aotf

Spot apply H2O2 with a syringe and the filters off as a temporary solution. You won't win the fight with peroxide.
If it's really bad, black out your tank for 4-7 days. The cyanobacteria will go away for a couple days (but will come back, this is also just a temporary fix to give you some breathing room).

Longer term solution would be to reduce lighting/ferts and add fast growing plants (like duckweed) to out-compete the cyanobacteria. 

I wouldn't try to treat algae/cyanobacteria chemically, I don't know of any such products I would feel comfortable using in a shrimp tank.
 
EDIT: 5 min of Googling makes me think that Erythromycin might be both shrimp-safe and en effective BGA treatment. I learn something every day! 

You seem to already know this but gH 12 is a bit high for neos. If they're breeding in your tank, that's really good (and impressive). Most people recommend a range of gH 6-8. Your kH is good.

If you can mix the two waters to a known ratio and get the kH 3-5 and the gH 6-8, go for it.

You should not be using a buffering substrate with non-RO/DI water. It will fight your water every step (pulling down pH and kH) until its buffering ability is exhausted (probably like a year or less depending on your water changes) and the pH and kH will start to rise to your tap's levels, which might wreck havoc in your tank depending on your shrimp and what they are used to. Then you have to figure out how to deal with that and you've wasted some money on expensive substrate. Buffering substrate is great for RO/DI (kH 0, gH 0) water and Caridina since they require lower pH and very low kH but it's not awesome for neos.

If you want to set up a TB tank down the road, you could try using the water from your "machine" but the kH is already a bit high for them (they prefer kH 0-1). You might be able to get away with it by using a buffering substrate. You can remineralize just the gH and you could be ok. 

Sounds like the jazz worked out just fine!
 
You're about to have a berried shrimp, hope it's one of the super orange ones!

I always had trouble keeping the rose-scented candles lit underwater.

That's a bummer, I've heard of egg drops but haven't had any myself (although I had a female molt all her eggs off).
I've heard that first time shrimp mommas aren't too good at keeping their eggs and will occasionally drop them (glue not strong enough? fanning too hard? swimming too much? who knows). If you find them, you can try to hatch them artificially but they're probably dead by now.

If I were you, I wouldn't beat myself up about it. Now you know that they're happy enough to breed in your tank, you'll probably start seeing berried shrimp pop up every couple weeks.
Just make sure they're well fed so they can build up their unfertilized egg reserves.
I would only start to get worried if you notice that they are repeatedly dropping their clutches. Once isn't enough to fuss over.

I always had trouble keeping the rose-scented candles lit underwater.

In my experience, usually a couple hours. They've got to find her, do the deed, and then she has to go hide somewhere and squeeze out the eggs into her pleopods.
I'd say there's a really good chance you'll have a berried female by the end of the day.

Sounds like the jazz worked out just fine!
 
You're about to have a berried shrimp, hope it's one of the super orange ones!

I always had trouble keeping the rose-scented candles lit underwater.

The first pictures are of a female shrimp.
 
They won't breed unless they're happy about the water they're in AND they are acclimated to it (which can take many weeks).
 
I had some imported Tangerine Tigers in my main tank that took close to two months for the first one to berry. Suddenly, all the females started berrying. Patience and stability are key.

Great to see these numbers!
I agree that the gH seems quite high. There are breeders who get away with numbers like that but it's not the case for most people, especially if the shrimp come from a different water source.
Lowering gH is a drag, albeit simple. To my knowledge, you can't really lower it in your tank so a water softener would be the way to go. I don't know enough about them to say whether there's anything specific you should look out for, I'll let the experts on that topic share their wisdom. Depending on how good your softener is, you may have to remineralize after. 
The pH is good while the kH is a little high for comfort (you'd probably want 3-5 kH), although they'll both change a bit as you soften your water (kH will likely go down and you may see a pH drop).
 
Have you been finding the bodies of your fallen shrimp? If it looks like molting issues (split shells, white band of death), then your gH might be to blame. The shrimp would be over-hardening their shells and then finding them very difficult to get out of when the time is right.
I'm still partial to the idea that, even if you had perfect parameters, you may see deaths because of how they were acquired, but it's still worth it to get your tank juuust right so that these guys (and the next) at least have a chance.

It is time for me to retire from the shrimp hobby.  I have many tanks of different sizes (because I started out with small tanks, then got bigger ones, then got bigger ones), lots of different lights, filters, decorations, etc.  But I don't want to ship anything. Especially the tanks.  Sooooo, since I am located in Northern California, 1/2 hour west of Santa Rosa, I would like someone who wants these goodies to come and get them. 

Great to see these numbers!
I agree that the gH seems quite high. There are breeders who get away with numbers like that but it's not the case for most people, especially if the shrimp come from a different water source.
Lowering gH is a drag, albeit simple. To my knowledge, you can't really lower it in your tank so a water softener would be the way to go. I don't know enough about them to say whether there's anything specific you should look out for, I'll let the experts on that topic share their wisdom. Depending on how good your softener is, you may have to remineralize after. 
The pH is good while the kH is a little high for comfort (you'd probably want 3-5 kH), although they'll both change a bit as you soften your water (kH will likely go down and you may see a pH drop).
 
Have you been finding the bodies of your fallen shrimp? If it looks like molting issues (split shells, white band of death), then your gH might be to blame. The shrimp would be over-hardening their shells and then finding them very difficult to get out of when the time is right.
I'm still partial to the idea that, even if you had perfect parameters, you may see deaths because of how they were acquired, but it's still worth it to get your tank juuust right so that these guys (and the next) at least have a chance.

A TDS meter uses the solution's (i.e your tank water's) electrical conductivity to tell you how much Total Dissolved Solids you have in the tank. Shrimp can be sensitive to the amount of stuff in their water, even if everything else looks good. Add a TDS meter to your arsenal if you can but as bob pointed out, it's not as urgent as some other kits. Many are able to raise shrimp without one so I'd hold off for a bit.

Rilis and cherries are both neos. Amanos are caridina multidentata, which is different from what the community means when they say "cards" or "caridina" (usually that means "caridina cantonensis" but also sometimes encompasses "caridina serrata" and "caridina mariae", the three of which can interbreed). Amanos are going to get larger and are typically hardier, but will never breed in your tank as they require brackish water. Neos will happily breed once the conditions are right. Sorry if this is confusing, there are a lot of shrimp!
A quick primer:
- Caridina multidentata: amanos are hardier, bigger, and more... "rustic" looking. They will not breed.
- Neocaridina heteropoda/davidii: neos are smaller, more fragile than amanos, and come in a wide variety of color variations. Their patterning is relatively simple (rili or full body). They will breed.
- Caridina cantonensis/serrata/mariae: cards are visually similar to neos but come in even more color variations with complex and amazing patterning. Cantonensis/serrata/mariae are actually quite different and prefer different parameters but they will all interbreed (in part explaining color/patterning diversity). These are harder to keep than neos and amanos and will breed but rearing them takes a skilled hand (...and deep pockets). Understanding the terminology surrounding cards takes a while, I'll spare you here.

Also, it's worth pointing out that --because your shrimp come from a LFS-- they are very likely imported from overseas. As such, they've been shipped halfway across the world, kept in sub-par conditions at the LFS, transferred again, and are now trying to acclimate to new conditions. This is often too much for most shrimp. Even if you had "perfect" conditions, you might just see them slowly die off week after week. It's frustrating and sad but it happens. They were also probably purchased as adults, which is when they are least able to acclimate to new conditions.
 
I would suggest doing the best you can for these guys, learn as much as you can about keeping them happy, and --in the event that they don't make it-- buy american-bred shrimp from a hobbyist here, on TPT, or Aquabid. They tend to be much more resilient, the prices will probably be better, and you'll be breeding them in no time.

Best of luck!
 

I think I should have made the distinction a bit clearer -- Mikolas and I might have given the wrong impression regarding your snail problem. Fenbendazole will affect some snails, not all. Nerites and mystery snails (what I meant when I said "fancy snails") will be affected by fenbendazole. Unfortunately, they are the ones that don't breed in FW and so would never be a problem anyway. Pond snails (and I think ramshorns) are very likely to survive a fenben treatment (speaking from personal experience), so the tongs are still your best friends.

My recommendation for that is to spend 10-15 minutes every day for a week removing snails. If you do it once a week or once a month, the population has time to bounce back. If you try to do it all at once, you get burnt out and can't get them all. A little bit every day for a longer period is the way to go.
 
I don't have any experience with your assassin snails, you might end up killing those (as ironic as that would be).

I think I'm also aotf on TPT, I've been responding to your threads there too depending on where I notice them first.

It technically does eventually leave the tank but it takes a very very very long time and a lot of water changes. I suspect that snails are very sensitive to it --even in minuscule quantities-- and the fact that it's not super water soluble makes me think it hangs around the substrate for a while (some people say it gets absorbed by the tank's silicone, I only sort of buy that). The end result is a tank that might take 6 months, 9 months, over a year to be fancy-snail friendly again. 

A TDS meter uses the solution's (i.e your tank water's) electrical conductivity to tell you how much Total Dissolved Solids you have in the tank. Shrimp can be sensitive to the amount of stuff in their water, even if everything else looks good. Add a TDS meter to your arsenal if you can but as bob pointed out, it's not as urgent as some other kits. Many are able to raise shrimp without one so I'd hold off for a bit.

Rilis and cherries are both neos. Amanos are caridina multidentata, which is different from what the community means when they say "cards" or "caridina" (usually that means "caridina cantonensis" but also sometimes encompasses "caridina serrata" and "caridina mariae", the three of which can interbreed). Amanos are going to get larger and are typically hardier, but will never breed in your tank as they require brackish water. Neos will happily breed once the conditions are right. Sorry if this is confusing, there are a lot of shrimp!
A quick primer:
- Caridina multidentata: amanos are hardier, bigger, and more... "rustic" looking. They will not breed.
- Neocaridina heteropoda/davidii: neos are smaller, more fragile than amanos, and come in a wide variety of color variations. Their patterning is relatively simple (rili or full body). They will breed.
- Caridina cantonensis/serrata/mariae: cards are visually similar to neos but come in even more color variations with complex and amazing patterning. Cantonensis/serrata/mariae are actually quite different and prefer different parameters but they will all interbreed (in part explaining color/patterning diversity). These are harder to keep than neos and amanos and will breed but rearing them takes a skilled hand (...and deep pockets). Understanding the terminology surrounding cards takes a while, I'll spare you here.

Also, it's worth pointing out that --because your shrimp come from a LFS-- they are very likely imported from overseas. As such, they've been shipped halfway across the world, kept in sub-par conditions at the LFS, transferred again, and are now trying to acclimate to new conditions. This is often too much for most shrimp. Even if you had "perfect" conditions, you might just see them slowly die off week after week. It's frustrating and sad but it happens. They were also probably purchased as adults, which is when they are least able to acclimate to new conditions.
 
I would suggest doing the best you can for these guys, learn as much as you can about keeping them happy, and --in the event that they don't make it-- buy american-bred shrimp from a hobbyist here, on TPT, or Aquabid. They tend to be much more resilient, the prices will probably be better, and you'll be breeding them in no time.

Best of luck!
 

A TDS meter uses the solution's (i.e your tank water's) electrical conductivity to tell you how much Total Dissolved Solids you have in the tank. Shrimp can be sensitive to the amount of stuff in their water, even if everything else looks good. Add a TDS meter to your arsenal if you can but as bob pointed out, it's not as urgent as some other kits. Many are able to raise shrimp without one so I'd hold off for a bit.

Rilis and cherries are both neos. Amanos are caridina multidentata, which is different from what the community means when they say "cards" or "caridina" (usually that means "caridina cantonensis" but also sometimes encompasses "caridina serrata" and "caridina mariae", the three of which can interbreed). Amanos are going to get larger and are typically hardier, but will never breed in your tank as they require brackish water. Neos will happily breed once the conditions are right. Sorry if this is confusing, there are a lot of shrimp!
A quick primer:
- Caridina multidentata: amanos are hardier, bigger, and more... "rustic" looking. They will not breed.
- Neocaridina heteropoda/davidii: neos are smaller, more fragile than amanos, and come in a wide variety of color variations. Their patterning is relatively simple (rili or full body). They will breed.
- Caridina cantonensis/serrata/mariae: cards are visually similar to neos but come in even more color variations with complex and amazing patterning. Cantonensis/serrata/mariae are actually quite different and prefer different parameters but they will all interbreed (in part explaining color/patterning diversity). These are harder to keep than neos and amanos and will breed but rearing them takes a skilled hand (...and deep pockets). Understanding the terminology surrounding cards takes a while, I'll spare you here.

Also, it's worth pointing out that --because your shrimp come from a LFS-- they are very likely imported from overseas. As such, they've been shipped halfway across the world, kept in sub-par conditions at the LFS, transferred again, and are now trying to acclimate to new conditions. This is often too much for most shrimp. Even if you had "perfect" conditions, you might just see them slowly die off week after week. It's frustrating and sad but it happens. They were also probably purchased as adults, which is when they are least able to acclimate to new conditions.
 
I would suggest doing the best you can for these guys, learn as much as you can about keeping them happy, and --in the event that they don't make it-- buy american-bred shrimp from a hobbyist here, on TPT, or Aquabid. They tend to be much more resilient, the prices will probably be better, and you'll be breeding them in no time.

Best of luck!
 

Welcome to the forum!

As I'm sure you're figuring out, shrimp can be finicky!
Unfortunately, it's hard to tell what's going on with your tank without more information.

It's a bit of an investment but I really recommend a combined test kit for pH, ammonia, nitrites,  and nitrates. Additionally, it's really helpful to get gH and kH test kits, in addition to a TDS meter.
Without information from those kits, it's basically impossible to tell what's going on in your tank.
Could be ammonia spikes from overfeeding, high nitrates from insufficient water changes and not enough plants, could be super hard water causing molting issues, could be an improperly cycled tank... you get the idea.

You said "mostly" neos? Does that mean you also have caridinas in there? They're typically much more fragile and --while some breeders keep them together with carefully monitored parameters-- most shrimp tanks are better off focusing on one or the other given their different preferred parameters.

Welcome to the forum!

As I'm sure you're figuring out, shrimp can be finicky!
Unfortunately, it's hard to tell what's going on with your tank without more information.

It's a bit of an investment but I really recommend a combined test kit for pH, ammonia, nitrites,  and nitrates. Additionally, it's really helpful to get gH and kH test kits, in addition to a TDS meter.
Without information from those kits, it's basically impossible to tell what's going on in your tank.
Could be ammonia spikes from overfeeding, high nitrates from insufficient water changes and not enough plants, could be super hard water causing molting issues, could be an improperly cycled tank... you get the idea.

You said "mostly" neos? Does that mean you also have caridinas in there? They're typically much more fragile and --while some breeders keep them together with carefully monitored parameters-- most shrimp tanks are better off focusing on one or the other given their different preferred parameters.

If you bought them a couple days after they got to the store, I'm not at all surprised at the trouble you're having.
Keep searching and tuning your water parameters but know that you're shrimp may simply be condemned. Keep your fingers crossed for the berried female and figure out how to receive homebred shrimp in the mail. Buying imports is just a recipe for frustration.
 
I forgot about your shipping woes. That's a huge bummer, LFS will overcharge you for everything and a TDS meter on Amazon is like $15.

Sorry to hear about your frustrations, I've been (am?) in a similar place.
A couple guesses (don't take anything I say as gospel):
 
- your kH might be on the high end? Probably fine, honestly.
- your gH is still on the low-end. You could be experiencing molting issues, which would explain the occasional deaths. The tricky part is that changing the water/params will often trigger molts, so you may see deaths even as you push the gH higher as they try to molt without sufficiently mineralized shells.
- what's the TDS? You might have water with a lot of stuff in it without realizing it, especially as you're pushing the kH up with baking soda.
- how old is your tank?
- what parameters were the shrimp kept in before you purchased? If they were in "worse" parameters their entire lives and you moved them to dramatically "better" parameters, they are still quite likely to die off (especially if you bought them as adults).
-  Since you got them from PetCo, there's a very good chance they are imports. Unfortunately, stabilizing imports is a throw of the dice and --even in seemingly good conditions-- they often just die off slowly (they do not like getting shipped halfway across the world, temporarily stored in crappy water, then being forced to acclimate to new params).


My advice for these shrimp would be too get the gH up to 7 and kH to 3 (I don't really think that's the issue). Get a TDS meter and get those numbers. 
If your berried female croaks, artificially hatch the eggs. The babies should be much more resilient and will adapt to your water -- assuming there's nothing really wrong with it.

Beyond that, treat these guys as your learning shrimp and try to get homebred next time, the difference will likely be night and day. You'll get there!

Welcome to the forum!

As I'm sure you're figuring out, shrimp can be finicky!
Unfortunately, it's hard to tell what's going on with your tank without more information.

It's a bit of an investment but I really recommend a combined test kit for pH, ammonia, nitrites,  and nitrates. Additionally, it's really helpful to get gH and kH test kits, in addition to a TDS meter.
Without information from those kits, it's basically impossible to tell what's going on in your tank.
Could be ammonia spikes from overfeeding, high nitrates from insufficient water changes and not enough plants, could be super hard water causing molting issues, could be an improperly cycled tank... you get the idea.

You said "mostly" neos? Does that mean you also have caridinas in there? They're typically much more fragile and --while some breeders keep them together with carefully monitored parameters-- most shrimp tanks are better off focusing on one or the other given their different preferred parameters.

Sorry to hear about your frustrations, I've been (am?) in a similar place.
A couple guesses (don't take anything I say as gospel):
 
- your kH might be on the high end? Probably fine, honestly.
- your gH is still on the low-end. You could be experiencing molting issues, which would explain the occasional deaths. The tricky part is that changing the water/params will often trigger molts, so you may see deaths even as you push the gH higher as they try to molt without sufficiently mineralized shells.
- what's the TDS? You might have water with a lot of stuff in it without realizing it, especially as you're pushing the kH up with baking soda.
- how old is your tank?
- what parameters were the shrimp kept in before you purchased? If they were in "worse" parameters their entire lives and you moved them to dramatically "better" parameters, they are still quite likely to die off (especially if you bought them as adults).
-  Since you got them from PetCo, there's a very good chance they are imports. Unfortunately, stabilizing imports is a throw of the dice and --even in seemingly good conditions-- they often just die off slowly (they do not like getting shipped halfway across the world, temporarily stored in crappy water, then being forced to acclimate to new params).


My advice for these shrimp would be too get the gH up to 7 and kH to 3 (I don't really think that's the issue). Get a TDS meter and get those numbers. 
If your berried female croaks, artificially hatch the eggs. The babies should be much more resilient and will adapt to your water -- assuming there's nothing really wrong with it.

Beyond that, treat these guys as your learning shrimp and try to get homebred next time, the difference will likely be night and day. You'll get there!

Oof, that's a big range. Not only is the low end kind of low, the high end is also a bit high. They'll probably survive in it but extended periods in the high 70s will increase your chances of bacterial infections. A fan over the water in the summer will increase evaporation and decrease temps, you can probably swing it without a chiller.
 
I'd suggest you double down on an external thermostat that will cut power to the heater if it goes overboard. I know it'll cost you a bit more upfront but losing everything to a faulty heater would be such a shame. Unfortunately, I don't have any specific recommendations (I just don't have a heater) but it shouldn't be too hard to find.
 
EDIT: This just happened to someone on TPT, there are examples of controllers in the thread: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/8-general-planted-tank-discussion/1205874-tank-got-nuked-today.html#post10543378