Failed shrimp/snail keeping

[Tanked]

Because you are losing shrimp and snails, I'm thinking that there could be a problem with your water supply.  Bottled water would take that out of the equation.

Beyond that, I've got nothing.  Good Luck!

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/27/2023 at 9:26 AM, Arnam Anan said:

As for bottled water, I think for shrimp keeping is not a bad idea if you are keeping 1-2 tanks. I have heard of shrimp keeper going years without changing water.

This is another very highly debated topic in shrimp keeping and it breaks down to a few very key caveats as well as really understanding what is going on. 

First, some people won't change water because when they did the shrimp died. It's purely out of fear and then going to the Internet and seeing "no water change shrimp tank" being so prevalent. This isn't a situation where someone understands fully what is happening with their water and what this is doing to the shrimp. (Basically, old tank syndrome and acclimation to that situation)

Both the invertebrates and the plants will pull nutrients from the water and release other things into the water. Water changes would be how you keep that water, chemically clean and balanced in terms of the mineral content those things need.

Second reason for this is usually that they believe plants or a deep substrate acts as the full cycle and you have no need to use any filtration.  "No filter" vs. "no water changes" are two very different things and often used in the same breath or intended to mean the same thing. Specifically when talking about water changes is leads to a mineral issue long term, which means that you need to add those back in for the plants and shrimp, or it means that you add them back via water changes.  It is much less stress on the shrimp to do this via water changes, preconditioning the water for those water changes, and doing that normal routine. This gets the shrimp into a schedule for molting and breeding.

Third reason I see this is because of literally just cost to change water or the concern of too many water changes being destructive to the environment.  Some people will use recycled water from a very lightly stocked tank for other tanks in this case as well. I get it, but being very aware of something like mineral issues with shrimp and invertebrates is key.