We’re almost ready to add shrimp to our tank, we had our water tested today at the aquarium store and we’re sooo close… apparently the substrate just needs a little more time to get some of the nutrients out. I’m hoping it will be ready in a week or so! (I have a 3 year old who can hardly stand himself with the wait.) 

Anyway, I have a few questions I forgot to ask today at the aquarium store:

For background this is a three gallon tank with a single nerite snail. The plants are live (I don’t know what they are) and the soil is specific to grow plants. 

\- Would it be wise to add some sort of nitrogen system? I feel like the plants look okay but a little sad. They have been in the tank a couple weeks.

\- In our old tank we had an Amano shrimp…it disappeared one day and we found it a couple weeks later dried up in the corner in an entirely different room. I would like to get neocardina shrimp for this tank.. I was told we don’t need a top. Is this accurate?

\- Originally we were going to do the rainbow of skittles colors until I found out that eventually they would all turn brown. Is there any combination of colors that would not turn brown eventually (red and orange maybe) or should we stick to a single color?

\- It’s a pretty small tank, but my son would like a small fish too… we want the shrimp first and foremost, but is there any small single fish that would work well in this setting (and not eat the shrimp?) We saw some pea puffers today at the store but I know nothing about them. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

Advice on new shrimp tank!