shrimp and pre-filter sponge on MJ1200? Pleco and shrimp?

sendthis

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May 16, 2011
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So I bought some plecos from a local breeder and in the bag came with shrimp. I didn't really mind as I really wants some but I was planning on doing more research first.

Anyway, so now I have like 3-4 shrimp in my tank. I don't know if I'll end up with more, but I would hope to.

My main question is, will the pre-filter be enough to stop the shrimp from being sucked up during water change? I just modified a MJ-1200 with a sponge pre-filter to drain water for WC.

The next question is, will plecos and shrimp play nice? Will plecos eat the baby shrimp or do I need a separate tank?

My main goal is to keep the plecos but I do want to setup a shrimp tank eventually. But if I get free shrimp out of the deal (from the looks of it, I have at least one male and one female with some very small shrimp too), I would like to try to keep them alive and let them breed.
 
+1^

plecos don't harm shrimps or any other inverts for that matter IME
 
Thanks... good to know. What about the pre-filter on my MJ1200 for WC? I am putting the tank on the bottom level of my stand, so I can't get siphon action going there. I plan to pump the water up into the drain (about 2 ft up). Will I have heavy losses in shrimp or pleco fry if I do that?

I have a Discus tank above, I plan to siphon old water into the pleco/shrimp tank below. I do daily water changes, so I don't think the water will be terribly bad. The main reason I plan to do it this way isn't to save on water, but mostly b/c I know shrimp are sensitive to water parameters and chlorine. This way, I have a constant supply of decent aged water. I eventually plan to setup two aging barrels, but this is more of a temporary solution for that.

I'm worried tiny shrimp will find their way into the pre-filter and when I go to clean it, I'll lose some.
 
Thanks... good to know. What about the pre-filter on my MJ1200 for WC? I am putting the tank on the bottom level of my stand, so I can't get siphon action going there. I plan to pump the water up into the drain (about 2 ft up). Will I have heavy losses in shrimp or pleco fry if I do that?

My worry about pleco tanks being low is not siphoning the detritus (poop specifically) often enough. Since you have Discus, you're used to the work though.
After your shrimp establish them selves you won't need to worry about siphoning a few up the drain.
 
If your shrimp do successfully reproduce, you will have issues vacuuming your substrate and not sucking up shrimp.
 
+1^

plecos don't harm shrimps or any other inverts for that matter IME
My BN absolutely has it in for my largest nerite. Knocks him off the glass, rocks, driftwood, kicks him around the substrate. I have no idea why. He does, however, mostly ignore the shrimp. He'll give them a tail slap if they start poking at his fins, but that's about it.
 
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