Help please.

[EH81821]

Here’s a 10G I’ve had set up for about 2 months now. I have Been having some issues though with ammonia spikes. I had the take up for 3 weeks prior to adding shrimp. I added 8 cherry shrimp at first and drip accumulated them the tank is at 68 degrees. Ph 6.8 GH 75ppm KH 90 ammonia keeps fluctuating between 2-4. Nitrate and nitrite are 0. Before adding shrimp levels seemed normal I did use fritz quick starter to start the tank and it seemed to be going well. After the first week I lost 3 shrimp and did some digging in the internet and came to the conclusion that I should have started with a bigger colony since shrimp don’t produce much waste. I also decided to add a mystery snail into the mix to help add in waste production as well as help clean tank. I discovered 2 small a snails that had to have come from the live plants I got at my LFS. I have been using half scoop of Bacteria AE daily to try to keep the cycle balanced and I remove food after about 2-3 hours not eaten. I have as you can see in the photos a Malaysian drift wood, 1 Indian almond leaf. Does anyone have any suggestions I don’t wanna end up loosing more/all shrimp. I currently have 13 shrimp got up to 20 and loose about 2 a week now. I’m at a lose. Help! Thanks.

[Aiken Drum]

You need to cycle the tank. Do you know how to cycle a tank?

Essentially you need water changes to control ammonia to a safe level. 2 to 4ppm ammonia is too high. You need to get it to about 0.5ppm. From 4ppm that would take 3 x 50% water changes. Do them an hour or 2 apart until your ammonia reads no higher than 0.5ppm.

[EH81821]

I agree. So my thing is. I keep reading about how cherry shrimp are very sensitive. I am drip accumulating each water change. Am I wasting time doing that is that only when introducing new shrimp to a tank? I have been doing water changes weekly and when I noticed the high ammonia I have done every other day after doing 50% cuz the drip tanks so long.

[Aiken Drum]

I dont understand what you mean by drip acclimating every water change. Are you taking out the shrimp when you do a water change then drip acclimating back in after your water change?

If your ammonia is getting up to the levels you report you may need more than a daily water change. You might need several, big water changes to get water to a safe level. If you are testing daily your ammonia shouldnt suddenly be jumping from safe levels to the toxic levels you report between one test and the next though.

[EH81821]

Yeah I am dripping the water back in after removing. Can I just pour in? Is the drip just for when introducing new shrimp? Sorry first shrimp tank so still learning.

[Aiken Drum]

I would just pour new water in. Must take forever to do a water change.

Drip acclimating is really for acclimating new shrimp to a potential difference in water conditions between a fish stores water and whats on your tap. A sudden, big change, like taking them from one type of water and dropping them in another can cause shock. Even with a 50% water change, and if your tanks water is significantly different to your tap water it isnt going to be a sudden change from one water to another. After your water change the water will be somewhere between your tap water and tank water. If you are concerned then just do 20% changes, but you might need to do them more often.

[Autumnsky]

Oh yes, once they are used to your water (from the faucet and of course declorinated), they are used to that water.

When you do a water change which is frequent, the bad ammonia goes away, they welcome it's disappearance. And the normal pH, kH and GH would all be very similar with weekly or 2x weekly water change. As Aiken mentioned giving an hour between water changing just helps you get a larger amount of water changed and make the changing water be more and more similar to your water you usually use. And it is a gradual way to get large amounts of water changed.

Loss of shrimps are most likely to the high ammonia which would be considered dangerously high for shrimp.
The bacter AE very likely is also co tributing to the higher ammonia levels. I'd use a tooth pick and just use the amount which would be on a flat end toothpick daily. If even that much.

Did you mention feeding⁸/ or do you feed feed the shrimp also? Daily??? It wouldn't be necessary to feed so much if you also feed them daily. Think of the amount they would eat to be the size of their eye.

[EH81821]

Oh thank you I didn’t know that. Yeah I moved to using the Bacter AE a 1/4 of the scoop and I only feed every 3-4 days. As they have a almond leaf and the bacter in there. I have been doing water changes now the past 3 days and ammonia still gets to around 2ppm at times and still no nitrite or nitrates. Should I dose with fritz 700 again? Or will that just do more harm at this point. I see all these shrimp owners using only sponge filters would I be better off with a HOB?