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Tifftastic

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Sep 9, 2008
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I went to a pet shop today and couldnt resist getting a few cherry shrimp. Im floating them for a little bit while the tank heats up, I came home and it was at 10C (52F) so, I've plugged the heater in. Its been about 20 min and its up to 19C (68F). I want to watch the heater a bit longer to make sure it doesnt get too warm (the numbers are all rubbed off and its a bit big for this tank). Also, I seem to have a stowaway that I cant identify. . .

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myswtsins

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Those are some nice cherries! Where is this tank that it is 52F? What room is that cold? My basement barely gets that cold lol
 

Tifftastic

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Sep 9, 2008
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My flat is really cold! I'm top floor with no one living below me. The radiator/boiler isn't that great and gas is expensive on student wages, so the heat gets turned on only when I'm home during the day on weekends or if I'm home before 9 (rare) on a week night. But I've got the heater all worked out and the tank was at 72 F for 4 hours before I went to bed and dropped to 70 F overnight. From what I was reading that should make the shrimp pretty happy and will be ideal for the killies too. Now that I've got it all settled, I'll be bringing the killies home tomorrow (with some cycled media). Tested the water yesterday and had a small ammonia spike before adding the shrimp, so I had to do a 35% change. But its at 0 now, nitrites 0, and nitrates 5ppm. The pH was a little low at 6.0ish, but I'm guessing thats all the mopani wood in there. Water change brought it to 6.8. So, I'll have to watch it a bit at first for any big swings and maybe age my water before a change.

Anyway, the shrimp looked happy this morning. I was a bit worried last night as they couldnt seem to settle and find a place they were comfy. They were actively using the current (which I lowered by turning the filter toward a wall) to explore every inch of the tank. I did lose one last night, I'm hoping it was just the stress of moving, but I'm watching the others closely (as well as the water). One really likes my java fern and has been in the same spot roughly since I put them in. The other still hasnt quite found its happy place, but its not seeming as frantically exploring now and has been chilling on the moss balls and driftwood. I'm probably being hypervigilante tbh.

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myswtsins

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Wow, that's so cold for room temperature, burr. You should get an axolotl! lol I know, I know.

Glad the heater is holding steady enough for you. Ammonia spike before adding the shrimp? Wonder why that is. Hope it doesn't happen again.

Shrimp look awesome! Did you get any males?
 
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Tifftastic

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Sep 9, 2008
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I got home yesterday to both the remaining shrimp dead. When I left the flat yesterday morning both were alive and hanging out on the moss balls. Its so soon after getting them that I'm not sure what happened. . . So, I tested the water.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5 ppm

However the pH was really low, like 6.0 . . . tested it out of the tap and came out as 7.6, so used the high range and got 7.4. I'm assuming this is the mopani dropping the pH, but could it be something else? I'm a bit concerned now about taking the kilifish home until I know its not a problem. I couldn't get prime in the local shops, so I am using the Fluval brand water condition which does chlorine and chloramine and heavy metals. Considering they died 3 days after I got them, I'm guessing it shouldn't be a contaminate as they would have died right away? But the fact that I lost one within a few hours, makes me concerned.

Any opinions? Should I do a big water change and see what the pH does over time? I'm not sure what to do here.
 

SnakeIce

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Tap should stay the same or rise in ph as it sits, so if you are getting a big drop there is something happening in the tank. kh will get used up proportional to the rate in change of the biomass, so if the buffering is low a growth of the cycle bacteria to a level sufficient for the new inhabitants can deplete it, leading to a potential drop in ph.

To put that in simple terms a new tank needs more water changes than an established one, and young fish need more than older fish.
 

Tifftastic

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Sep 9, 2008
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The pH was 6.0 before I put the shrimp in, and the only other inhabitants are plants. I did a water change and the pH went up to 6.8, I then acclimated the shrimp by adding water to the bag.

But now 3 days later the pH is back down to 6.0. I don't see how 3 small cherry shrimp could have resulting in a big change in my biofilter, to result in the drop.

Could the mopani be lowering it that much, or should I worry that its something else like the sand? Are there any sands that can lower pH?

I understand what you are saying, but not sure what I should do moving forward from here.
 

SnakeIce

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I have not kept shrimp for long personally, so perhaps I'm not the best one to answer this. I do recall that I had more success in hard water than I did in soft 7.2 ph water. I'm guessing that because of exoskeleton needs they like their water alkaline and with sufficient available minerals to be able to grow.
 
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