One of the bags had a small hole punched into it during packing or during transit. I do not know which. The cardboard box the two bags were packed in was delivered falling apart because of being flooded wet. I've had to add plant tabs to the substrate from the bag that was drained to get the plants to grow well. The 2nd bag, with fluid included, is working exactly as advertised and those plants are doing just as well.

Yes. You’ll need to feed it pure (as in, nothing besides) ammonia and no more than 2 ppm (parts per million) and wait until it’s cycled. Since water testing strips are outdated technology and have high chances of being inaccurate whenever used, you will need to get the API Freshwater Master Test Kit (or brackish or saltwater, depends on what your tank is) and monitor the water parameters  optimally once a day, could be once every two days, if you’re a busy person, and make sure you have 0ppm of ammonia, 0ppm of nitrite, and over 0ppm of nitrate (optimally up to 25) to ensure your tank is cycled before adding fish. The purpose of the nitrogen cycle is to make sure your tank has beneficial bacteria to make sure the tank’s surfaces can stay safe. You can ask a friend or go to your LFS (Local Fish Store) and request live filter media (like a cartridge) to “seed” (instantly cycle) your tank. The beneficial bacteria on filter media can stay alive 1 hour out of water, and 2-3 hours in it. Note that SafeStart and other “bottled live bacterias” being sold by stores for an instant cycle are scams, because one thing required to keep the nitrogen cycle alive in your tank would be the constant flow of water, which bottles don’t have. And make sure your tank water is dechlorinated at all times as chlorine easily kills your nitrogen cycle and you will have to start over to form one again. The maximum amount of time to cycle a tank will be up to 8 weeks, but the minimum is 3, and in my personal experience, cycling a tank has never taken me more than 3 weeks. Good luck with your fishkeeping.

The substrate doesn’t contain nutrients. You still need aquatic plant fertilizer if you want your plants to Flourish.

Yes. I always just tie the bag up/roll it up and shove it in a Ziploc so it doesnt leak :)

I've used it with my amano shrimp with no problem as long as I used no additional fertilizer.

I have echo complete in a community tank. I have bunch of shrimps in there. I don't see any problem.

This material is course so small roots have a hard time grabbing on when agitated by cleanings or inhabitants. I personally added a top layer of sand to fix that issue with my carpeting plants.