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27th and 28th I did the Hydrogen Peroxide treatments. Afterwards she would hide and usually be pretty stationary for the next 12 hours or so, so I was worried I was stressing her out too much. The patches also got larger, and began to darken. On the night of the 29th, I decided to try something weird I had been thinking about for a few months - Oregano. I couldn't find anything online about using Oregano to fight bacterial infections in cherry shrimp, but knew it had interesting antiseptic properties. I did find this experiment with Whiteleg Shrimp, though, which was promising: http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0354-4664/2014/0354-46641404367G.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3B3D3qUXhrr22M-Xq0RcUmc1C4saKy_WyHPfKlr-DgccZDnVT-27T2ZNo Since I was thinking she would be dead in the morning based on her coloration and activity, I figured I'd try something drastic. I diluted a drop of oregano oil (83% carvacrol) in distilled water - I had made this dilute amount in July for something unrelated, so I'm not positive on exactly the dilution amount, but I believe it with something around 30-90 drops of water, probably closer to the 90. It still smells of oregano, but it doesn't burn when applied to skin. I wish I had a better idea of my exact measurements on this one, sorry. (I had done math with recommended drops [1-3 per day] and my weight versus the weight of 20 liters of water to figure out my dilution amount back then) I then applied 1 drop to a small piece of algae tablet, and let the drop sit for about 30 seconds to absorb. I also did this in my hand because I wanted to make sure the oregano was dilute enough that it didn't cause any burning for me. After that, I dropped it in the tank. I also threw in about 5-8 flakes of oregano. Just in case my oregano dilution was too dilute. On the 30th, the color of the splotches was lightening again, back to the rusty brown. She was still a bit sluggish, but she was out in the plants and grazing around more. I added more oregano flakes on the 30th (about 10-15 this time around) On the 31st, she looked much improved. The splotches seemed smaller to me. I thought I took a picture but cannot find it. I once more fed a piece of oregano oil soaked algae wafer, and 5-8 oregano flakes. Today, Nov 1st, all splotches are gone. She is far more active today as well. I'm pretty hopeful at this point. I'm not sure if it was the oregano or the peroxide or both. I am no vet. I have no idea if the oregano has damaged my beneficial bacteria, though no ammonia spike as of yet.

How have you seeded the new tank? ie. how have you started the bacteria colony in the new tank? Did you, for example, use the now matured filter media from the 5 gals? If that is the case, then you have seeded the new tank with millions of bacteria. Enough Nitrite consuming bacteria to not see any Nitrites. These Nitrite bacteria can convert nitrite fast enough into Nitrates that you don't detect any with test kits.