# Shrimps surviving in 2.0ppm Ammonia waters?!



## Junelle (Oct 22, 2017)

I recently bought 3 Red Cherry Shrimps to add to my pico moss tank. Coming home I decided to test the water from LFS using my API Freshwater Master Test Kit and was shocked to find the liquid turning green, showing an ammonia reading of 2.0ppm! I mean, I know that water conditions at the LFS are bad, but I didn't thought it to be THAT bad.

Anyway, I was worried that putting them into my tank with 0ppm ammonia might shock them to death with the huge change, therefore I poured the water into a bowl and kept them there for a day or two while I observe them. I did daily water changes over the last couple days and has managed to get the ammonia down to 0.5ppm. The shrimps seem very active even when the water was at it's worse, picking at the moss I placed into the bowl. How could that be? Considering that ammonia is toxic to invertebrates even at low concentrations, how could they have survived in such situations?

I was hoping someone could enlighten me on this issue. I used to think that shrimps cannot survive in anything more than 0ppm of ammonia, but this proved me wrong. Has anybody ever encountered this?


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## Luciferene (Feb 7, 2018)

From what you are describing, it doesn't seem like a problem with API test kit.

So about Ammonia toxicity, at lower pH and low-temperature ammonia is not as toxic. Also if your LFS is treating the water with conditioners like Prime, ammonia will be bound in a form that is not toxic to shrimps but still register on the API kit. However, with Prime, the ammonia will only be rendered non-toxic for about 48 hours, according to their tests. 

I know you were worried about parameter shock so you did slow daily water changes, but lots of ammonia to low ammonia actually wouldn't cause parameter shock, given all other parameters are same. If you were worried about the parameter shock, with high ammonia, the best you could have done is: adding few drops of Prime to negate toxicity of ammonia, drip acclimate slowly for several hours. Also while drip acclimating, you can constantly remove water. I usually wait until water amount goes up by about a third, then remove the same portion.


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

I was wondering what the pH of that water was that tested at 2ppm ammonia....


I've also seed cherry shrimp *thriving* in .25ppm ammonia....


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## Junelle (Oct 22, 2017)

Thanks for the tip! I've managed to get the ammonia down and it's hovering at about 0.25ppm for the past couple days, which is still not ideal but i'm working on it to get it down to 0. However, the weird thing is that they seem to have become very quiet, which is in stark contrast to when i first got them. They used to swim around excitedly, picking at things constantly during the first few days. After daily 30% RO water changes, they seem to be less and less active, which is freaking me out.

Not sure if the shrimps got bored with their new home, or if its the water changes that's making them uncomfortable. Also worth mentioning was that one of the shrimps molted right on the day after i bought them. But now, nothing much seems to be happening. Most of the time, they are just standing quietly on the stones/hardscape, barely doing anything. Is this normal? I have no experience with dwarf shrimps so I do not know what their normal behaviour is. My guess is either that they might be sleeping or that they don't like the water they're in.



Zoidburg said:


> I was wondering what the pH of that water was that tested at 2ppm ammonia....
> 
> 
> I've also seed cherry shrimp *thriving* in .25ppm ammonia....


The pH was 7.1, which i guess is a little on the alkaline side?


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

Straight RO water isn't healthy for them.... using minerals?


At lower pH, below 7, ammonia turns into ammonium, which is less toxic. The higher the pH is, the more toxic ammonia becomes. If the water was actually acid, then they might have been 'fine'.


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## Luciferene (Feb 7, 2018)

+1 for Straight RO being not healthy for them. It can also induce big parameter swings due to lack of buffer.

Are they in your tank or in a bowl right now? I observed before that neos don't move almost at all in still water environment, even if water parameters are 'fine'.


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## madcrafted (Dec 23, 2017)

I agree with advice that was given. I just want to emphasize the need for a KH/GH test for anyone that keeps shrimps. It's the only way we know our mineral content... which dictates whether the shrimps molt successfully or not. It's also good to know what our KH (carbonates/bi-carbonates) levels are. This one has a direct relationship to pH and will determine whether the water is "soft" or "hard". Being as you are raising cherries, you should be aiming for slightly hard water. A pH of 7.1 is perfectly fine.

As for the ammonia, the sooner you get them to a cycled tank, the better. No need to ease them into lower ammonia levels. You acclimate for temperature and mineral variation. A sudden change in osmotic pressure from rich minerals (high GH) to a lower content (low GH) can cause failed moltings... resulting in deaths. This is why it's always better to ensure your tank has the same or just a bit higher GH value, as long as it's done slowly. This is where drip acclimating and a TDS meter helps.


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

Sometimes dechlorinators can give a false positive, so it maybe that rather than actual ammonia. I agree though, acclimatise to the tank water if the GH is different then add them in.


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