Ghost shrimp with under gravel filter

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mattoid

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Jun 26, 2014
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Yarra Ranges, Victoria, Australia
hi all, I just purchased a 2nd hand 6.5g/25ltr square tank with an under gravel filter. I'm planning on planting it out with either thick gravel or most likely gravel in terra cotta pots. does anyone have any experience with shrimp (ghost/glass in particular) and under gravel filters? is it okay/safe or a bad idea? it's for my workplace so I don't want fish and will rely on them eating plant matter and Friday feeds over the weekend. Any advice/eye rolling/head shaking/ideas/comments welcomed...


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I used to have that combo years ago and can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work. One thing that may not work well though, is an UGF in a planted tank.

What type of fish are you going to keep with them? I recently started keeping Ghost Shrimp after years of not having them and mistakenly put them in with Tetras and Barbs and they destroyed 20 shrimp in about 5 minutes. I'd forgotten that even though they can't swallow them whole they will rip them into pieces. They will work with Guppies, Mollies, and Swords though. I've been recenlty keeping them in a sump with guppies.
 
thanks for the reply. they won't be kept with any fish, just the plants. I'll probably just use hair grass and moss with a thicker substrate, and put something basic like ambulia or stricta in a pot.


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thanks for the reply. they won't be kept with any fish, just the plants. I'll probably just use hair grass and moss with a thicker substrate, and put something basic like ambulia or stricta in a pot.


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I'm no expert but deep substrates are troublesome in FW. With a deep substrate you will definitely want to siphon the substrate to prevent the buildup of toxic gas but you don't want to siphon it where plants are because they need the waste.

I would eliminate the UGF and go with a nice oversized filter. UGF's are troublesome for planted tanks. I used to believe in UGF's but I was so happy when I got rid of them. It was so much easier to keep the gravel clean. If you ever remove one you will be surprised to see how much gunk they hold. I recently got into live plants and tropical fishkeeping. I've recently switched from gravel to a sand substrate. Not trying to talk down gravel but it works for me. If I had Oscars and such I would use gravel.
 
yeah, probably more to the point I'm wanting someone to say that UGF are great for shrimp. I have 4 other tanks with very fine gravel that work great. all heavily planted with various filtration including homemade, but not UG and no shrimp. I'm going to stay with the UG on this one as it came with it, and in a few months I'll repost leaving myself open to a "I told you so". But I'll take on board the thick gravel point and keep it thin, and only plant into pots, floating moss balls & side attached pots. :)


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yeah, probably more to the point I'm wanting someone to say that UGF are great for shrimp. I have 4 other tanks with very fine gravel that work great. all heavily planted with various filtration including homemade, but not UG and no shrimp. I'm going to stay with the UG on this one as it came with it, and in a few months I'll repost leaving myself open to a "I told you so". But I'll take on board the thick gravel point and keep it thin, and only plant into pots, floating moss balls & side attached pots. :)


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I think your shrimp should be ok with that setup. It sounds like you know what you're doing.
 
You are correct that shrimp are more sensitive to poor conditions in their environments. But with a UGF, chances are small you'd end up with any sort of swampy effect, which is the biggest problem you might run into with substrates, especially thick layers. I've had a couple of instances of 'swamp gas' buildup. The gas bubbles can kill a shrimp or small fish in seconds if they happen to be in the wrong place when the bubble comes up.

Ghost shrimp are not fragile and they don't have tiny babies that roam on the bottom at birth, so of most of the hobby shrimps, I'd think them suited to what you have in mind.

You may even get some reproduction, since you won't have fish to eat the larvae. They can go weeks without any feeding at all, and survive well on biofilm and any algae they find, so don't worry about weekends away, or even a two week holiday. The main worry if you're away is electrical failure, a problem all of us likely face at some point.
 
thanks. I'm looking at putting a small internal in anyway now. I think I want to plant it properly and reckon that I'd end up ripping the UGF out after a few weeks through frustration.
They can go weeks without any feeding at all, and survive well on biofilm and any algae they find, so don't worry about weekends away, or even a two week holiday. The main worry if you're away is electrical failure, a problem all of us likely face at some point.[/
this is comforting to know!


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Ditched the UGF and put in a small internal. Currently helping to remove clouding from black silica substrate that I wasn't prepared to lose by washing it. Starting by growing plants up sans shrimp and will restock the filter with BB when I'm ready for shrimp. Cherry reds I reckon as they are easiest to get from where I live.


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