 weeks isn’t long enough for a tank to be cycled unless you’ve been following the directions for the beneficial bacteria supplement to a T. Most recommend adding an amount everyday for a few weeks.
Second of all and most important for shrimp keeping is you HAVE to drip acclimate. Idc how pristine your water is. Unless you have the exact same tank water that you’ve dumped into another you will be drip acclimating. This ensures a 99% survival rate guaranteed vs those who don’t.
Some Shrimp can be hardy, but they have to be acclimated to be that way. I’m not surprised those employees kind of led you astray but now you know what to do from here on out.
Good luck
[Ingredients](https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/7154-DawnUltraPlatinumPowerwashDishSprayFreshScent/#:~:text=Ingredients%20from%20the%20label,%2C%20TETRASODIUM%20GLUTAMATE%20DIACETATE%2C%20WATER.) of the spray bottle of Dawn Powerwash that’s 1 foot from your tank.
Shrimp need an aged environment to survive and graze on surfaces properly this tank looks like it was scaped this morning
That set up on the ledge of the counter gives me ptsd! Yikes
Agree with all the comments. Learn how to cycle
Nice work on the aquascape
Your tank is very new, which is a problem. but, sometimes, shrimp die because they are not good at changing tank parameters, and the stress of moving to new tank and different water will kill some off. You might get lucky, the rest might live, and then you have a breeding colony.
Tank is too new. If you look at a true shrimp keepers tank they will be covered in algae on the walls. I had a similar problem with my shrimp until I just let the algae build up and only scraped the front glass. Now I have shrimplets everywhere and everyone is happy. You need to cycle you shrimp tank for up to 9 weeks, and in this cycling you need to be growing algae.
Not sure if anyone mentioned yet, the tank is near a kitchen area… does anyone use spray disinfectants, fresheners or pesticides near the tank? Because many of those products can be toxic to aquatic lifeforms and inverts. If such aerosol or fumes get into the tank it can cause shrimps deaths too.
First thing i’d do to save the remaining shrimp is call around to the local fish stores including the big box ones, find out if they have guppy grass, water wisteria, hygrophila, water sprite, or hornwort. These plants grow well free floating and don’t need to become established to be beneficial. My goal would be to get enough of these plants to pack the tank from top to bottom and front to back. These types of plants hit the water hungry for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, as well as other elements and chemical compounds. Floating plants do the same but too many would block light enough to limit the submerged plants efficiency. I’d also ask if you can buy a filter cartridge from an established filter they currently have that’s been running for at least a month or two. The goal with obtaining a filter cartridge is that it would likely have established bacterial colonies and all you’d need to do is add it to the tank somewhere near the filter outflow. The shrimp would find it soon after and begin feeding off of it also which would be a good thing in your new setup and eliminate the need for adding any additional food. You may need to visit more than one store to get everything you need but once the tank is packed with free floating plants they will begin eating any free ammonia & nitrite that becomes available and help stabilize the water parameters without the need for excessive water changes. Any water changes you do should be done with water that has been treated with a good water conditioner, aged a few days, heated to the same temp as the tank water, and added very slowly. Other things to address once the plants and established filter cartridge are in place is removal of the bone rock. Of it is indeed bone or once was bone, water with a pH below 7 will slowly dissolve it increasing the GH and/or KH. Another reason shrimp experience failed molts is due to water that’s too hard making their shells too hard and thick for them to escape during molting. In addition, as mentioned already, if your substrate is anything but UNS controsoil, it may release ammonia during the first month or so when newly added which the additional plants mentioned above will address. Lastly, once the plants and filter cartridge are in place, you will have time to address pH, GH & KH parameters but this should be done slowly and only after you know the pH, GH & KH of your tap water is. Distilled water is readily available at practically any grocery store and is a reliable and economical way to buffer tap water that is too hard. If however your water is softer and slightly acidic as yours seems to be according to your stated parameters, Salty Shrimp and other aftermarket products can be added using specific dosages to change water parameters so they’re more suited to your shrimps’ needs.
Is this a new tank, or has it been used previously?
Wow this tripped me out almost the same exact setup and location in apartment. I feel like everyone answered the question for you. Shrimp are more sensitive to changes in general but I had a handful of super hardy shrimp survive my beginner mistakes lol even beyond some of my fish.
But yeah now I always cycle before getting animals or I’ll prep filter media in an old tank for a month at the very least
Another tip if you put a cheap led strip on t he edge of the tank it looks very cool
Honestly I think weak few dies in the first month
Hey there, had similar problem recently, except for I left my tank alone for 3 weeks, but it still wasn’t fully cycled. I have 4 khuli loaches (which were added in week 3) who are thankfully still all alive and well, but I panicked when I checked my nitrites.
There was some minor ammonia issue which I treated with ammo lock for 4 days to neutralise it and after the second test ammonia was gone, but my nitrites were the last to stabilise.
I did some large water changes for the first 3 days and tested nitrites every time pre and post water change then down to 30% water changes daily. I had to do this for a week or so in total and everything managed to stabilise with no casualties. Hope this helps.