How to keep snails and shrimp alive in a 5

JPDVM2014

JPDVM2014

and I'm an addict!
Jun 16, 2008
251
0
0
New Jersey
Ok, i got some shrimp and snails the other day in the mail and put them into my main tank where they are doing great. But i've been setting up a 5 gallon hex as an invert tank so i went and bought 5 rcs and a briggs yesterday. I did a waterchange before i put them in and added some prime. They were doing fine last night, i added half of an algae wafer and everything was eating. Then i wake up this morning and everything is dead except for one shrimp. Idk what happened. I checked the params ph=7.2, ammonia=0, nitrite=0, and nitrate=10. All the params are normal. The only thing that i can think of is that i left the algae wafer in overnight because it was already late when i put it in. Could that have caused it? I'm still adjusting to the tiny tank. I'm not used to how much small changes affect it. But if it was the wafer wouldn't the params have been off? The only other thing is that the tank most likely isn't fully matured. Its been set up for about a little less than a month. I seeded it with filter media from another tank though. Then added a guppie to keep the cycle.
 
But if it was the wafer wouldn't the params have been off?
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Yes. It would've been an ammonia spike.

I don't know what happened unless you accidentally added too little Prime? I've heard of water companies 'randomly' dosing a much greater amount of chlorine/chloramine occasionally.
One question: Did you add the tap water and then add Prime? If so, did you dose for 5 gallons or just for the amount of water you put in?
 
Inverts are sensitive to nitrate levels, and your nitrate level of 10 ppm may have been too high for them, causing them to die. Your 5g may not be fully cycled yet, and leaving any food overnight in that tank could have caused your nitrates to rise.
 
I added the water then added prime for the whole five gallons. I have well water which doesn't have any chlorine or chloramine in it. I just added the prime to be on the safe side.
 
I don't think 10ppm nitrates would kill them off, especially overnight. Are you using a liquid test kit or strips?
 
saram521 said:
Inverts are sensitive to nitrate levels, and your nitrate level of 10 ppm may have been too high for them, causing them to die. Your 5g may not be fully cycled yet, and leaving any food overnight in that tank could have caused your nitrates to rise.
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I only added one briggs and 5 rcs. I was never planning on having more than one or 2 briggs in there at any one time. I knew about the sensitivity to nitrates but i thought it was closer to like 20 before i needed to worry. Idk, i guess it must have been the wafer then. Its the only thing i can think of. I've got two juvie guppies in there right now, i'm just gonna leave them for a few weeks then try again with the inverts.
 
Did you acclimate them before adding them to the tank? They are sensitive and require acclimation. I have shrimp and snails in a 5 as well and have no problems. Leaving an algae wafer in over-night is usually no problem. I use only 1/2 of a large tab for my tank. I break up the half into multiple pieces (2-3) and try to keep it scattered in the tank due to the overabundance of occupants. Many times it will last 2 days.

Copper in your system is not healthy and you might want to check for that although the Prime should help with heavy metals. Have you checked for it? Tank needs to be fully cycled and your parameters look good.
 
I think it could be a possibility that the nitrates are part of the problem if they were not as high before the wafer was added. Did you happen to test the water right before adding the 5 shrimp and 1 snail?
 
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