does a water change 'bring out' the shrimp?

[gd007]

Hello all - newbie here,
I am in the process of a fishless cycle and was at the stage wear my nitrites and nitrates were off the chart so I did a big water change. After the water change, i noticed that the 'shrimp' came out again. A week ago, when I added the live plants, I saw them like 'little grasshoppers' among the gravel. My little 4 yr old daughter called them 'little grasshoppers'... But they disappeared a day of so after I spiked the ammonia to 4ppm - I figured the cycling did them in.

Well what do you know... now I easily see 3-4 of the little shrimps jumping around. after this 50-60% water change.

So what's up? Water conditions made them hide them come out again? Someone please educate me. I do not know what kinds of shrimp they are but they are very small and transparent.

 

[MartyMA]

I bet that the little 'shrimp' in your tank are not shrimp at all. They are probably scuds, a type of crustacean common to both fresh and salt water. They are harmless and will most likely be eaten by any fish that can find them. Google 'gammarus' for more information.

 

[gd007]

doing the nasty?

I bet that the little 'shrimp' in your tank are not shrimp at all. They are probably scuds, a type of crustacean common to both fresh and salt water. They are harmless and will most likely be eaten by any fish that can find them. Google 'gammarus' for more information.

Do they add any value? Are they algae eaters? I will google some more but figured I'd ask and share the attached photo.

Here is an image I took of..ummm... two?

 

[Animal1402]

Gammarus are detritivores and will go through your substrate and basically eat all the organic rubbish through it. They are beneficial but pretty much every fish species will have a pop at them. I even caught one of my plecs chewing on one in the summer (I catch gammarus shrimp from my local stream as a bit of free live food).
And welcome to the most addictive hobby in the world. You're gonna love it!

 

[gd007]

And welcome to the most addictive hobby in the world. You're gonna love it!

Thanks! So far so good. I have an empty tank full of ammonia being converted to Nitrite..

So does it make sense that a water change would bring them out of hiding? I've only done one water change and they came out right after that. Didn't even have to search for them - they were rather active. Now, though, I only saw 1 or 2 during the day.

Thanks!
Oh ya, how do you catch them exactly? Mine are so so small...

-GD007

 

[gd007]

Just wanted to say thanks to those that have been helping me. I am very excited to share that my first group of fish should arrive today (from thatfishplace.com). I purchased the 5 Boesemani Raindows and the 6 Panda Corys.

 

[gd007]

Just wanted to say thanks to those that have been helping me. I am very excited to share that my first group of fish should arrive today (from thatfishplace.com). I purchased the 5 Boesemani Raindows and the 6 Panda Corys.

FYI - pictures will be loaded here:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-to-arrive-drip-setup-290072.html#post2760004

 

[Fishfur]

Gammarus, aka scuds are also voracious algae eaters. I keep some in a small tank and any time I get a plant with algae on it, I drop in there and they clean it off better than I ever could, without the risk of damage from dipping them. My kuhli loaches and cories love to eat them too, I'm hoping to have an ongoing culture for food purposes too.

By and large they are harmless but if you have a lot of them, and they are hungry, they will eat live plants if there's no algae or other food to eat. I drop mine bits of algae tab when there are no plants for them to clean up.