How to clean tank with lots of baby shrimps?

[beetroot]

Hello...

Anyone has any advice on how to clean shrimps poo & stuff out of a glass tank that has many many many tiny baby shrimps? I don't have gravels in the glass tank, so all the poo and dirt are very visible.

When I bought my cherries, there were 2 pregnant mummies and they have since given birth to so many tiny babies . Don't wish to kill any of the little ones. Any better ways to filter out the tiny ones from the dirt?

Thanks!

[bdement]

If you work carefully from one end to the other, and hug the bottom well, most of them will feel the disturbance coming and stay out of the way. If they DO get sucked into the tub, their immediate reaction is to start swimming against the current, so just give them a chance to get out.

If you're really concerned about it, you can use a bucket, let it settle, and net any unlucky ones out.

[beetroot]

Yup, did try to net them out... but they are kinda smart and run around, more like jumping around . Pretty hard to net them too because they are so tiny, and I end up netting up all the dirt too... guess that can't be helped.

So what i have ended up doing is using a spoon to scoop the babies out when i change water (pouring away most of the water and leaving just a bit behind), but it is rather tedious.... and luckily i have a small tank that i can handle easily. If i change to a larger tank, i may not be able to manouvre the tank and use a spoon to scoop them out.

Any more better suggestions, please let me know. Cheers!!

[tetrafreak]

i did a water change once. just siphoned the dirt from the gravel substrate and collect the water in a pail. try to avoid the shrimps/shrimplets.

after that, i let the siphoned water settle and then scoop out those shrimps that got caught. fast and easy. they seem to take it well.

[beetroot]

what do you use to scoop up the shrimplets safely?

there was once i used the net, and did not realise that a baby was trapped in the net (it is indeed really tiny) until i was washing the net... and realise that it was already dead . hope i didn't kill any more.....

[antitrust]

i did a water change once. just siphoned the dirt from the gravel substrate and collect the water in a pail. try to avoid the shrimps/shrimplets.

after that, i let the siphoned water settle and then scoop out those shrimps that got caught. fast and easy. they seem to take it well.

i'm using the same method too.

on top of that, before i pump the siphon, i will chase the shrimps away by waving my gravel vacuum around the areas i want to clean.

but it gets a little tricky if you have seed shrimps or other tiny crustaceans living in your tank like mine...

[beetroot]

thanks guys.

i guess you guys have big planted tanks with pumps. well... me... just a small little mini tank, no pumps . they are still doing fine though .

what shrimps do you all have?

[antitrust]

malayans and cherries in the same tank for me!

lots of shrimplets everywhere.

[beetroot]

Will they cross breed?
I don't dare to keep different species in same tank. Don't want cross breed....

[antitrust]

Will they cross breed?
I don't dare to keep different species in same tank. Don't want cross breed....

hope this helps!

[beetroot]

thank you antitrust!! wow... this is helpful.

initially thought shrimps of about the same size would cross breed... like human ... haha. thanks.

[Spid]

Antitrust, nice informative chart there.

Thanks for sharing.

[Spid]

Hello...

Anyone has any advice on how to clean shrimps poo & stuff out of a glass tank that has many many many tiny baby shrimps? I don't have gravels in the glass tank, so all the poo and dirt are very visible.

When I bought my cherries, there were 2 pregnant mummies and they have since given birth to so many tiny babies . Don't wish to kill any of the little ones. Any better ways to filter out the tiny ones from the dirt?

Thanks!

Beetroot, why not introduce some gravel or substrate? So that your tank will not be unsightful.

[beetroot]

Thanks Spid, will consider.
Didn't do that because I have a very mini tank, and wished for easy cleaning initially . Still considering whether to change to a larger tank with the shrimplets growing.

[simontay78]

I used a simple method to suck out the water using a non-motorized pump...the end part of the pump put a small net above the bucket.

The net will get most of the dirt and shrimplet, after every 10 seconds of pump...stop the pump (bring the sucking part out of the tank) and inspect the small net.

Use finger to invert the net slowly under the tank light and use your finger to slide touch the wiggling shrimplet and put them back into the tank...One by one.

Be careful not to crushed them when doing that...usually i just flick them off the net...and they just swims away unharmed.

Bigger shrimps caught will auto-jump off the net if you align it side ways hehe

tedious but unfortunately the best way I feel can suck out the dirty water...clean your filter also...haiz. mine super dirty now hehe

[beetroot]

Thanks simontay78. Will always be tedious with shrimplets around. They are super tiny and hard to spot. Not so many around anymore, think they have been dying on me. But for the remaining ones, still a tedious exercise but worth it.

[Crazy4Shrimps]

Use an airpump tube to suck out the water instead of the normal tank cleaning suction pump.

The suction caused by the air pump tube will be just enough to remove the debris but not enough to suck up your shrimplets hence leaving them unharm.