Need Advice Bad. Shrimps Dying.

[Alasse]

Yeah, but the "got the tank setup Saturday" to me does not make for a cycled tank. Even with an established filter moved on it, it just aint happening.

And rarely and i do mean rarely do you see a healthy tank with 0 nitrates, most people do not sit on their tanks daily to remove every bit of poop and ammonia causing thing

But yep, whatever, just trying to help

[onneeye]

I appreciate your advice Alasse. If I offended you, sorry about that. All this stuff is still knew to me and I'm still learning.

[AVN]

Three major mistakes.

1. Incorrectly cycled new tank.
Just because you plug in an old filter with beneficial bacteria doesn't mean your tank is cycled. Most of those bacteria die when you transfer to a new tank, as the new water lacks the nutrients they need to metabolize and reproduce.

2. You added chemicals to the water.
This one is kinda eh... non-toxic silicone or not, it came into contact with your system water. Perhaps you should have waited or rinsed before introducing that into your tank. Shrimp are extremely sensitive to trace elements in the water, almost like fry.

3. Frequent water changes.
Sure it's not really that bad, but when you're cycling new tanks you kinda need ammonia and nitrites to encourage bacteria growth. Changing too much water just gets rid of it.

A couple other things...

80-82 degrees?! To a shrimp, that's almost heatstroke.

8.2 PH?! That's SALTWATER PH, your FRESHWATER/BRACKISH shrimp can not be very happy.