Decapod (Tiny white specks) removal experiment

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supersudo

AC Members
Jan 17, 2010
147
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San Diego, CA
ok guys.. i went and got 2 white cloud mountain minnows for an experiment in my shrimp tank.

my tank is overrun with these tiny decapods that are really unsightly and i wanted to get rid of them.. so after a lot of research into white cloud fish i decided to get 2 as a test run.. so far everything is working out great... i'll keep you updated if anything changes

i picked out the smallest white clouds from my local petsmart ($1.19 ea@petsmart - but 10 cents each at a LFS but 40min drive away) so that they're mouths aren't big enough to eat any baby shrimps.. as soon as i introduced them to the tank.. my biggest shrimp Spaz (ghost shrimp) jumped out and attacked them! lol.. it was a little funny to watch cuz spaz couldn't hurt anything that was still alive.. lol

i watched them carefully as they settled in.. the shrimps swam right at them and freaked out the fish! lol.. then i started seeing them ignore the baby shrimplets and pick at invisible things in the water (decapods) and thought "YES!! SUCCESS!!"


if things continue to go well.. i'll add 2-3 more because white clouds are schooling fish..



i've also seen white clouds called "White cloud danios" are they of the danio family?
 

supersudo

AC Members
Jan 17, 2010
147
0
0
San Diego, CA
so far it's working!! i am not seeing any cyclops crawling around anymore and i still see plenty of newborn baby shrimplets in my tank!!..

SUCCESS!! :D
 

emptywallet

another youngling who is clueless
Apr 19, 2008
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Ohio
Real Name
David
whats so bad about the decapods? are they pretty much like fw copepods? because if so then i got a lot of those lol. i am thinking a couple pygmy cories would keep my population down.
 

Rugh1982

AC Members
Apr 1, 2010
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Israel
i grow the white clouds in my planted tank for a long time, didn`t know they are "shrimp safe"
 

supersudo

AC Members
Jan 17, 2010
147
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0
San Diego, CA
i grow the white clouds in my planted tank for a long time, didn`t know they are "shrimp safe"
i'm sure at full grown size.. they'll be able to eat them.. maybe.. (i'll see what happens when they get bigger) but it seems they cant catch the shrimplets as they dart away.. my tank has lots of fake plants, caves, and moss so it's easy to hide from white clouds..
 

supersudo

AC Members
Jan 17, 2010
147
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0
San Diego, CA
after doing a bit more research and observing.. i believe white clouds ARE shrimplet safe!.. well for the most part.. i've gotten from multiple sources that:

"This fish breeds easily. It is also a bit unusual in that it doesn’t normally eat its own eggs or young."

and

"Although the White Cloud Mountain Minnow is not necessarily the best fish for controlling mosquitoes, they are sometimes used for this in South Australia because they do not eat frog eggs or tadpoles. This means that they are one possible fish for frog ponds.
If these fish are used in this way, care needs to be excercised to prevent them escaping into the wild."

and from my own observations.. they leave even my smallest shrimplets alone.. every once in a while it'll try to nibble at them, but the shrimplets dart away and the fish doesn't give chase or even care...

pretty sweet!!
 

supersudo

AC Members
Jan 17, 2010
147
0
0
San Diego, CA
ok guys.. i just did a water change on my tank and found a grip load of tiny newborns that were born a few days ago hiding in the substrate...

i guess if the white clouds do eat newborns then they don't eat very much... it seems like they are more or less shrimplet safe! :D
 
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