Can I add Ghost Shrimp to my 20 gallon?

3159 Views 11 Replies 5 Participants Last post by lilbabyvenus, Sep 8, 2013

lilbabyvenus

Discussion Starter · Sep 5, 2013

Right now we just have one red guppy, a neon tetra, and a peppered cory. We also have a Java Fern, a fake coral rock, and a Spongebob house that my son picked

lol

We're adding more structures for cover, and I'll be picking up a couple more live plants this weekend.

I want to add one more cory and 4 more tetras, but I've been looking at either ghost shrimp or red clawed crabs as well. I'm leaning more towards ghost shrimp, but I'm just curious if they'll have any trouble with the fish we have right now.

If they are ok, is there anything specific we need to add to the tank. I've learned not to rely on PetSmart for facts. We tried mystery snails a couple weeks ago and they all died because I didn't know they were sensitive to copper. Still looking for a snail that won't reproduce like crazy now too....

Thanks for any help or advice

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jaysee

· #2 · Sep 5, 2013

welcome to the forum

If you can't keep snails because of copper, then you probably won't be able to keep shrimp either. Too, ghost shrimp are not compatible with the red guppies.

Corys are schooling fish so perhaps you could get more than just one. Same for the neons. I would build up the schools of the fish you have before adding anything else to the tank.

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Boredomb

· #3 · Sep 6, 2013

I agree with Jaysee, If the snails died cause of copper in the water then Shrimp won't make it either. Would also up the schools of fish as mentioned. Cories are schooling/social fish that need to be in groups to do best.

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Agent13

· #4 · Sep 6, 2013

Yep.. What Jaysee said.

BTW... what was copper doing in your water? Medications? or is it coming from your water source?

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lilbabyvenus

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 7, 2013

Agent13 said:
Yep.. What Jaysee said.

BTW... what was copper doing in your water? Medications? or is it coming from your water source?

Well, I assumed it was copper :-/ but I finally tested out water today and our hardness was at 0. I'm just aggravated that no one mentioned how sensitive snails were. No medications, but my fiancé says our town homes have copper pipes, so I assumed it was leaching copper into the water. I guess it was dumb of me to think that not knowing for sure. Is there a test out there for copper to see if we're getting any from our pipes?.

I added 4 more neon tetras today to give them a nice little group. My son is just in awe watching them scoot around together. In another week or two we'll add a couple more corys.

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Agent13

· #6 · Sep 7, 2013

Snails aren't sensitive IME ...aside from medications and salt. Don't know if there is a test for copper.
How long did your mystery snails survive? I have only had mine die after putting them in my semi aggressive community tank. How big were they?
Quick question which is more important then anything else I asked....is your tank cycled fully?And what is your maintenance routine?

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lilbabyvenus

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 7, 2013

Agent13 said:
Snails aren't sensitive IME ...aside from medications and salt. Don't know if there is a test for copper.
How long did your mystery snails survive? I have only had mine die after putting them in my semi aggressive community tank. How big were they?
Quick question which is more important then anything else I asked....is your tank cycled fully?And what is your maintenance routine?

No, the tank was not fully cycled. PetSmart told me that snails would live better in a new tank than fish. We don't have a "real" pet store around here, so I am stuck with whatever help I can get from either PetSmart or PetCo. We have had the tank for about a month or so. We use Seachem Prime, and I do daily 5% water changes and a 25% change weekly.

They only lasted around 24 hours. They were around the size of a quarter.

I did buy a couple more this past week to try again and they died within 24 hours as well. They were really dead in case that question comes up. They were hanging from their shells and stunk to high heaven. I do have some light algae growing on a couple things, but I also tried putting algae wafers and some cucumber in the tank for them, but both were a no go, they wouldn't come out

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Agent13

· #8 · Sep 7, 2013

ooooh OK. Makes more sense now. Don't listen to those stores..come here and ask us anything you need to know. I suspect high Ammonia and or nitrites. Do you have a liquid testing kit? If not get one. Your fish are suffering to I suspect but they aren't showing enough signs for you to notice yet. Is your cory darting to the surface to breath? 5% water change is not going to help anything. If you are still in early stages of the cycle I recommend large water changes and often. at least 2 a week and personally I would recommend 75% water changes till you are near in the end of your cycle. Then back off to 50-75% water changes once a week with your 20g. once you are sure you are closer to the end of your cycle add more peppered corys for sure.
Keep us updated and good luck

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KPainter

· #9 · Sep 7, 2013

You could also add more live plants. Even just buying a cheap bunch or two of anacharis and letting it float at the top would help. Live plants are a great help to water quality.

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lilbabyvenus

Discussion Starter · #10 · Sep 8, 2013

I have to order a liquid test kit, so I just have the strips for right now unfortunately. But I was able to stop at WalMart earlier today and buy another plant that ended up being three small separate plants, so I have 4 spread out through the tank right now, as well as a water sprite that I ordered online. I did a 50% water change when I added the plants, and then had to run to my parents house so I'll test the water again when I get home tonight and see if its changed from what I tested yesterday.

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lilbabyvenus

Discussion Starter · #11 · Sep 8, 2013

I just tested the tank water again and the only problem I see is nitrites. I have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrates, but 1ppm nitrites. I added 1ml of Prime hoping to bring it down a bit. Will the plants help with nitrites at all?

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lilbabyvenus

Discussion Starter · #12 · Sep 8, 2013

While I'm asking about plants, can I ask if I need to add anything like Seachem Flourish? I haven't been adding anything as I was told it wasn't necessary, but now I'm really curious since the petsmart people didn't really seem to know what they were talking about. They do get direct sunlight during the day. The tank is not right next to a window, but we're in a small townhome and the tank is across the room from two windows, so it does get sunlight, along with out led bulbs. Other than light, I'm just curious if I need to actually add anything to the water.

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