Jump to content

My new 5 Gallon

Crabby

By Crabby
in Fish Tanks

 Share

Recommended Posts

Crabby Shrimp Breeder

Crabby

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Got some interesting test results today. Low ammonia, nitrite spike and nitrate is appearing. GH is 5.5 and KH 1.5, which is weird. And my pH is the weirdest - it was 7.4 two days ago, and is 6.2 today. And the 7.4 was measured AFTER my last water change. Is this seriously all the work of ammonia?!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
sdlTBfanUK Shrimp Master

sdlTBfanUK

Posted
Posted

I would expect that to happen using soil based substrate, but you say you aren't sing that type? What is the substrate you are using?

Do you have the water parameters of your source water to hand?

Simon

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crabby Shrimp Breeder

Crabby

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I use an inert sand. Plan to test how 'inert' it actually is when I have some time tomorrow. Or to start the experiment at least. Blazepelt has the same substrate and hasn't had problems as far as I'm aware.  

Tap is 7.2 pH, 4 GH and 1-2 KH I think, but I water change with aged water from my 29 gal. Params in there at last water change were 0 Nitrite, 0 Nitrate, 1.0 Ammonia/ammonium (pretty safe), pH 6.4-6.6, GH 4, KH 2. Straight tap never goes into this tank. I do this because I plan to keep some native shrimp in here that prefer aged water. Figured I'd get used to doing it this way. Will soon add some crushed coral or a pH buffer similar to that. 

I have some cholla wood (driftwood) in the tank too, which is releasing tannins and reducing pH, but it still doesn't all make sense to me. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
sdlTBfanUK Shrimp Master

sdlTBfanUK

Posted
Posted

The source water (29L tank) is close enough to the readings you got except GH 1.5 higher so there may be something in this tank increasing the GH? I don't know what the parameters of your native shrimp are though?

If you haven't got a TDS pen then I would recommend you to get one as they are very cheap and so much quicker/easier to use? Get from somewhere trusted though!

Simon

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crabby Shrimp Breeder

Crabby

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Did a water test on the tank this weekend, after doing a large water change last week and adding a fish to finish the cycling, and the pH and GH have risen way too much. Water params were pH 7, GH 6 and KH 3 after the water change last week, and are now pH 7.6 (maximum on my test kit), GH 10 and KH 3. The guppy I have in here for bacteria purposes is still doing fine, he was living in hard water for a while before I got him so I assume he's used to it. What might have made these increase so much? All I've done recently is top up the substrate over the crushed coral in there, and plant some plants in there. And I used some aquarium glue - meant for 'freshwater and saltwater aquariums', in particular for coral frags and rocks - to glue some plants, algae and moss to a couple of pieces of driftwood. It was made for aquariums though... 

Both times I tested, last week and this, the Ammonia Nitrite and Nitrate were barely there, so I doubt it's that. Any ideas? 

Thanks in advance.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jayc Shrimp Guru

jayc

Posted
Posted
37 minutes ago, Crabby said:

crushed coral

You have crushed coral in there?

That is the thing that is raising GH and KH, and thus pH.

People use crushed coral for Tanganyika cichlids that love high pH and hard water.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crabby Shrimp Breeder

Crabby

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

The thing is I only used a couple handfuls to try to bring it up to neutral. Still too much? I can remove it, but it's in the sand form mixed in with my black substrate, so it might be difficult.

Also as you say it's meant to increase kh, but mine hasn't shifted at all.

Edited by Crabby
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jayc Shrimp Guru

jayc

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Crabby said:

Also as you say it's meant to increase kh, but mine hasn't shifted at all.

It changes the water very, very slowly. KH will rise eventually.  But GH will shoot up as any loose dust on the coral will dissolve immediately to add calcium into the water. A GH test kit will pick that up. KH will alter slowly however.

So if you want to get pH KH and GH down, try removing as much as possible.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crabby Shrimp Breeder

Crabby

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Okay thanks, it was in a sand format so I think that's why the GH went up like crazy, 'cause every time I messed up my substrate I flung dust into the water. Gonna be more careful of that from now on. And will use crushed coral bones in future, I think. I did try to remove as much as I could, but it was thoroughly mixed through. As long as I leave the substrate alone will that stop it from skyrocketing again? It's buried under substrate as well now, which will keep it safe from the fish messing it up I guess. Thanks jayc!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jayc Shrimp Guru

jayc

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, Crabby said:

As long as I leave the substrate alone will that stop it from skyrocketing again?

It might not skyrocket up in a short timeframe, but it will continue to buffer your water towards alkaline.

Whenever the water drops in pH (acid), it is this acid that dissolves the coral slightly releasing calcium which raises the GH, KH and pH. Slight chemistry lesson. ?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 months later...
Crabby Shrimp Breeder

Crabby

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Crabby needs some shrimpy sharing time ?

So when I started shrimp keeping I did months of research, and as such I felt that the research was just as good as hands on experience, so I went straight into the deep end with caridina shrimp. Surprisingly, I've done alright with them, so I thought it was time to give neos a go. Doing it in reverse here ?

On saturday, I bought myself a batch of 15 high quality blue dream juvies! I'm absolutely loving them, and I'll post some pics I got last night in the gallery. I've seen a moult from one of them, which is a great sign that they're healthy, and they've been relatively active. Still only seen 7 out of the 15 at once, but oh well, they're shrimp ?

Also got a pic of what looked like shrimp sex... is that prawnography? 

 

-Crabby

Edited by Crabby
Added link to pics
  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
sdlTBfanUK Shrimp Master

sdlTBfanUK

Posted
Posted

Those blue shrimp have a wonderful colour and contrast/compliment nicely with the tangering tigers! Some will probably be hiding away somewhere until they get used to their new environment?

Simon

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

    Shrimp Disease and Treatment
    Tibee, Taitbee, Pinto, Mischling, F1, F2

  • Tropical Fish Forum
    Discus Breeding Guide
    Discus Disease and Treatment Guide

  • Posts

    • sdlTBfanUK
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By sdlTBfanUK · Posted

      I would hazard a guess that perhaps those eggs were unfertilized and thereby unviable? Did the eggs change colour, usually yellow to grey as the yolks used up, or any eyes in the eggs. Is your water ok, using RO remineralised and the parameters in range, as I have heard others say that if the water isn't good it can 'force' a molt? How is it going overall, do you have a good size colony in the tank, you may have reached 'maximum occupancy' as a tank can only support so many occupants.
    • beanbag
      Shrimp molting before eggs are hatched

      By beanbag · Posted

      Hello folks,  The current problem I am having is that my Taiwan bee shrimp are molting before all their eggs have hatched.  Often the shrimp keep the eggs for 40+ days.  During that time, they lose about half or so, either due to dropping or duds or whatever.  Shortly before molting they look to have about a dozen left, and then they molt with about half a dozen eggs still on the shell.  Then the other shirmp will come and eat the shell.  These last few times, I have been getting around 0-3 surviving babies per batch.  I figure I can make the eggs hatch faster by raising the water temperature more (currently around 68F, which is already a few degrees higher than I used to keep it) or make the shrimp grow slower by feeding them less (protein).  Currently I feed Shrimp King complete every other day, and also a small dab of Shrimp Fit alternating days.  Maybe I can start alternating with more vegetable food like mulberry?  or just decrease the amount of food?
    • ngoomie
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By ngoomie · Posted

      Yeah, cancer risk was a thing I'd seen mentioned a lot when looking into gentian violet briefly. I kinda just figured it might only be as bad as the cancer risk of malachite green as well, but maybe I should look into it more. I've been doing a pretty good job of not getting it on my skin and also avoiding dunking my unprotected hands into the tank water while treating my fish at least, though. Maybe I'll just not use it once I'm done this course of medication anyways, because I know a store I can sometimes get to that's pretty distant carries both malachite green and methylene blue, and in pretty large quantities.
    • jayc
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By jayc · Posted

      Can't help you with Gentian Violet, sorry. It is banned in Australia violet for potential toxicity, and even possible cancer risks. I thought it was banned in Canada as well. At least, you now know why there isn't much info on gentian violet medication and it's use. But keep an eye on the snails after a week. If it affects the snails, it might not kill them immediately. So keep checking for up to a week. Much safer options out there. No point risking your own life over unsafe products.
    • ngoomie
      Shrimp and meds containing gentian violet

      By ngoomie · Posted

      Hello! I have a tank that currently does not contain shrimp, but does contain neon tetras which I am currently treating for Ich, as well as some bladder snails. Shrimp will be a later addition, likely cherry shrimp but I'm still doing research just to be sure. Initially I'd intended to buy some sort of Ich-fighting product that contains malachite green after doing a decent bit of research on it, most of which indicated that it should be shrimp-safe so I'd be good if I ever needed to use it again once shrimp were actually introduced (though I should note I'm aware shrimp can't get Ich, I'm more wondering in case the tetras could get Ich again, or something else that responds to similar medication). I ended up not being able to find any MG-containing products without either having to travel quite far or wait multiple days for delivery (which I was worried could lead the Ich to be fatal), and ended up picking up 'Top Fin Ick Remedy', a product that contains gentian violet which is a triarylmethane dye like malachite green. The bottle has two slightly differently worded warnings about its use with invertebrates ("not recommended for" and "not safe for" respectively), but when I'd been researching malachite green, I'd also heard of products that contain MG but not any other ingredients that would be harmful to inverts still being branded with warnings that they could be harmful, just as a "just-in-case" since the manufacturer didn't test it on any inverts, and I'm wondering if maybe it could be a similar situation here. I'm having a very very hard time finding information about gentian violet's use in fishkeeping at all though, it seems currently extremely uncommon. What I will say though is that I'm on day 2 of treating my tetras with it, and the bladder snails seem just fine -- in fact today I noticed what looked to be a bladder snail that appeared to be newly hatched (because of its size) that I hadn't seen before that was zipping around the tank without issue. But obviously, shrimp are not snails, and bladder snails are also notoriously hardy little guys, so what I'm seeing right now could easily be totally inapplicable to cherry shrimp. It might even be inapplicable to other species of snails, for all I know. Has anyone else here ever used anything that contains gentian violet in a tank that actually does contain shrimp? Were they okay, or should I make sure to not use it once shrimp are added?
×
×
  • Create New...