# Miracle Grow with inverts



## PlantNewbie (Dec 4, 2009)

Is it safe to try micracle grow organic soil with shrimps? Recently i have random shrimp deaths within a few days of each other but the water tested normal. Any guesses what might cause it?


----------



## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

what nshrimp do u have? if u want setup a test tank with them in it. i have 28 gallon bow with soil and im keeping cherry shrimp in it


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

PlantNewbie said:


> Is it safe to try micracle grow organic soil with shrimps? Recently i have random shrimp deaths within a few days of each other but the water tested normal. Any guesses what might cause it?


Its probably not the soil. I've set up all 4 of my shrimp tanks with Miracle Gro Organic Choice soil. No problems.

Shrimp are extremely sensitive--much more so than fish-- to heavy metals. Even traces of copper or zinc, which are fairly common in tapwater, will kill them.

I would use an aquarium water conditioner that neutralizes heavy metals (I use Tetra AquaSafe). Or you can use old aquarium water from a planted tank for your shrimp. There's almost always enough dissolved organic carbon in aged aquarium water to neutralize heavy metals.

In my opinion, Red Cherry Shrimp are incredibly easy to keep, but only if you protect them from the heavy metals in fresh tapwater.

.


----------



## PlantNewbie (Dec 4, 2009)

I used prime on the water when I did a 90%+ water change to remove whatever it is in the water that might kill the shrimps out. Is prime a good water conditioner?


----------



## boltp777 (Mar 20, 2009)

prime is the only water conditioner i trust it has no phosphates in it.


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

PlantNewbie said:


> I used prime on the water when I did a 90%+ water change to remove whatever it is in the water that might kill the shrimps out. Is prime a good water conditioner?


I don't know. Prime may be fantastic for chlorine, chloramine, etc. But heavy metals are what will kill shrimp, more than anything else. Prime is advertised to kill heavy metals "at typical concentration levels". That doesn't sound like a risk-free guarantee.

Until you sort this out, I would do only small water changes and make sure that you add plenty of water conditioner with your water changes.

Remember that NPTs don't need big and frequent water changes. Plants-- not commercial products-- are going to keep those shrimp safe.


----------



## PlantNewbie (Dec 4, 2009)

I'm thinking of adding egg shells as a calcium supplement for shrimps and also to raise the GH a bit, does that sound like a good idea? If so what would the dosage be for a 3 gal?


----------



## grak70 (Jan 5, 2010)

If you're curious about your tap water you can contact your water utility and they will either mail you a copy of the latest water report or direct you to an online report. These reports are usually very thorough and will show you if you have an obvious metal contamination problem.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/downloads/wqs_4q2009.pdf

(mg/L is the same as ppm)


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

PlantNewbie said:


> I'm thinking of adding egg shells as a calcium supplement for shrimps and also to raise the GH a bit, does that sound like a good idea? If so what would the dosage be for a 3 gal?


If your water is ultra-soft (GH less than 4), adding egg shells sounds like a great idea. Since healthy shrimp continuously shed their exo-skeletons, they certainly will need calcium.

Hard to predict adequate dosage as the water pH, size of shell particles, etc will all influence the calcium dissolution. I would just add egg shells (crush them to speed their dissolution) and measure the GH. I would try to get the GH above 5-6. If your water is excessively soft, a little extra calcium won't hurt. My sister's tank in Arizona has GH of 17-20 and her fish and plants are doing fine.


----------



## PlantNewbie (Dec 4, 2009)

Will the soil off-set the pH effects from the shells? or will the pH still go up over time as they dissolve?


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

PlantNewbie said:


> Will the soil off-set the pH effects from the shells? or will the pH still go up over time as they dissolve?


Hard to predict. On page 6 of my book, I lists 6 major factors that affect pH.


----------



## J-P (Jan 5, 2010)

will miracle grow liquid fert work also?


----------



## criminalhate (Mar 19, 2009)

J-P said:


> will miracle grow liquid fert work also?


Miracle grow liquid fert is great for growing a tomato in the backyard but you add it to the tank and your going to cause a huge headache for yourself. What they are referring to is just the organic soil which means it has no ferts added to it so it causes less problems when setting up the tank.


----------



## J-P (Jan 5, 2010)

got ya! thank you


----------



## mikeykc (Apr 17, 2009)

Hi all,

I just wanted to clarify that this is "Miracle-Gro Organic Potting Mix", i.e.: http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Gro-O...1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1264193695&sr=1-3-fkmr0

Thanks!


----------



## mikeykc (Apr 17, 2009)

Hi guys,

Just wanted to bump my question, I don't want to buy something that's totally not correct.

Thanks!


----------



## JoeHundredAire (Mar 20, 2006)

I have not tried the organic miracle grow soil. I might have to try that with an empty tank & a handful of CRS to see if it is safe. I've got 3 empty 10gallon tanks. If I can make some room in the garage, I my try to set up an experimental tank with it. 
On the shrimp safe conditioner, personally I don't trust any water conditioners with my shrimp for removing heavy metals or anything else they are sensitive too. I went to Home Depot & bought two Ice maker filters & connected them end to end & do my water changes with double filtered water. It's way cheaper than an RO filter(which I think is over kill for a FW tank anyhow even if you have discus). I have never had a problem since then & have completely eliminated chemical water conditioner for all of my tanks. My shrimp are happy & I never see any strange losses. My angelfish are really thriving in it. My wallet has thanked me in the long run as well.


----------

