Starting up help?

[ShrimpTime]

I recently set up a 10 gallon shrimp tank I let it cycle for a week with a anubias plant, sand, and a sponge filter. After a week my local fish store told me it would be ok to add shrimp along with some bacteria, however my red cherry shrimp seems to be sluggish and rather inactive, in addition she has started to fall onto her side from time to time, currently she has lots of eggs that might be weighing her down? any help or suggestions would be great. My two other shrimp (Fire red and Orange sunkist) are very active and are usually exploring the tank or on the sponge filter.

Tested my tank with test strips today, everything checked out as perfect so I am at a loss. Any help is greatly appreciated

[Mustafa]

You can't just cycle for a week. Your tank is not even cycled at that point. Even after normal cycling (i.e. establishing nitrifying bacteria) you need to wait another month or two for the tank to mature and find its biological balance. Unfortunately your shrimp will mostly likely die and there is nothing you can do about it. I would recommend reading every bit of information you can find on this website (and watch for updates coming) and search the forums before buying more shrimp. That way you're likely to have a better experience next time around. It's always better to be informed (and learn from the mistakes of others who were willing to share in this forum) than to make the same mistakes others made all over again. The person in the store obviously has no idea about shrimp.

[ShrimpTime]

Thank you for the advice, a grim prediction indeed. The shrimp however sprang back to life and began walking about and is now hanging out on the filter, could i have just been resting? I read elsewhere on the forums that if all the shrimps do die off to get a few hardy fish while the tank matures, is this a good idea still? I have had the three shrimp for a week now and have seen no other signs of illness, hopefully the fish store did not steer me into too wrong of a direction. Thank you for any and all help.

[Newjohn]

I read elsewhere on the forums that if all the shrimps do die off to get a few hardy fish while the tank matures

If you want to spend the extra money on Fish that you do not really want, to mature/season your tank you can.
I prefer to use Snails ( Not Pond Snails ) to help Season the Tank after the it is Cycled.

This way you do not have to dispose of the unwanted Fish.

[Mustafa]

Thank you for the advice, a grim prediction indeed. The shrimp however sprang back to life and began walking about and is now hanging out on the filter, could i have just been resting?

Shrimp don't rest, especially not on their sides. They don't even sleep. They only stop picking around for food right before a molt and right after if they are healthy. If they are not healthy and/or the tank is not mature yet, they just linger around without doing much of anything...they won't even eat any food that is offered. As Newjohn already implied, what would you do with the fish after it/they has/have helped mature the tank? Not a good idea.... I would take most advice with a grain of salt (a huge grain, chunk? ) as the vast majority of people out there still don't have any idea about why their shrimp are doing well or not doing well and dispense with advice readily...good or bad. As with anything, good advice is hard to come by...you just got some of that rare commodity.

[ShrimpTime]

They are all eating, one molted, and they are all constantly active. Hopefully things have taken a change for the better? I will keep all advice in mind for the future however, Thank you!