Ghost Shrimp Died In New Aquarium

[atadon]

Hi guys, this is my first post

Unfortunately it's bad news. I've set up a new 10g tank 5 days ago. On day 2, I've introduced african plants + rocks + wood + sand (on gravel). I got the sand from a tropical island, but I've carefully washed + filtered the sand.

Yesterday I introduced 2 ghost shrimps in the tank, (they were happily in a small bowl with 2 ADFs), as "test subjects" to make sure my frogs will survive in their new habitat.

This morning, one of the shrimps died

I'm a n00b aquarist. Should I make a water change? How can I make sure that my frogs will live well in the tank? I tested the ph, and it's at around 7.8-8.0 (which is gonna be good for the frogs). Should I be testing for other things such as nitrite, nitrate, kh, etc etc?

I basically wanna keep the ph to around 8.0 koz that's what's best for my froggies.

Any advice?

// cheers

 

[tetras4me]

well the shrimp could have just died natrully but ghost shrimp are freashwater shrimp and chemicals from the sand could have done somthing to the water. saltwater has chemicals in it that freash water animals cant handle. same with freash water chemicals to salt water fish.what i would do is replace your tanks charcaol and then dont put any fish into it for a couple of days but keep the filter running the intire time.

 

[atadon]

thx for replying

i will let the tank run as is and see how the remaining shrimp does.

should i perform tests to check the water for my lovely ADFs?

// cheers

 

[tetras4me]

no just do what i said. but uh, your frogs might um eat your shrimp.

 

[atadon]

alrite will do, my frogs won't eat my shrimps btw, bekoz the shrimps are almost as big as them they got along pretty well in the bowl, just a lil action when it's feeding time, but that's about it

can't wait to put the frogs in their new home

i also need names, maybe i'll name one after u

 

[tetras4me]

 

[wodesorel]

THROW OUT THE SAND!

You collected it yourself, didn't you? Beach sand is full of pollutants, and no matter how much you clean it, you won't be able to get it all out. Sand bought from stores is baked, power washed, and probably chemically treated so there's nothing harmful in it. By using sand from a beach, you're risking your frogs lives! Frogs can't deal with pollutants in any way, shape, or form!

 

[BiffMalawi]

I agree you need to loose the sand. Playground sand is cheap and usually OK, although it probably comes in too large a quantity. A small bag from a fish store shouldn't cost too much.

How did you cycle the tank? Frogs are very sensitive to water quality and should not be introduced to an uncycled tank. There are some good stickied threads in the beginner section on cycling. An uncycled tank would also account for the death of the shrimp.