# How soon can you add shrimps?



## Bolota

Hi
How soon can you add Amano shrimps in a new aquarium (new filter, etc...).
E.g. in Tropica's start-up good practice guide they recommend to add by day 3.... 
don't they suffer from Amonia and Nitrate toxicity?

Thanks!


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## ceg4048

Bolota said:


> How soon can you add Amano shrimps in a new aquarium




Hello,
        My policy is to avoid adding any fauna to the tank for 4-6 weeks. As you mention, 3 days into a new setup there are still quite a bit of chemical instability. This gives you time also, to sort out plant problems and to get CO2 figured out without having to worry about the fauna.

Cheers,


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## SinkorSwim

Minimum of 8 weeks is the length of time I give the tank to develop a nice bio film and for beneficial bacteria to establish on all surfaces. You can aid and assist with Borneo wild enlive or Mosura BT9 but they are not at all necessary.


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## Keith GH

Bolata

No set time but not until the tank is fully cycled plus a week or two and the plants are established also make sure every thing is working perfectly.

Keith


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## Odogg

So the Tropica amp is clearly wrong then.http://tropica.com/en/guide/get-the-right-start/tropica-90-days-app/


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## ceg4048

Hi,
    As is constantly being argued, there are different paths to success and there are many factors and variables. This guide that you referenced suggests to add fauna on the third day, which for an experienced hobbyist, can work, but for a beginner is a terrible idea. The author also makes this statement which is patently misleading:



> Put shrimps and snails into the aquarium to prevent algae problems. We recommend 1 Amano shrimp per 5 litres of water in the start-up period. You might also add e.g. posthorn snails and other shrimps that also eat algae (see list of algae eaters here). Be aware that the legislation in your country perhaps prescribes that you cannot put animals in the aquarium until later after the start-up.



So you question why we challenge this aspect of Tropica's 90 day plan.

I will challenge you with this:
Do you believe that shrimp and snails can actually prevent algae from forming?
If you search this or any forum will find any solid evidence of fauna preventing algae?

My belief is that algal blooms occur as a direct result of poor plant health due to mismanagement of plant husbandry. I believe you will find that in a vast majority of cases, your forum search will reveal that no amount of fauna has ever prevented algal blooms, and that at best, fauna in the tank can mitigate the volume of algae in the tank.

I believe that algal blooms cannot appear simply as a result of a shortage of fauna in the tank. Further, there are algal types that fauna will even not touch.
I believe therefore that it is folly to depend on fauna to prevent algae and that you are actually endangering the health of the fauna by placing them in the tank under such unstable chemical conditions. What's more, fauna in the tank handcuffs the hobbyist by disallowing certain measure to be taken to reduce  or eliminate problems in the tank. There are chemical reactions that occur in the tank that you cannot see, but which damage the fauna. It may not kill them outright, but it can do permanent damage to their ability to resist pathogens or to deal with chemical attack in the future. Subsequently, the fauna often perish under "unknown" circumstances and blame is then placed on unrelated factors, such as "high TDS" or "high Nitrate".

If they had moved this step of placing shrimp in the tank to day 90 it would be less objectionable.

Of course, no one wants to wait 90 days to put fauna in the tank, so I believe this instruction panders to the impatient hobbyist.

Has it worked for some? Yes, absolutely.
Is it based on a sound principle? I say No.

Cheers,


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## Cactusface

Hi,
       Sorry I know why we do it, but I never do, when I get water in a tank, 3 days later and I need fish!! I have never done a fishless cycle, just seems a waste of time. Get a few hardy fish in there for a couple of weeks, and you're ready to go. My Red crystal shrimps went in to a tank set up the before. all OK.  Yes I do water test, etc.
Regards

Mel.


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## Aqua360

the only time I've added fauna is when I've got a low ph tank, on the basis that ammonia isn't as toxic; in conjunction with seeded media. But this is risky, and I never recommend it, it's ultimately safer to just wait the 4-8 weeks if using plants etc, to allow the tank to bed in.


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## Silviu Man

Hi!

If you check the "Journals" section you will find my topic called "Worship of the Stones". Is just a reset of an old nano. Despite my (so far) experience and all we can read and follow as clasical way, for this project I decided to apply, in all details, Tropica 90 days schedule, as a chalange from which we can learn. Tomorrow is  Day 3, when I will change 50% of the water and I will add shrimps. If this can help you, please follow that jurnal. I intend to do it with high accuracy, folowing step-by-step Tropica recommendations. I am using Tropica Substrate, Tropica CO2 Nano system, Tropica Plant Growth Fertilizer,  ... only the filter is Eheim external one, with Eheim medium inside because Tropica didn't mention anything specific in this domain so I use what is looking to be most appropiate. Maybe this way we will find if this realy works. Of course, if any sign of problems with the shrimps and fish occur, project will be finished, living beings removed and saved. This is much I can support. I hope it will not be the case ...


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## Silviu Man

By comparison, "What Dreams May Come" is done in a very clasical way. Of course, al usual problems were or still are there (algae, cloudy water, ...)  but the water is chemicaly stable now, after 30 days, and all fauna looks OK. Fish will come after day 45.


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