Invert deaths

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uhohhotdog

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jul 11, 2018
Messages
6
I can’t seem to keep any inverts alive in one tank. I had one shrimp that lasted a week. The snails die within a day. I tested for copper there’s nothing. The tank is newish but all the tests for ammonia keep coming up with nothing. I do have some plants in there that didn’t do well. Could they be causing spikes that are killing them? I have fish in there that seem to be doing ok.
 
I suspect heavy metals. I had a similar problem. It was the substrate. I wasn’t seeing anything on my copper or iron tests. But they symptoms were there.
 
I pulled it all out and replaced it with quartz PFS and now everything is good.
 
There are some pest killing stuff some importers use so there are no hitchhikers. It is possible could be some residue and you will never know what it is, was. Perhaps making it a killer for inverts but no big deal for fish?!?

Also some substrate issues as Tmaier mentioned. Black diamond type Blasting sand too.
 
I have the same sand in another tank with Amano shrimp and some sort of snails that hitchhiked in. Though I recently added a few more amanos and most of those died. But they were smaller. Could the size of the shrimp make a difference? Would smaller ones be more sensitive?
 
Regarding size, usually juveniles (for most shrimp in general) do better for shipping and adjusting to new water conditions.
Amanos are pretty tough. In my planted tank, mine had gone through bouts of hydrogen peroxide dosing, erythromycin treatments (for Cyanobacteria), and daily pH swings of +1.0.
 
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