URGENT: First Time Aquarium Owner

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BabyBlue

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Hi everyone!

Please I need some help!!! Yesterday I got 2 Ghost Shrimp and 4 Neon Tetras for my new tank and was ecstatic to see that one of the shrimp were carrying eggs. So I set up the tank and conditioned the water. I acclimated both the fish and shrimp for a good few hours before adding them to the tank which they energetically swam around. But when I woke up this morning the fish and shrimp were fine but the tank water was cloudy and there was white fluffy balls of algae floating around my tank. I was really worried about my new little creatures so I phoned the pet store that I got them at and they told me to put a drop of methylene blue in and so I did. But not even 5 minutes later the shrimp carrying eggs stopped moving and was just laying on the gravel. So I phoned the store again and they told me to warm up some of the water they came in a cup by letting it float in the tank and then put the shrimp in the cup with a bit of the tank water which I did BUT NOW the shrimp is turning a white colour and is still not moving and the tank water is still really cloudy.

Please can anyone help!!!! 😭😭😭
 

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Hi everyone!

Please I need some help!!! Yesterday I got 2 Ghost Shrimp and 4 Neon Tetras for my new tank and was ecstatic to see that one of the shrimp were carrying eggs. So I set up the tank and conditioned the water. I acclimated both the fish and shrimp for a good few hours before adding them to the tank which they energetically swam around. But when I woke up this morning the fish and shrimp were fine but the tank water was cloudy and there was white fluffy balls of algae floating around my tank. I was really worried about my new little creatures so I phoned the pet store that I got them at and they told me to put a drop of methylene blue in and so I did. But not even 5 minutes later the shrimp carrying eggs stopped moving and was just laying on the gravel. So I phoned the store again and they told me to warm up some of the water they came in a cup by letting it float in the tank and then put the shrimp in the cup with a bit of the tank water which I did BUT NOW the shrimp is turning a red/pink colour and is still not moving and the tank water is still really cloudy.

Please can anyone help!!!! 😭😭😭
Id stop dosing the tank with meds and do a large water change and keep on top of keeping their water clean why you work out what the issues are.

Cloudy water is often the result of a bacterial bloom whats caused from excess organics in your tank.

How long was the tank set up before you added your shrimp and neons? Was your tank cycled?
 
Meds often kill inverts
 
So I set up the tank and conditioned the water. I acclimated both the fish and shrimp for a good few hours before adding them to the tank
Does this mean you got the tank, filled it with water then put the fish and shrimps in the tank the same day?

AquaBarb asked about cycling, which means growing two colonies of bacteria to deal with the waste made by fish etc. This takes a few weeks before fish can be put in the tank. Not only do medications kill shrimps, but they are more sensitive to ammonia than fish. And ideally shrimps need a tank which has been running for several months.
I'll bet the pet store never mentioned cycling, very few of them do. They just sell you a tank and fish and let you walk out the door :(


So what to do now. I'm afraid shrimps won't survive in your tank at the moment, it needs to be cycled and run for a few months first. But you can save the neons.
You need to buy a test kit, or at the least testers for ammonia and nitrite.
Change half the water every day until you have the testers. Make sure the new water is dechlorinated and at the same temperature as the tank water.
Once you have the testers, test every day and do a water change whenever ammonia and/or nitrite read more than zero.
Feed the fish only once every two or even three days. More food = more ammonia.
Live plants take up ammonia as fertiliser so if you can get some, even just a few bunches of anacharis and leave the stems to float it will help.


We've mentioned cycling and talked about ammonia and nitrite so you are now probably thinking What?? The first part of this link explains cycling, though the second part is what to do before getting fish so ignore that bit.
 

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