New to keeping shrimp; what am I doing wrong?

Hi! I’ve got a fully cycled 10g tank that I’m hoping to keep RCS in. However, I haven’t been very successful so far, and it’s been a bit demoralizing.

I know to drip acclimate, but every time I add in shrimp, there’s always a few deaths. As my tank is heavily planted, it’s difficult to notice and remove dead shrimp without tearing apart the tank once I notice an ammonia spike the next day. This then leads to a cycle of dead shrimp —> ammonia spike —> 20% - 50% water changes —> dead shrimp until they all die off.

I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I dose my tank with prime and amguard, and I know my fertilizer is shrimp safe. All my water changes are conducted via drips.

 

Are you using active substrate? What was the cycling process?

 

Does the tank have a filter or filters ?

 

Are you using active substrate? What was the cycling process?

My substrate is seachem flourite. The cycle has been established for a few years now, I used to keep my betta in here before upgrading her to a new tank.

 

What do you feed your shrimp ? And how many shrimp do you have in the tank

 

I had similar experience with shrimp until I learned about TDS and TDS pens/meters.

They are also very sensitive to copper, so if you are using tap water NEVER use hot water. Apparently on the hot side copper leaches into the water.

With the price of RODI systems being relatively inexpensive I ended up just buying a 50$ 4 stage setup and remineralize with shrimp salt.

I've only been really keeping shrimp for about a month ( 20 blue dream and 20 golden yellow) since I learned about the TDS stuff and I found my first ever berried female yesterday.

So from a newbie that's gone overboard on shrimp, seems to be all about that TDS and no copper.

For neocaridina, cherry shrimp, I've been targeting 200. The breeder I got them from said try to keep them between 200-300.

Good luck, I'm sure an expert will weigh in, but that what I've found so far.

 

Does the tank have a filter or filters ?

There’s a sponge filter in the tank.

What do you feed your shrimp ? And how many shrimp do you have in the tank

I started with 6, they slowly died over a course of a week and I’ve got 2 left. I’m a bit afraid to try again with more. They get algae wafers that I remove after an hour, and are fed once every few days due to the ammonia issues I’m battling.

 

I believe the “ammonia issues” are the root of the problem. ?
A cycled tank will not have any ammonia present.
In a tank that has been established for “ a few years” there will be no ammonia present on a test even with the death of small fish. A shrimp or two is not enough to make a noticeable difference in ammonia.

Is there ammonia in the tap water?
How long was the tank empty between the betta and the new arrivals?

 

I believe the “ammonia issues” are the root of the problem. ?
A cycled tank will not have any ammonia present.
In a tank that has been established for “ a few years” there will be no ammonia present on a test even with the death of small fish. A shrimp or two is not enough to make a noticeable difference in ammonia.

Is there ammonia in the tap water?
How long was the tank empty between the betta and the new arrivals?

There was no ammonia in the tank prior to the addition of the shrimp — I used the API liquid test prior to adding the shrimp and it came back yellow. I moved the betta to the new tank and then I drip acclimated the shrimp over 2 hours before adding them into the tank. The next day it shot up to 2ppm, and it’s been a battle since. I’ve had to take everything but the filter out of the tank about once a day to check for dead shrimp after I found one dead deep within the roots of a plant after a few days — would that have affected things much? And if so, what should I do instead?

I haven’t thought to test the tap water for ammonia, but I can do so when I get home.

 

Hmm for old tanks best not to move decor or plants around too much, can stir up a lot of waste in the substrate. Also best to avoid feeding and fertilizing initially. 6 shrimps will live happily off of your plants and algae.

 

I also know from personal experience the danger of moving substrate in an established tank .

I would also agree 6 shrimp don’t need to be feed in an established tank . Or putting it another way they will not starve in an established tank if not feed for a few weeks. There would be ( before cleaning) lots of bio film on old established objects , enough for 6 shrimp. It is a ten gallon tank not a tiny half gallon jar after all.

Something is wrong with the cycle if it cannot consume the tiny bit of ammonia from a few dead shrimp. I actually question if a few dead shrimp could make 2 ppm ammonia in ten gallons. I am not saying there is no ammonia I just don’t think a few dead shrimp would equal 2 ppm.

Looking for a totally different explanation as to why the shrimp failed. If they were new to the shop and had already been in multiple locations with multiple different water types including shipping bags the may already have been stressed. That however does not explain the ammonia.

Edit
I had to look up amguard. It’s not a product I have used or see any reason anyone would use. I read of its magic powers .
It’s a water de chlorinator . You are adding two de chlorinators when you use that.

 

I also know from personal experience the danger of moving substrate in an established tank .

I would also agree 6 shrimp don’t need to be feed in an established tank . Or putting it another way they will not starve in an established tank if not feed for a few weeks. There would be ( before cleaning) lots of bio film on old established objects , enough for 6 shrimp. It is a ten gallon tank not a tiny half gallon jar after all.

Something is wrong with the cycle if it cannot consume the tiny bit of ammonia from a few dead shrimp. I actually question if a few dead shrimp could make 2 ppm ammonia in ten gallons. I am not saying there is no ammonia I just don’t think a few dead shrimp would equal 2 ppm.

Looking for a totally different explanation as to why the shrimp failed. If they were new to the shop and had already been in multiple locations with multiple different water types including shipping bags the may already have been stressed. That however does not explain the ammonia.

Edit
I had to look up amguard. It’s not a product I have used or see any reason anyone would use. I read of its magic powers .
It’s a water de chlorinator . You are adding two de chlorinators when you use that.

I used it because I was told by the shrimp subreddit that prime doesn’t help with ammonia, and I panicked.

I didn’t know that moving substrate was dangerous — I thought it was beneficial because I can then access and remove waste; I see now that that was wrong.

Hmm for old tanks best not to move decor or plants around too much, can stir up a lot of waste in the substrate. Also best to avoid feeding and fertilizing initially. 6 shrimps will live happily off of your plants and algae.

I didn’t know that; I thought moving things around helped, because I can then access and remove waste in the substrate, right? In the future, if I try again, is it better to not search for shrimp corpses if I notice an ammonia spike?

 

Perhaps I was not very clear in my earlier post?
Very old established substrate that has not been disturbed for a while can potentially have gas pockets under it. Turning all the substrate over on the same day can in some cases disturb this gas and let it all out at once. It’s rare thing I believe?

 

I used it because I was told by the shrimp subreddit that prime doesn’t help with ammonia, and I panicked.

I didn’t know that moving substrate was dangerous — I thought it was beneficial because I can then access and remove waste; I see now that that was wrong.

I didn’t know that; I thought moving things around helped, because I can then access and remove waste in the substrate, right? In the future, if I try again, is it better to not search for shrimp corpses if I notice an ammonia spike?

Hmm an established tank shouldn't be having ammonia spikes from some cherries, that's the worrying issue. Hence why I dont recommend adding any nitrogen source (food, ferts etc) or doing anything that can release a lot of ammonia (ie stirring up substrate).

With cherries they can survive in a bucket with some water and fast growing weed plants and light on a timer. No feeding, no products, just water top offs.

When I sell shrimp to new shrimpkeepers I often tell them to do the "bucket test", put half of their shrimps in the bucket and compare it with their expensive tanks. Often times the bucket shrimps thrive while their tank struggle