Shrimp Need the Standard Tests Plus Two More
Start with the usual liquid-kit checks: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and temperature. Then add the two tests many fish keepers skip and shrimp keepers cannot: general hardness, which reflects the dissolved minerals shrimp draw on to build a new shell, and carbonate hardness, which buffers pH and keeps it from swinging. A cherry shrimp tank can read perfectly on ammonia while quietly failing its colony on minerals, showing up weeks later as failed moults. Rinse tubes in tank water, fill them accurately, and give each test its full development time before reading the colour in neutral light.
Zero Waste, Low Nitrate, No Surprises
Ammonia and nitrite must read zero; shrimp are small, graze constantly in the biofilm where waste settles, and have little reserve when water turns. Nitrate should be kept low through modest, regular water changes and restrained feeding, since a shrimp tank is easy to overfeed relative to its tiny livestock. Watch behaviour as a living test alongside the kit: shrimp that stop grazing, crowd near the surface or the filter outflow, or sit motionless in the open are reporting a problem the numbers should then explain. If several shrimp die suddenly, test before anything else, and think about sprays, lotions, or new additions that could have reached the water.
Hardness Is a Moulting Issue, Not a Preference
Cherry shrimp shed their shell to grow, and the new shell hardens using minerals from the water. Water that is too soft can leave shrimp unable to complete a moult, often visible as a white band or ring around the body behind the head followed by death, while very hard water brings its own strain. The practical aim is a moderate, stable hardness that suits this hardy species, achieved from your source water if possible rather than by constant adjustment. Test the water you use for changes as well as the tank, because a mismatch between the two is a common hidden cause of losses in the day after a routine change.
Stability Beats Chasing Perfect Figures
Cherry shrimp tolerate a fairly wide range of pH and temperature, but they punish sudden change. Make water changes smaller and more frequent rather than large and rare, match the new water's temperature, and pour it in gently instead of in one rush. If a reading needs correcting, correct it across days, not hours. Record each set of results with notes on moults found, berried females, and any deaths, because shrimp problems are usually diagnosed from the pattern: a hardness slide as the substrate exhausts, a nitrate creep from generous feeding, or losses that always follow change day.
When the Colony Needs Outside Help
If shrimp keep failing moults, dying after changes, or leaving the grazing life despite readings that look reasonable, take your full log to a knowledgeable aquatic shop or an aquatic vet. Bring the source-water results too, since the answer often sits in the gap between tap and tank. Avoid adding mineral products or treatments by guesswork in the meantime, as overshooting hardness harms a colony as surely as a shortfall. Keeping the whole record in KinsLe through a Pet Passport means the shrimp colony's readings, moult notes, and change history stay in one packet you can share.