I hate shrimp!

captmicha

captmicha

Le tired.
Dec 6, 2006
2,052
0
36
40
Maryland, USA
I hate red cherries! I hate having them! I don't know what I'm not figuring out but it's not working out. I've come to really dread water changes. It always goes wrong.

I've tried rubber-banding nylons to the end of my siphon, I've tried rubber-banding a brine shrimp net to the end my siphon, and I've tried hanging a net box from my water change bucket to catch all the little shrimp that come out in the siphon but they always end up getting past and into the bucket of water, and crushed when I try to get them to let go of the net. So, then I end up trying to re-filter the water from the bucket, and always manage to still lose some down the toilet when I empty the bucket. Not only do the shrimp get past the nets and nylons but the nets and nylons cut down on the water flow and reduce the output to a trickle.

I always have to turn the nets or nylons or whatever upside down into a small container of water, wait for the dirt to settle, and spend days transferring the tiny shrimp back to the main tank one-by-one.

The process is so painstaking and I still always end up flushing some shrimp that some how manage to get past all my blockades. I've checked my nets and nylons and stuff for holes and there aren't any.

Is there some magic method that you guys are using?? I'm to the point that I'd rather get rid of it all than keep killing some every time I have to change the water.
 
Uh... how about just not doing water changes at all? I don't do any water changes in my shrimp tanks because of how much plants are in there.

The key is in picking the right plants to absorb the nitrates. Once you get the proper selections, all you gotta do is top off and your troubles are no more.

Some plants that I like to use to keep nitrates at 0 are:
Hornwort
Water Lettuce
Amazon Frogbit
Red Root Floater

Note that all of those plants above are floater types, thus making them very easy to care for.

I keep other plants in my tanks of course, such as some crypts, lots of moss, rotalas and other more difficult stem plants (tonina). But if your main goal is just to lower nitrates, the floater plants I mentioned will do best. Hornwort, being the number 1 favorite for me in eliminating nitrate.

Throw some of these plants in and say goodbye to your water changing worries.
 
I have a lot of plants in my invert tank as well. They keep the water in good condition. Every few weeks I do a water change and I use airline tubing since my tank is so small. I don't gravel vac since I don't want to suck up any shrimp or snails. I just put the end of the tubing in a corner and sho shrimp away as it's draining.
 
quite frankly i have no idea how your shrimp are getting through other than the possibility of moving the net. The simple fix. Get a net and attach it directly to the intake with silicone. They there is no possible way they can get through unless they are super de duper de tiny. You could also just use an air hose instead and make the water change a trickle for about an hour (depending on how big the tank is).
 
Are you trying to gravel vac as well? If not, here's a suggestion that I actually just did on my Oto tank.

Take a tube and run it from the back of your HOB into your bucket. It was a bit slower to drain but that was no big deal. I am now working on a permanent set up for this.
 
get a brine shrimp net.

I do weekly water changes (about 20%) on all my shrimp tanks. Another option is to pinch the hose of the siphon when you see a shrimp swim up, then they will swim out.

I am not an advocate of not doing water changes on shrimp tanks though you can usually go 2 weeks safely as long as you are a very light feeder.
 
Like the others, I take the vac tube off and just use the hose. I keep it in one corner and wiggle it around to scare off the RCS. Yes, I still get one or two on occasion but now it is rare. I also have a ton of java moss in there that they hang out on. I just avoid it as much as possible.

I have 20 gallon tank worth of java moss in a 10 gallon tank :) All my snails and shrimp love it!
 
:iagree: I have a huge amount of Java in the tank with my shrimp and they love it.

Also when I do water changes I just put a small container underneath my HOB, let it fill, dump it and repeat. With a nylon over my intake I have no worries about sucking up a shrimp and no messing with siphons etc. easy peasy fix.
 
I hope you're using a mini gravel vac.. if not, they're only $6 or $7 at most LFS, and it'll make your life a lot easier.. I use mine on a 6G with no hassle at all.

Try changing water in a tank full of scuds, and let me know if you still think shrimp tanks are a pain :grinno:
 
Okay guys... I already said that I tried nylons and a brine shrimp net...

I'll try the air tube idea next time. And I have used mini gravel vacs and just the hose from gravel vacs with the same results. They get through some how.

Changing water from the HOB won't get any solid shrimp crap out of the tank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom