Cherry Shrimp with Black Eggs?

[kimkeat]

So far, I have found four types of pests in my cherry shrimp tank. Based on my reading in this forum, they are most likely the following:

1. Planaria
2. Hydra
3. Detritus worm
4. Not sure what they are. Very tiny dots which like to move in circle.

For No 4, I cannot do anything about them as they are so tiny and I don't know what they are.

For No 3, I have seen only 2 or 3 so far and I have removed them manually.

For No 1 and 2, I have been removing a few of them manually almost daily.

Today, I saw more than 20 planaria on one side of the tank. Checking further, there are a lot more at the tank bottom. They are all very tiny, about 1 mm only. My tank is bare bottom.

There seem to have different opinions about ways of getting rid of planaria:

1. Using Vermex
2. Using trap
3. Stop or reduce feeding
4. Using fish like baby guppies

I dare not try 1 as some said it may kill the shrimps too. 2 may not work as those in my tank are all very small, about 1 mm only. So, I will stop feeding my shrimps for a few days and see whether there are less planaria. If that does not work, I may have to put in baby guppies but scared they may eat the shrimplets instead. If you have any other better suggestion, please advise. Thanks.

[Urban Aquaria]

The tiny dots darting around are most likely copepods, just some of the many harmless critters in an aquarium tank.

Planaria, detritus worms and copepods will be readily eaten by most small fishes, i would recommend boraras brigittae/merah as they stay small and i have observed them clearing whole tanks of those critters (though for planaria, the large 1-2cm adult ones should be trapped or manually removed, the baby/juvenile ones will then be eaten up by those small fishes).

Baby guppies grow into adult guppies and they have much larger mouths than boraras, so higher chance they also actively snack on shrimplets.

The key is to feed the fishes very lightly (just a few small pellets every few days will do), this will encourage them to naturally hunt and eat up those critters.

I've not seen any fishes eating hydra though, so i guess you'll probably need to use some specific medications to get rid of them.

[kimkeat]

Thanks Urban Aquaria.

Those planaria in my tank are mostly about 1 mm as I remove them whenever I see them. I have not seen big one so far. Yesterday, they were just too many of them and some stayed at the bottom, so I left them alone. I checked again just now and some have grown to over 1 mm. If they can grow to 1 to 2 cm, it is quite unsightly but it will be easier to remove them too.

I saw one lfs keeping boraras with the shrimps. I wanted to buy a few but was worried they may eat the shrimplets. So, they don't attack shrimplets? If so, I will definitely keep a few in my shrimp tank. My daughter has a tank of guppies. I was thinking of putting a few baby guppies in the shrimp tank and put them back to guppy tank once there are less planaria. Keeping boraras permanently will be a better solution though if they don't attack the shrimplets.

There are not too many hydra so far and it is easy to remove them as they just stay at the same spot. But it could be a problem if they suddenly multiply like the planaria now.

[Urban Aquaria]

Well, i have spotted the boraras brigittae occasionally snap at the tiniest few days old 1-2mm length shrimplets if one happens to swim into their path and doesn't jump away (survival of the quickest, those shrimplets should be hiding and not wondering around anyways). The tiny transparent shrimplets look abit like copepods, so i guess its natural instinct for the fishes to peck at them.

So far i've not seen any noticeable decrease in shrimp population growth with them in my tanks though, i still see lot of shrimplets make it to juvenile size and eventually to adulthood.

Only need a few of the fishes to help out (just 5-6 of them will do), a small group of them is usually be more than enough to help keep the critters population under control over time, and the fishes would be full enough to leave shrimplets alone too.

[kimkeat]

Thanks Urban Aquaria. I released a few baby guppies into the shrimp tank today. Will monitor and put them back to the guppy tank as soon as the number of planaria is under control.

[kimkeat]

The 5 (very small) baby guppies that I released into the shrimp tank do not even dare to attack those under 1 mm planaria. Maybe I will try 1 or 2 juveniles but am scare they may attack the shrimplets too. Today, I saw one over 1 cm long. I was not able to remove it as it was at the tank bottom and went under drift wood and disappeared.

[kimkeat]

Released 1 juvenile guppy into the shrimp tank and it ate more than 20 planaria in about 15 minutes.

[Urban Aquaria]

+1 for juvenile guppy!

[kimkeat]

+1 for juvenile guppy!

Ya, will give one lucky juvenile guppy a 10 to 15 minutes buffet treat when I am free to watch. Indeed, it is quite entertaining.

[kimkeat]

The 5 baby guppies have grown, so I put them back to the guppy tank as afraid they may attack the shrimplets. Another 3 smaller baby guppies were released into the shrimp tank. There are still planaria but much fewer than before.

[thebaldingaquarist]

fwah, its been more than a month, i have this feeling that the planaria problem root cause is not fixed..

[kimkeat]

fwah, its been more than a month, i have this feeling that the planaria problem root cause is not fixed..

There is one or maybe more big planaria hiding at the tank bottom. It is quite difficult to remove them as they stay at the bottom and have never seen them at the tank side so far. My understanding is they do not harm the shrimps. So, must I eliminate them totally? It is unsightly when there are many but just a few don't really bother me much. What could be the possible root cause? There are more than 20 adult shrimps and many shrimplets in the tank. I am currently feeding only one pellet a day. They can finish the food within 15 to 20 minutes.

[Urban Aquaria]

I guess if you don't see them crawling around anymore, that means the population is kept under control. They multiply based on the amount of excess food available, so if their numbers are low, it means your feeding portions are optimal.

Once they pop up in a tank (usually via introduced plants), you can never really get rid of them totally... unless you dose the entire tank with anti-planaria chemical treatment or do a full tank reset to hopefully wipe them out.

I'd just regard them as normal tank inhabitants like detritus worms, snails and copepods. They make good live natural food for small fishes too.

[thebaldingaquarist]

There is one or maybe more big planaria hiding at the tank bottom. It is quite difficult to remove them as they stay at the bottom and have never seen them at the tank side so far. My understanding is they do not harm the shrimps. So, must I eliminate them totally? It is unsightly when there are many but just a few don't really bother me much. What could be the possible root cause? There are more than 20 adult shrimps and many shrimplets in the tank. I am currently feeding only one pellet a day. They can finish the food within 15 to 20 minutes.

You are right, they do not affect the fauna and flora of the tank. just a little creepy to look at. some of my family members freak out when they see it. And yes, i have it in ALL my tanks, nothing much to worry about so as long as there are small fish in there, their population should be under control.

For my tanks, i don't really see them unless i go looking in detail. I had this impression that you keep seeing the planaria more than the shrimps, thats why i thought its a problem for you.

[kimkeat]

Thanks Urban Aquaria and Eric.

[kimkeat]

I feed my cherry shrimps cucumber and carrot occasionally. I use hot water to soften them before feeding. They seem to prefer cucumber. Maybe the carrot is too hard for them. Can I leave the cucumber in the tank overnight? Will it pollute the water? What other vegetables do they like? I know they eat spinach too but have not tried it yet.

[Urban Aquaria]

So far, for the blanched zuchinni slices that i've put into my tanks, i just leave them overnight (its mainly for the shrimps and otos, since they tend to be more active at night), next morning i remove whatever is left to avoid polluting the tank, it would usually be mostly eaten and very mushy by then anyways.

I've also tried putting in non-blanched zuchinni too... those take much longer to soften up, next day the slice would still be intact (maybe not soft enough, so less "diners"), i guess it would probably be able to last alot longer that way, might even be okay to leave it in the tank for up to 1-2 days to gradually soften up.

[kimkeat]

So far, for the blanched zuchinni slices that i've put into my tanks, i just leave them overnight (its mainly for the shrimps and otos, since they tend to be more active at night), next morning i remove whatever is left to avoid polluting the tank, it would usually be mostly eaten and very mushy by then anyways.

I've also tried putting in non-blanched zuchinni too... those take much longer to soften up, next day the slice would still be intact (maybe not soft enough, so less "diners"), i guess it would probably be able to last alot longer that way, might even be okay to leave it in the tank for up to 1-2 days to gradually soften up.

Thanks Urban Aquaria. Hmm, do they prefer zucchini to cucumber? I don't cook at home, so I need to find those places where they are willing to sell me a small piece.

Some shrimp food has chili or curry flavour. Do they like spicy food? Tempting to try feeding them fresh chili. Haha.

[Urban Aquaria]

I guess otos and shrimps don't bother if they are hungry, either one is fine. Dietary charts list zuchinni as having more nutrients and vitamins than cucumber though, but that's more for health nuts.

You can get a small zuchinni (around 12-15cm) for around $3+, i usually get them from Cold Storage supermarkets. If cut into thin slices and stored in a zip-lock bag in the freezer, can last for many months.

Not sure about spicy food, but i've read some thai keepers feed chilli seeds to their bettas, supposedly make them more fierce.

[kimkeat]

I guess otos and shrimps don't bother if they are hungry, either one is fine. Dietary charts list zuchinni as having more nutrients and vitamins than cucumber though, but that's more for health nuts.

You can get a small zuchinni (around 12-15cm) for around $3+, i usually get them from Cold Storage supermarkets. If cut into thin slices and stored in a zip-lock bag in the freezer, can last for many months.

Not sure about spicy food, but i've read some thai keepers feed chilli seeds to their bettas, supposedly make them more fierce.

I chose the smallest cucumber I could find at Giant and it cost only 30 cents. I will use my air-tight container to store it.

Hmm... will probably save a small piece of chili when I have my next meal.