I just ordered Red Cherry Shrimp because I have had my tank setup for 3 weeks (1 week w/plants), and have a steadily growing mass of hair algae. I know the Petshrimp site says to wait until your tank is fully cycled, but I have a trace of nitrite left (nitrate is increasing slightly...about 3-5ppm right now). THe nitrite is at 0.25ppm, and is falling. I have zero ammonia. I'm hoping this small amount of nitrite will not be a problem once my shrimp arrive. It is also possible the tank will be fully cycled in the next few days.
My oxygen is above saturation, so the effects of any nitrite should be minimal, but I've never kept these shrimp before, so I don't know how sensitive they are to nitrite. ANyone know? BTW, I have a few fish, and they are thriving...no red gills, pumping gills or any problems whatsoever.
nitrite and red cherry shrimp
Moderator: Mustafa
I guess I'll just have to see, but from extensively reading posts regarding nitrite, nothing conclusively talks about low levels being harmful or how it affects the shrimp.
From setting up MANY aquariums with inverts before, I know that under some variables, such as high oxygen, electrolyte content, GH or temps, nitrite toxicity can vary. A blanket statement that ALL nitrite is bad ALWAYS, isn't completely true...at least with most aquatic organisms
I would have waited, but I need to attack the hair algae NOW, and I am fairly sure my tank is almost fully cycled. I guess I am just hoping that the high O2, low BOD, numerous plants and balanced GH will prevent the 0.25ppm nitrite from being a serious problem.
Like I said, we'll see.
From setting up MANY aquariums with inverts before, I know that under some variables, such as high oxygen, electrolyte content, GH or temps, nitrite toxicity can vary. A blanket statement that ALL nitrite is bad ALWAYS, isn't completely true...at least with most aquatic organisms
I would have waited, but I need to attack the hair algae NOW, and I am fairly sure my tank is almost fully cycled. I guess I am just hoping that the high O2, low BOD, numerous plants and balanced GH will prevent the 0.25ppm nitrite from being a serious problem.
Like I said, we'll see.
I think tiny amounts of nitrite should be ok, but it's still best to fully cycle. Also, shrimp are sensitive to chemicals in the water that cannot be testet with test kits available in the market. You can test everything you can think of and your water parameters can look just fine, but your shrimp can die one by one without you having a clue why. that is why it's so important to have tip-top water parameters and not take a chance.
Thanks Mustafa. THe shrimp have been in for 3 days now and are doing fine. Nitrite is still hovering around 0.25ppm.
I use either tap water dechlorinated & conditioned with Tap Water Conditioner (API) or DI water reconstituted with Electro Right and sodium bicarb. Our tap water is practically DI with a lot of chlorine and some copper. TDS out of our tap is les than 9ppm. GH and KH are both zero.
Aside from the fact that my shrimp have all disappeared (I see one every so often), they are completely fine. I attribute it to my very high O2.
I use either tap water dechlorinated & conditioned with Tap Water Conditioner (API) or DI water reconstituted with Electro Right and sodium bicarb. Our tap water is practically DI with a lot of chlorine and some copper. TDS out of our tap is les than 9ppm. GH and KH are both zero.
Aside from the fact that my shrimp have all disappeared (I see one every so often), they are completely fine. I attribute it to my very high O2.