How to add shrimp (or fish) to an aquarium

Today is the day! Two weeks ago I added plants to my tank, and now I'm going to add Tiger Shrimp. What I'm going to do will apply to most creatures you add to your aquarium.

This is a Tiger Shrimp. They don't get big and are perfect for freshwater aquariums. My boyfriend has a prolific bunch in his tank, so he has bagged up 12 of them for me.

Generally, the rule is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water in your tank. But since this is a freshwater tropical tank (constantly over 70 degrees F) it is more oxygenated, and can hold more fish.

Here's the little buggers. My boyfriend put some water in an aquarium bag and we have transported them to my house.

Here's my tank, now protected by Princess Celestia.

I need to take my shrimp from the bag to the tank.

Thanks to science! I know about water displacement so I am removing some before adding the bag of shrimp.

Without opening the bag yet, gently place the bag in the tank. This will get all the water the same temperature.

An upwards view if that. Notice I have not opened the bag yet.

Let's wait about 15 minutes. Erg, this clock is way off by the way. It was about 1:50 PST when I put them in. Then I went to go watch Too Cute on Animal Planet. 🐱

15 minutes later, it's time to open the bag. But don't dump them in yet!

I'm going to add some of my water to mix with their water. This is so it doesn't shock their systems with the different water chemistry.

You can do this a little at a time over the course of an hour (max) if your creatures are delicate or stressed. The goal is to slowly replace their water with yours by mixing gently.

These guys are hardier, so I've added some of my water and left the bag open to the tank.

Go away for another 15 minutes or so. Honestly, we use mainly digital clocks, so all of my traditional clocks are way off.

When you're happy with their acclimation, you can put them all in the tank. Don't leave any in the bag!

Nothing takes the edge off of stress than eating. Feed them immediately so they learn they don't have to worry about food and won't become aggressive towards each other.

Just a pinch of the shrimp cuisine is all you need.

Put it in the tank.

These guys go nuts for sinking wafers in my boyfriend's tank, so I'll drop in a couple of those, too.

In they go.

I need to add a little bit more water. This was the water I removed initially, or you can add some from your own stash of aquarium water.

All done!

Look at them go!

Thanks for sharing this adventure in fish keeping with me!