newbie here with a couple simple questions

[chinamon]

hey everyone,

im brand new to the shrimp scene (just discovered it on saturday at a local nursery that had an entire section just for dwarf shrimp) and i got hooked immediately. ive owned fish, firebelly newts, turtles and fiddler crabs in the past but shrimp seem to be a little more intricate. i will be starting with red cherry shrimp as i learn.

i have an old 10gal tank laying around so i went out today and purchased the following:
-sponge filter
-aqueon aquarium hood with 18" 15watt t8 full spectrum fluorescent bulb
-aquaclear powerhead
-fluval stratum substrate
-digital thermometer
-heater
-api freshwater master test kit
-api pH up
-api pH down
-big al's aquarium water conditioner (dechlorinater)
-big al's bio support
-fluval shrimp granules
-java ferns

i filled my tank using tap water and added the water conditioner and bio support. i am currently cycling my tank and was wondering what the recommended ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels should be? i will be adjusting the pH to ~7.0.

also, any additional information would be greatly appreciated.
thanks in advance!

edit: i just tested the water in my tank and the pH is 7.6, ammonia is 0.5ppm, nitrite is 0ppm and nitrate is 0ppm

[Mustafa]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! The tank must be fully cycled, which means that your ammonia must be 0. I would wait until you see some algae growth on the side walls of your tank before even thinking about putting shrimp in there. Also, make sure that your powerhead is shrimp-safe...shrimp and their offspring tend to get sucked into powerheads easily (and get mangled).

Other than that, I would recommend reading all the articles on this website, and performing a ton of forum searches as almost all beginner questions have been answered at one point or another already, as you might imagine.

[chinamon]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! The tank must be fully cycled, which means that your ammonia must be 0. I would wait until you see some algae growth on the side walls of your tank before even thinking about putting shrimp in there. Also, make sure that your powerhead is shrimp-safe...shrimp and their offspring tend to get sucked into powerheads easily (and get mangled).

Other than that, I would recommend reading all the articles on this website, and performing a ton of forum searches as almost all beginner questions have been answered at one point or another already, as you might imagine.

i just tested my water a few minutes ago and the pH is 6.8, ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0 and nitrate is 10ppm.

there is already a layer of biofilm on top of the water. my powerhead is definitely shrimp-safe because it is connected to my sponge filter instead of using an air stone/air pump.

i think im going to put a few shrimp in the tank tomorrow and see how it goes.

[Mustafa]

How did it go? Just make sure that you put some calcium carbonate rock into your tank (not a huge rock..just a small one should be enough for now) so your Ph does not dip too much below 7. If it does, your microorganism flora and fauna change, which can cause havoc among your shrimp. Try to keep the nitrates under 5.

[chinamon]

How did it go? Just make sure that you put some calcium carbonate rock into your tank (not a huge rock..just a small one should be enough for now) so your Ph does not dip too much below 7. If it does, your microorganism flora and fauna change, which can cause havoc among your shrimp. Try to keep the nitrates under 5.

i put 30 shrimp in my tank and about 10-15 of them died (not sure on the exact number). i tested my water and the pH is 6.6, ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 0ppm, gh 4, kh 2. i think my tank was not ready for shrimp yet because i only did a two week cycle. i used tap water with water condition and bacteria additives.

i ordered some shirakura mineral stone from ebay so i hope thats the calcium carbonate rock that you're talking about.

[demonte1997]

I assume you acclimated them?

That PH is quite low. I'd keep it around 7.5 if possible.

[dagray]

Make sure the sponge on your filter isn't too coarse as shrimplets can get trapped in the sponge if you are powering the filter with a Power head. A solution to this is to put a media bag for a sump style filter or some pantyhose over your sponge as a pre-filter to keep smaller shrimp from getting sucked into the power head or getting sucked into the sponge and getting stuck.

Dave

[Mustafa]

Hmmm...where did you buy the shrimp? In a local store? Online? Imported? Shipped properly (if shipped)? If shrimp are not a good shape when you purchase them, lots of them (if not all) will die no matter how perfect your tank is. A ph of 6.6 with a kh of 2 does not make sense, though. Unless you have a CO2 system, at kh2 your ph should be way over 7. As for calcium carbonate....any old sea shell, , egg shells, coral rock, or other rock containing calcium carbonate will do. I don't know what kind of "mineral stone" shirakura sells, but I find it unnecessary to pay premium prices for such things...and they won't even say what it really is.

i put 30 shrimp in my tank and about 10-15 of them died (not sure on the exact number). i tested my water and the pH is 6.6, ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 0ppm, gh 4, kh 2. i think my tank was not ready for shrimp yet because i only did a two week cycle. i used tap water with water condition and bacteria additives.

i ordered some shirakura mineral stone from ebay so i hope thats the calcium carbonate rock that you're talking about.