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Hi everyone, It’s been months since I last posted something on SKF and I feel I’ve missed out on so much. I hope everyone is safe in the current situation. Anyway I’ve had this 5 gallon aquarium cycled and occasionally used as a fry tank or a QT tank nothing special bare bottom sponge filter no proper light but this week I decided to purchase some nice black substrate a high quality light and some spider wood to start an either snowball cherry shrimp tank or a red cherry shrimp tank. The hardscape is now more or less where I want it to be and I’m just working on plants and acquiring some shrimp. I’m hoping the spiderwood releases a few tannins to buffer the water a little. My water out of the tap is: PH: 7.0-7.2 GH: 3-4 KH: 1-2 TDS: About 120-150 from what other fish keepers close to me say, I don’t have a TDS meter. I was wondering what plants everyone recommends and also what shrimp. I was originally thinking RCS or Snowballs but I’m open to any ideas. Photos of the current setup:

I have gone the fish route and all is going well and at some later date I MAY add some shrimp to the setup as it is. It gives me a break from all the stress and disappointment with the shrimps, and anyway nowhere is sending shrimps/fishh at the moment. I saw a red steel shrimp in there today? The killi fish I have will only live about a year anyway so makes a good stop gap and the dwarf rasboras should be ok with shrimps! I may even go the 100% same route that I had success with and start it all off in the same 15L that I used before and then transfer them over, exactly as before??Thinking about that one for now?? You could try the fish rather than re-doing the tank and starting over. I guess the grape root wood should go as thinking about it, it may have had pesticides in it if it came from a commercial grape grower, but as you say some may have been absorbed by the soil over time? Fish are a lot easier and less sensitive so unless you want to completely start again with new substrate and everything else, plants etc, I would get the fish for now and go from there! Revisit the shrimp idea when you feel more like it? You obviously won't be able to keep Rams and shrimp together but as all the shrimp died that's not a problem for now! Simon

Yep I hope it does. I wonder though what would happen if I put fishes instead of redoing everything? I was thinking of ramirezis and corydoras. What is your opinion?

Fantastic news, you could soon have a tank full of shrimps! Simon

Welcome newbie! I assume that you probably didn't have enough time to 'cycle' the tanks going by the above, though that is only an assumption? If that is so all you can really do at this stage is water changes every few days as you are now. I assume (also) that you are using tap water and that may be why you have a high Ph, though substrate etc can cause that but is it too high? Shrimp are very sensitive and delicate so they should be acclimated over several hours using some sort of drip system. The last possible problem could be the betta with shrimps, my first betta ate them but my current betta doesn't so that is one of those may/may not work. A bit more detail will mean we can try and help more, the above details are based on assumptions and 'usual errors' as there isn't really enough detail in your post to do much else? You appear to be doing quite well if you have just lost 2 shrimp so far! How long have you had the tanks running? What is in each tank (fish, shrimp, substrate, decoration, filter, water source etc etc)? Simon