can't keep neocaridinas alive [spoiler: no survivors]

[vince82]

Years ago, I used to keep troves of neocaridinas in all my tanks, and they would reproduce WILDLY... but since I moved I can't seem to keep them alive.
I used to use tap water from where I was, and now I use RO+equilibrium, so I guess the problem is problemy somewhere in that.

I don't really know what I am doing wrong.
There is a few hydras in my 2.5 gallon cube but it's very little, but should not be a big deal for adult shrimps..
However, my 15 individual blue dream colony has started to go downhill after a week of being in the cube, and they have steadily declined by about 1/day. I have 3 left.
Bigger tank (the one in my signature) had 10 more shrimps (these red cherry) and still, same destiny. Down to 1.
There are corys and otos in there, the corys are multiplying with fry surviving fine, the otos are healthy.

There are NO ammonia, NO nitrites, 10ppm nitrates, GH 9, KH 4, PH 7, and to play super safe I ran one of those multi-tests strips you can use for drinking water which measured about in line with my API tests readings, and 0 on everything else (bromine, iron, copper, lead, chlorine etc).

The water is RO + Seachem equilibrium, and the substrate is top soil capped with sand.

I am at a loss, I don't know what I am doing wrong with these guys.

I think the next approach is undoing the cube in order to redo it with sand only and no substrate, as anyway I have no intention to keep complex plants here, just a couple cryptos and a moss ball, I want this to be a shrimp dedicated cube. For the bigger tank.. I give up with shrimps and the plants are loving the substrate so I won't be redoing it.

 

[BrianK]

I had trouble keeping my shrimp alive too until I went with a sponge filter, no heater, and only very tiny water changes.

 

[vince82]

I had trouble keeping my shrimp alive too until I went with a sponge filter, no heater, and only very tiny water changes.

I _might_ have panicked and did a 60% water change and made the situation worse at some point

 

[BrianK]

I literally only do like 1% changes.

 

[vince82]

Actually there is 7 blue dreams left,got a better headcount.. Will refrain from touching anything and hope

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I've never been able to keep red cherry shrimp alive for very long. Amanos, on the other hand, last forever. Something in my water chemistry, I assume.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I'd definitely get rid of the hydra first off... I know they can't usually take adults, but they might be able to hurt them with their stingers, perhaps? They can certainly take shrimplets for any that do manage to breed, so I'd want the hydra gone in a shrimp tank regardless.

Also I'd add more plant cover for shrimp than a few crypts and a moss ball, they feel safer when they have more cover, and so more likely to breed.

If you have no luck after that, and you're sure there's no copper/other heavy metals (I run some Cuprisorb in my filter for a few weeks when setting up a new tank, just in case), then it might just be bad luck/the source. In my experience, it can take a while to get a new colony going. It took me 5-6 months and several unsuccessful attempts (I made the mistake of only getting groups of 5-6 at a time at first, because of the price!) before I finally saw berried females and then shrimplets. After that they were wildly breeding and pretty bombproof, riding out any tank disaster and easily colonising other tanks when added.

So might be expensive bad luck, and so sorry! Blue Dreams are my favourite and the ones I want next, I'd be gutted!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Oh, and if there are hydra, are you sure there aren't any dragon or damselfly nymphs in there? Hydra usually get into tanks from plants that have been grown outside, so dragon or damselfly eggs may well have come into the tank too, and would be bad news for shrimp...

 

[vince82]

I have some No Planaria coming in the mail, but there are no larvae or dragonflies

 

[seangee]

I _might_ have panicked and did a 60% water change and made the situation worse at some point

That should not have made it worse. My tank with neos gets an 80% change almost every week.

 

[vince82]

That should not have made it worse. My tank with neos gets an 80% change almost every week.

I use RO plus Equilibrium. Over a 1G water change it's easy to bring a large change in TDS

 

[Slaphppy7]

That should not have made it worse. My tank with neos gets an 80% change almost every week.

UNLESS the source water is very different from the tank water; in smaller tanks, it's even more of an issue.

I suspect the new source water as causing the issues with the neos.

 

[seangee]

UNLESS the source water is very different from the tank water; in smaller tanks, it's even more of an issue.

@vince82 uses RO with added minerals so source water is always identical. Same as I do so my 80% changes guarantee the water parameters are stable. I'd be nervous about using top soil, especially if it ever gets disturbed. All my tanks are (inert) sand only.

 

[vince82]

@vince82 uses RO with added minerals so source water is always identical. Same as I do so my 80% changes guarantee the water parameters are stable. I'd be nervous about using top soil, especially if it ever gets disturbed. All my tanks are (inert) sand only.

I wish. I did minerals by the volume (tbsp) and sorta eyeballing it.
Will be way more thorough and make a written table of exactly how much needs to go in

 

[seangee]

I wish. I did minerals by the volume (tbsp) and sorta eyeballing it.
Will be way more thorough and make a written table of exactly how much needs to go in

I hate the way Seachem expect you to do all the calcs and measurements and then expect you to buy multiple products. I use Salty Shrimp GH/KH+ which is just 1 scoop for 10 litres of water to give 6dGH and 3dKH. An 850g tub lasts years (literally) and I change 40 litres per week in the 57l Flex. My water comes out identical every week.