Ghost shrimp advice...

[LEGENDARY70]

Hello all.

I went to petsmart and bought some snails, tetras and two ghost shrimp (they are clear). I woke up this morning and the shrimp are dead. the fish are fine. what could have caused that? Store told me they are hardy.
thx

 

[LEGENDARY70]

i left the bag in the tank for about an hour before putting them in.

 

[Stefan3289]

Is it just the snail and ghost shrimp or are there other fish in the tank?
Edit: somehow didn’t see the tetra was in there, but what kind were they? Also was the tank cycled prior and for how long

 

[Circus]

Shrimp are generally more sensitive to water conditions than fish. If this tank is uncycled, then it is likely that adding so much livestock at once cause an ammonia spike.

Also, the change in water conditions can cause fish and inverts to go into shock and die if the change is too much. Did you acclimate by pouring tank water into the bag, or just floating it?

 

[LEGENDARY70]

Just floating in. I read about cycling but have not done it. I have had the tank for about going on two months. I was told at store to change and clean the tank every two months at least. Can someone explain the basics of cycling please?

I have a snail and 3 tetras plus the two shrimp that died in one tank.

The other tank has two tetras, a catfish bottom dweller, had two shrimp (died as well) and a guppy.

 

[Circus]

First thing first, do water changes of about 75%. If the tanks just sat, they are not cycled. You need to add ammonia or fish food to grow and feed the beneficial bacteria necessary for fish to survive. Then read these.

Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part I

RESCUING A FISH IN CYCLE GONE WILD Part I If you are reading this it means you have tried to cycle your tank using fish and have run into problems and don’t know what to do. Before we begin to discuss the potential solutions, we would like to make it clear that we do not recommend to...

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Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

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[Stefan3289]

When you cycle a new tank, your main goal is to not only create stable readings (use a API test kit) but to also create a colony of beneficial bacteria that can break down the ammonia, nitrate, nitrites, etc. A way to do this is by adding tank water from an existing tank, adding substrate or decoration. You can also had some API quick start (however, even if it says "immediate addition of fish", I would not trust that).

One of the biggest flaws is adding an entire stock of fish to the tank when the readings are stable, because the bacteria will become overwhelmed, and you will end up with fish starting to die.

I recommend adding 2, no more than three fish/live stock to the tank at once and then wait at least a few days and see if the readings stay the same. If they go up, do a water change.

 

[LEGENDARY70]

what do you mean by this:

If the tanks just sat, they are not cycled

api quick start?

thx

 

[Stefan3289]

what do you mean by this:

If the tanks just sat, they are not cycled

api quick start?

thx

What he means is if there is nothing that can start a bacteria colony, for example you simply fill the tank, have a new filter, substrate, decor etc. then the tank isn't being cycled it is simply sitting there.

API quick start is essentially beneficial bacteria in a bottle, and you would add this to new tanks to help create the needed bacteria colony to actually "cycle" the tank.

 

[Circus]

Exactly what Stefan3289 says. The bacteria needs to eat in order to grow, which would mean adding fish food or ammonia.

Even with quick start the tank is not instantly cycled and you would still have to "feed" it until the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings stabilized so that the first 2 read 0.

 

[LEGENDARY70]

ok great.

im using these:
Aqueon Pure Bacteria Supplement

i put a ball in a week. is this good? I also used some water conditioner that the store told me to use. I also have two live plants in one of my tanks. I am getting plants today for the other tank. Can I put in a pothos plant in to the tanks?

thank u all for all the great info

 

[Stefan3289]

ok great.

im using these:
Aqueon Pure Bacteria Supplement

i put a ball in a week. is this good? I also used some water conditioner that the store told me to use. I also have two live plants in one of my tanks. I am getting plants today for the other tank. Can I put in a pothos plant in to the tanks?

thank u all for all the great info

While I cannot help you in terms of plants since I have not had them (future endeavor), what water conditioner do you use?
Plants can help with breaking down ammonia, however, not sure how else they would play in the bacteria cycle.. @Circus

 

[Circus]

You should buy a test kit that read ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. That would help us tell you where you are in the cycle. To be safe, I would perform daily water changes of at least 40%, and don't forget to add the dechlorinator and match the temperature as close as you can.

 

[Circus]

Pothos is a good plant for taking in ammonia. You should put it in the filter, though and not directly into the tank. Good plants that grow quickly are hornwort, swords, and floating plants like frogbit or duckweed.

 

[Stefan3289]

A great water conditioner/dechlorinator is "Prime". Highly recommend over the tetra or aqueon products.