How to clean their tanks???

[captmicha]

How do you clean shrimp tanks without losing shrimp but still getting rid of the mulm on the bottom of the tank?

Is there some technique or something? I hate leaving that layer of dirt on the bottom or losing any shrimp. And now I have daphnia set ups so same problem, especially when their food settles on the bottom and rots.


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[TL1000RSquid]

Don't think much can be done to prevent it, I usually swirl the hose around the area ill be vacumming before starting suction to hopefully run off any of the real lil guys i can't see.

 

[Jemi39]

You can put mesh or like a panty-hose material over the siphon so shrimp can't get sucked up.

 

[Rbishop]

A thin and coarse open cell sponge might aid on the suction end of the hose...you will have to experiment on what works best for you.

 

[ManEatingShrimp]

Whenever I vacuum any tank with small fish or shrimp I have the hose lead into a bucket. On my 90 gallon the bucket overflows while on the shrimp tanks I usually only change 2-3 gallons. Instead of poor the water out after the water change I leave the bucket to sit for a while and once all the debris sink to the bottom I get a flashlight and net and catch anything that was accidentally sucked up. You just shine a light in and tap the bucket to make them jump so you see them move. I have saved countless baby shrimp this way.

 

[Wren]

I siphoned into a bucket, poured off the top part of the water (watching all the time), then let the mulm settle. If you bump or tap the bucket the shrimp will move and you can catch them (even really really tiny ones - it's a pain). Over time I learned that the babies were mainly in one part of my tank (55 gal), so I spent a lot more time looking for them from those buckets of waste water and didn't waste as much time looking in the buckets from the other end.

wren

 

[captmicha]

The sponge or net method is what I've been doing, it doesn't address the crud on the bottom of the tank.

I've also done the bucket thing but still am paranoid about losing shrimp.

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[ZorroNet]

Plant the tank. Mulm = Fertilizer


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[captmicha]

Do you know how fertilizers will effect daphnia?

I have black sand in what I wanted to be my new shrimp tank. I haven't planted it yet but suppose the plants will hide the mulm after they grow in.

One problem is that with sand, the mulm just kind of settles on top. Should I add some soil to the substrate?

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[ZorroNet]

I am not sure about the answer on daphnia. I've never raised them on purpose. I one time raised some mosquito larvae because I thought I could get away with a dead still unfiltered planted tank. I put a beta in and he was rather happy with my decision I added a filter shortly there after.

Add some Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS) and they will aerate the sand for you. Otherwise you will end up with a concrete-like substrate as the sand settles in. Plant roots help too. MTS are great help to plants, substrate, and clean up for you. They won't bother the daphnia or the shrimp either.


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