Sucked up baby blue pearl shrimp in vacuum

[wildroseofky]

I did my weekly cleaning of the tank and while vacuuming I saw very tiny shrimp in my vacuum bag. How do I clean my tank without killing all the tiny shrimp?

I emptied the vac bag into a small critter keeper and sucked up all the babies I could with a turkey baster. I put them back in the tank but keep finding them in the critter keeper. Can I raise them in there? It is too small for air pump. Will doing small water changes be okay?

Should I just vacuum the center of the tank and leave around the plants and sides of tank alone?

 

[Oohitsae]

Vaccuming with shrimplets is hard! I always suck up a couple here and there.
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The best method I've found is using an airline tube to suck up all the debris you can. It's a little more time consuming and works best on bare-bottom or sand, but being such a small inlet i've noticed that the shrimp can jump/swim away much faster and I only catcha few here and there.
You could also try vacuuming into a clear container so you can see them if/when they get sucked up. I usually use those small betta cups from petco and check every time it gets full, then get the shrimp out, dump the water, then do it all over again.

 

[wildroseofky]

The vacuum I use has a cloth bag attached to it that the waste goes into it. There is a clear cup that the bag attaches to. This is the one I bought.

ihttp://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3728+3761+12753&pcatid=12753

I left some of the shrimpies in the clear container that I emptied the bag into. I got a magnifier glass out and there are a lot of them in it. There are also some teeny tiny things that are so small I cannot identify them. Some move around the water and some are just floating at the top of the tank and only move when the water is disturbed. I wonder if they are ghost shrimp larvae? My ghost shrimp have multiplied reasonably well. There is no way all of those can be shrimp though. I only got 8 blue pearl shrimp. One had dropped eggs in the bag when it arrived and there were shrimp hatching out. That is what the spots look like in the small tank. Another female was berried. Surely two shrimp could not have produced all the small things I am seeing. Wish I had a microscope.

 

[waterfaller1]

I use a 3/4" clear tube for water changes. After accidentally pulling the eye off one of my GF who swam up too close, now I keep my finger just in front of the opening as I siphon.

 

[bob mccoy]

well in my shrimp tank i use no gravel and just plants witch makes it a little easier. +1 for air line tubing for vacuming

 

[wildroseofky]

I removed some of my decorations to make it easier for the filter to do its job and reduce need to vacuum. I am also trying my best not to over feed. I have my HOB at full power in the middle of the tank and everything gets pushed to the sides. I have three mystery snails and they poo so much. Makes the sand look bad. I usually vacuum every other day but, with the shrimp, I am going to try and do it a couple of times a week. I am researching on raising blue pearl shrimp. Only a few of the ones I got had much blue. They are getting bluer now that they have settled in some and are breeding like crazy. If all the babies make it, I will be over run. Local pet store said it would take my extra snails and shrimp though for store credit. I only have three fish so that could be a way to up my stock. My juvies are getting to breeding age though. I thought mollies would eat shrimp but they leave mine alone unless they are fighting for food. Then the shrimp usually wins. LOL

I will try the regular air tubing for vacuuming. That is what I was originally using but it didn't suck up plant degree. Or much of anything for that matter.

Does anybody have any ideas for a prefilter that won't cut down on water flow? I have tried various sponges, netting, and hose. I am currently using hsse around a frame work of a bottle that I cut out and just left small sections for support. Got the idea from the diy section. However the hose is still getting sucked up against the filter intake and cutting down on flow.