my planted 7G

[Shaunsvds]

Hi Guys, I am a newbie to aquascaping. Today I completed my first tank with 4 chilli rasboras and 6 cherry shrimp in a 7 gallon. It looks like in the picture below. I tried to superglue java moss to my driftwood it worked successfully however, there are traces of superglue on my java moss and some glue stains( the superglue was able to be used underwater as instructed by the C328 auntie). Will the superglue stains on the Java moss dissapear? And btw 2 of the cherry shrimps I bought today are pregnant. This is the 1st time I am keeping shrimp. What do I do? PLEASE HELP! i will also reconstruct the aquascape if you tell me what to do. Thanks!
guys PLEASE HELP MEE image.jpg

[Mameshrimps]

Errrm so you just set up today? Did you cycle your tank before putting in your live stocks??? Your shrimps will be the first to die if your tank was not cycled.

[Shaunsvds]

I did, I had the rasboras in for aweek or two before adding the shrimps. But an update is that two of my shrimps have died. Is it because I added the two new plants into the tank? I didnt wash them.. So what do I do?..

[Phillipians]

The red plants will die off after a while as they need co2. Also, you are probably starting off with the wrong plants.
Look for ferns and moss to start your journey.

[Shaunsvds]

I see, what about cambomba? They are growing nicely in my tank

[thebaldingaquarist]

if your worry is about the superglue, do a few more water changes over the course of the next 2 weeks. maybe 5 or 7 changes. each change at least 50%. by that time, whatever dissolved into the water has been changed out. Add your shrimps then.

i see that your tank has no CO2 injected and is quite new, so please be mentally prepared for some algae.

Cabomba is great as a starter. they grow quite fast when established and tall as well.. may need trimming on a weekly basis. the red recknecki (wrong spelling i know) may not survive. you might want to change it out the moment it rots.

one last thing.

You are doing great! we all learn from mistakes! this is not a full time job, make the mistakes and learn from them! No one is going to penalise you!

[Urban Aquaria]

The superglue designed for aquarium use does become inert once its cured, so its safe with livestock... but it does tend to look unsightly if there are excess blotches, just have to wait until the moss grow out to hopefully cover it up.

Since your tank was just recently setup, its still undergoing the cycling process, water parameters will fluctuate and toxic spikes will occur, so its not a good idea to start adding fishes and shrimps so soon as they will suffer from those effects. Wait until the tank is fully cycled (get a set of test kits to test and make sure, otherwise you are just wild guessing), before introducing more livestock.

You should also wash and clean all new plants that you get from LFS, quarantine them for a while if possible, especially if you have shrimps in the tank that could be affected by residual chemicals and pesticides on the new plants.

On a side note, if you want improve shrimplet survive rate, make sure that the internal filter that you are using has dense enough sponge coverage at the intakes, or else shrimplets may get sucked into the filter and get chopped up.

[Shaunsvds]

Hi Thebaldingaquarist, thank you for your reply! I have removed the driftwood as I felt that it was abit crowded in the tank. I have also removed the red reneckii( wrong spelling as well lol) and the Bacopa innominata in my tank. Now all I have are some cambomba attached to wire gauze and some egeria densa. My shrimp have also all died sadly as there could have been some copper or lead in the HELP advanced soil which I had used which was specifically for plant growth and not shrimp. Any idea for plants that I can add and plant into the soil? As Java fern and anubias need to be tied to a rock? Thanks so much!

[Shaunsvds]

Hi Urban Aquaria, thanks for your reply! My tank has been fully cycled for a bout a week? I have added some chemicals which cause the ph to remain at 7 as instructed by the local fish store owner at C328. Haha all my shrimp have died as well. I had 6, 1 got sucked up into the filter a few days ago, and the other 5 died of copper and lead poisoning in the soil which I heard is lethal to shrimp? Now in my tank, I have 2 mollies, 4 minnows ,1 dwarf cory and 2 sparrow rasboras. They are doing fine so far. What do you suggest I do? Thanks!

[Mameshrimps]

Test for ammonia, no2 and no3. Let us know the result. Always treat your plants and clean them up nicely before putting them into your tank. And a week for your tank to be fully cycled........ i dont think so bro. Check for the above mentioned. Its a slow death for the fishes but inmediate overkill for the shrimps. And within that week how many times did you perform waterchange. Did you add any beneficial bacteria into your tank? Theres alot of stuff going on so you gotta rule them out 1 by 1. But from my point of view.... your tank is not yet fully cycled, not enough wc to remove ammonia and no2 and no3 and your new plants wasnt washed thoroughly.... might wanna get the basics right before putting in livestocks. Let us know again if there are still problems arising.

[Urban Aquaria]

Hi Urban Aquaria, thanks for your reply! My tank has been fully cycled for a bout a week? I have added some chemicals which cause the ph to remain at 7 as instructed by the local fish store owner at C328. Haha all my shrimp have died as well. I had 6, 1 got sucked up into the filter a few days ago, and the other 5 died of copper and lead poisoning in the soil which I heard is lethal to shrimp? Now in my tank, I have 2 mollies, 4 minnows ,1 dwarf cory and 2 sparrow rasboras. They are doing fine so far. What do you suggest I do? Thanks!

1 week is barely enough time to cycle a tank with active soil substrate, it usually takes up to 6-8 weeks (sometimes even longer) for most new tanks to establish a stable cycle. If you have not tested the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels in your tank, its impossible to know if your tank is actually cycled.

Its more likely that the shrimps were killed by toxic ammonia and nitrite spikes while tank is still in the midst of the cycling process (many people have kept shrimps with that brand of soil without problems, so its unlikely the soil issue). Unless you can test for copper or lead, its all back to wild guessing again. Shrimps are much more sensitive to toxic conditions in an aquarium, so while your fishes may seem okay, the shrimps may not survive it.

As mentioned earlier, do invest in a set of test kits (ie. API Freshwater Master Test Kit), so that you can test the parameters to monitor the tank cycle. Its really tough for us to advise you any further without those test data, because all of us will also be guessing and just giving random solutions too.

[thebaldingaquarist]

Hi Thebaldingaquarist, thank you for your reply! I have removed the driftwood as I felt that it was abit crowded in the tank. I have also removed the red reneckii( wrong spelling as well lol) and the Bacopa innominata in my tank. Now all I have are some cambomba attached to wire gauze and some egeria densa. My shrimp have also all died sadly as there could have been some copper or lead in the HELP advanced soil which I had used which was specifically for plant growth and not shrimp. Any idea for plants that I can add and plant into the soil? As Java fern and anubias need to be tied to a rock? Thanks so much!

Hope i can be of help:
cambomba can planted.
java ferns and anubias can be tied to rock or wood. No problems.
the densa.. i think it will out grow the tank very soon!

i have personally used HELP soil before and have no copper issues. i tend to believe its a cycling issue like what UA mentioned. have some patience.. let the filter and tank "run in" and cycle the tank first.

[popimac]

Enjoy the learning process, especially on the water chemistry. At least I do and still learning.

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