Red Cherry Shrimp -I am an Idiot *_*

[I3raven]

Originally Posted by OrangeSoda

Everything raven is saying is true.

Except the idea that 5 shrimp will generate a bioload that will produce an ammonia spike. This might be true if you are trying to keep them in 5 ounces of water for an extended period of time with no plants. They will be fine in a half gallon alone until the ten has cycled.

Once again, I have to ask if it will be a shrimp only tank. If it's just going to be the shrimp with plants, do a 100% water change on the ten and test to see that the ammonia is gone. Once you're sure that there is no ammonia, drip acclimate the shrimp into the ten. As long as there are plants in there the shrimp will be fine.

Essentially with the plants being able to handle more bioload than the shrimp can produce, the ammonia will never have a chance to build up.

The overriding factor here is going to be the length of time that the ten has been set up. If there is no biofilm, you will have to feed regularly.

I've been keeping RCS and CRS for the past five years and I can assure you that they are not as fragile as they are being made out to be.

Ah, yes I was referring to a small amount of water. I would take note of what OrangeSoda has said. I remembered that RCS can live off of bio film and feeding them isn't really required.

And for the beneficial bacteria, I would use it even though you can't really tell if they actually have an effect on non cycled tanks. The reason why I don't believe in bottled beneficial products is because the bacteria themselves are living in a confined space with limited food and oxygen in the bottle. Many stores leave the bottles on the shelves for months, so the bacteria inside are practically dead due to the lack of oxygen and food. So there is a possibility that you might have bought a bottle of dead bacteria. From what I've seen, date labels are never labeled on beneficial bacteria bottles, which is crucial to know because beneficial bacteria has a shelf life of about 1-2 months in room temperature. If you were going to buy beneficial bacteria, a quality store would leave it inside a refrigerator and labeled with a date. That is the only way to know if you are actually buying live bacteria. But for shelf products, it is a hit or miss.

[sportsfan2]

Okay, the bottle did have a "Sell By Apr/2013" label. But I know what you mean by how the bacteria could've been wiped out (heat or freezing temps here in Canada)

I'm about to fill the half gallon, with Prime treated water of same temp (used cold water from tap, heated it with heater). Also added the mossball to the container, and put the container by a window with sunlight.

Thanks

EDIT: Would a 25% WC (0.1 gallons) every 2 days suffice? Also 2 are munching on the mossball, one on the wisteria, and the others are eating 2 small betta bellets I dropped in (Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets) Is this okay?

[I3raven]

Seems like your set, just keep an eye on your shrimps and do frequent water changes.

[Bandit1200]

What Orangesoda is trying to tell you is that cycling your 10 gallon tank using the amount of ammonia you are adding is mostly a waste of time. You will eventually build up a colony of bacteria that will mostly die off as soon as you put the shrimp in and stop adding the ammonia. The bioload of that many shrimp in a 10 gallon tank will not sustain the amount of bacteria you are going through so much trouble to build up. The plants present in the tank will more than likely use up what little ammonia the shrimp produce before it ever gets used by any bacteria you might have, meaning the bacteria will die back to an almost non-existent amount. You probably already have plenty of bacteria in there already.

[sportsfan2]

Originally Posted by Bandit1200

What Orangesoda is trying to tell you is that cycling your 10 gallon tank using the amount of ammonia you are adding is mostly a waste of time. You will eventually build up a colony of bacteria that will mostly die off as soon as you put the shrimp in and stop adding the ammonia. The bioload of that many shrimp in a 10 gallon tank will not sustain the amount of bacteria you are going through so much trouble to build up. The plants present in the tank will more than likely use up what little ammonia the shrimp produce before it ever gets used by any bacteria you might have, meaning the bacteria will die back to an almost non-existent amount. You probably already have plenty of bacteria in there already.

Ahh now I see. So should I wait until the ammonia and nitrite goes back down to 0, and then add the 5 shrimp. Or do a 100% water change, test ammonia , nitrite, and nitrates and then if they're 0,0,<40 then just add the shrimp? Also should I clean out the filter media (in untreated or treated tap water?)

Also what if they have babies? Wouldn't the bioload then increase and there wont be enough plants to handle the bioload (and not enough cycling bacteria? Finally I'm not sure if there are enough plants (moss ball intbetween size of golf and tennis, java fern is about 10 inches tall, anubias is in pretty bad shape, and wisteria is small (less than 7 inches in length), I'll post a pic soon.






Thanks.

[sportsfan2]

Here are some pictures.

10Gallon


Sideview - The heater is just like that since I had heated the water for the half gallon WC.


The giant reddish plant in the back is fake. And that's a 12inch ruler.


The ruler is 12cm high


RCS munching on Marimo Moss Ball


All 5 RCS



Thanks!

[Bandit1200]

In my opinion as others have posted, I'd do a water change and put the shrimp in. Keep monitoring the water, but I seriously doubt with so few shrimp in there you'll ever get a detectable amount of ammonia unless they and all the plants suddenly die all at once.

As far as the shrimp populating and adding more ammonia, the bacteria will multiply to consume the added ammonia as long as it's a gradual increase in the biomass. The shrimp breeding will be a gradual increase. If you decide you REALLY like shrimp and add 100 all at once then you'll have problems.

This is from my own experience with aquariums, you might want to take a few more posts to see who agrees or disagrees.

Your plant:shrimp ratio is already huge, The plants you have in there now would suck up all the output of 10 times the shrimp you have now.

[sportsfan2]

Okay will do a 100% WC, and rinse out the filter. Everything else will be left in it's place.

You think that will work?

Thanks!