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I have tested high Ph it is 7.6. I do not have a FH/kh testing kit either. Adding the wood would lower the ph a little right? Also, are the parameters I mentioned in my original post safe enough right now. Obviously I want to try and get them a little better!

And Crabby covered all your additional questions here. Great tag team!?

No you shouldn’t, this is what is naturally good for the tank, not a chemical. Yes, mix beforehand then add. Do this weekly if possible. And if you can, purchase the api GH/KH test kit, and/or a tds pen. Sorry I didn’t see that you had posted the same message on two different posts, jayc covered mostly the same stuff as I did. Except better of course ?

Hey Brando, How long has the tank been set up? You said you have had shrimp for 2 days, dosed fluval cycle 3 days before that... Sometimes people can get away with using those products for fish, but it’s not good for shrimp. They don’t produce much ammonia, but they like an ‘aged’ tank. This means it has lots of tiny little creatures, absolutely microscopic, that the shrimp can eat. Along with those an aged tank will have lots of ‘biofilm’ which is what it sounds like - a biological film, and shrimp love to eat it! A shrimp’s diet consist primarily of these micro fauna, biofilm and algaes. And a 5 day old tank will barely have any of those. Since you have already got shrimp in it though, I’ll give you advice for what to do now. If the shrimp have no fishy friends they will frolick around, swimming and diving as you have noticed. This is good, it means they feel safe. Your parameters are okay for Bloody Mary shrimp, not perfect but alright. Can you test tds or KH and Gh? Your ammonia and nitrate are a bit high, should always be 0. This is another thing that would be different if you had waited properly. In terms of ph you may want to reduce that. Temp is fine, maybe a little high, aim for mid 70s if using a heater. Can we see a photo of the tank? Thanks for joining the forum Brando, looking forward to seeing your tank improve and mature. post note: sorry if I came off as a little abrasive, that wasn’t intended. Just trying to be clear.

Hi group, i am a new shrimp keeper and have had 2 Bloody Mary shrimp for 2 days now. I used Fluval Cycle(bio booster) for the first 3 days because that’s what is set to do on the bottle. This was used before I got the shrimp. my Temperature is 82, ph is 7.6, ammonia is 0-.25ppm , nitrite 0, nitrate 10-20ppm. Are these levels fine? I am new to hobby! my shrimp randomly swim up to the top and along the glass then dive down to rest/eat. Is this a bad sign they are stressed? please leave any tips or input!

Hi guys thank you for your help. So i will add the driftwood to lower PH, and add fluval cycle once every 2 days with shrimp in aquarium. Should I do frequent 10-25% water changes if ammonia gets higher from the fluval cycle? I think I might of read somewhere that it will raise the ammonia. Best, Brandon

Okay, great. Yes, it will, so do this. Soak first though in dechlorinated water (warm or boiling if possible) like Simon suggested, to remove any nasties. They're okay, but we do want to be slowly fixing them. Step one is driftwood for pH, step two is cycling the aquarium for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate. If you can, please purchase one. There is a good one made by API, quite cheap, will last a while and easy to use/read. This is very important to shrimp. Here it is from aquarium co-op: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/api-gh-kh-test-kit-combo

Crabby brings to mind something regarding the tests, whether strips or drops. These go in steps so it is actually very unlikely they are giving a precise figure, ie if a test for PH shows 7 and then 7.5, technically the test showing 7 could be anywhere from 7-7.4 if that makes sense, and depending on the accuracy of the tests anyway. The same with all tests drip or strip. As for maintenance, the main thing is to try and add the new water slowly, usually a dripper of some kind is best. I do 10% a week because it suits me to clean the sponges and filter/lug less water to/fro etc. I would do 10% a week or 20% every two weeks, whichever suits you/your schedule best once up and running. Shrimp aren't very messy so don't require a great deal! If you get a lot of evaporation as you have an open top then your TDS/GH etc will keep going (building) up with time if you only use tap water all the time, so that maybe something to consider, either top up between maintenance with RO (or similar) water or you may want to get a cover, depends how much evaporates between maintenance? I would dechlorinate the water if you are going to soak the driftwood separately from the tank! Simon

Yes add this. Just give it a short soak in a bathtub or something beforehand, depending on the size of the piece. With shrimp every fortnight is usually better. During the cycle (first month) you can do weekly 10% changes though. And Simon gave some good advice about parameters. Only thing is 7.6 is the highest on your kit yeah? If so (and of course I could be wrong, let me know if you have tested high range pH) then it could be higher than 7.6 in actuality. Can we get some pics of the current setup? Cheers, Crabby

Ok I will continue to add fluval cycle every other day starting today. I have a piece of driftwood I could add which will lower ph too. Should I only water change once a week?

I may have missed something but aren't the parameters JayC quoted for Bee shrimp, but these are cherry shrimp??? Hopefully with only 2 shrimps they will survive the cycle as 2 won't make a lot of ammonia! You should try and cool the tank a bit as JayC states, you are pretty close to the limit. With Cherry shrimp you can use dechlorinated tap water, I do. The IDEAL parameters for cherry shrimp are, PH 6.5 - 7.5 TDS 150 - 250 GH 6 - 8 KH 2 - 4 Don't get too fixated if one isn't exactly in this range (ie your PH should be fine, same as mine) or where you want it, as cherry shrimp are fairly adaptable, but if you get measurements we can check those for you and let you know whether any action is required? Mine live with nitrates of 25-50 for instance, and have done for years - I am not saying they should, just that they can live outside perfect parameters. Again, if you are using tap water it is unlikely ALL the parameters are good but the thing to do is not try and get EVERY one right, especially with tap water, and if you do want to change something do it VERY slowly! Tap water is also unreliable, every time I test mine it is different? The only way around this is to use RO water and shrimp mineraliser, but I have kept mine in tap water for 5+ years ith never a problem so unless the tap water is way off I would carry on with the tap water. If you let us know the parameters we can check if it is likely to work longer term? Welcome to shrimp keeping and this forum! Simon

Hi thank you for the response! I am in Maryland and have the heat on during winter. Also, my tank is open. I have 3 java ferns, and used the fluval shrimp/plant substrate. I added a few small almond leaves today. I used tap water but used some water conditioner to dechlorinate it. When I add in my fluval cycle do I need to remove the shrimp? also, when i do the 10% water change should I mix the water conditioner in with the tap water then add it to the tank? Should I use the API freshwater test kit frequently to check parameters. Once again thank you for all the help. I enjoy having these shrimp and do not want to screw this up any further. Brandon

Unfortunately, this doesn't mean the tank is cycled and ready for livestock yet. "Cycled" meaning that it has the beneficial bacteria in it to process the ammonia waste created by livestock. A tank needs to be setup and run for many more days before it can be considered cycled and ready for livestock. I would suggest continue using the Fluval cycle every 2 days at half dose until you use up the bottle. And don't forget about your weekly 10% water changes with fresh dechlorinated water remineralised to the proper parameters for your cherry shrimp. Shrimps are not as hardy as fish, they need to specific water parameter range to do well in. Cherry Shrimps parameters are approximately: Ammonia, Nitrite - 0ppm Nitrates - 0-20ppm GH - 3-4 KH 0-1 Temps 22-24C pH 6.5 - 7.0 TDS 120-180 The fact that we see a possible 0.25ppm of ammonia here, really leads me to believe the tanks isn't cycled properly yet. As above, keep using the Fluval cycle until the bottle is used up. We are doing this with the hopes of keeping the shrimp alive until the tank is REALLY cycled. Temps of 82F or 27C is getting a bit too warm for shrimps. Where are you located? And do you have an open top tank or a closed tank? Add a picture of your tank. That might help us get a perspective of what we are dealing with. pH is also a bit high, and it looks like you are using tap water. Tap water normally has a high pH due to the stuff that is added into it by the water providers. Overall, water parameters are all a bit too high along with a possible un-cycled tank. We will need to start work on reducing all of these.

hey everyone has anyone ever used a flow accelerator in a shrimp tank? I'm about to start a 72g bow front tank, and would like to put the f.a on my co2 output line. Just wondering if shrimp would get sucked in or if there would be other problems? thanx r

If the shrimp can get into the blades / impeller, then they won't be safe. Especially the small ones. Shrimp seem to love going all over the tank in search of biofilm to eat, they will definitely explore right next to the wave maker/flow accelerator. There is a big risk of them getting sucked in. Besides, shrimps tend to like calm waters rather than fast flowing rapids.