Deep Clean For Shrimp Tank

[ADsnail]

I have an established shrimp tank, constantly thriving with tiny babies. Despite regular water changes and filter rinsing, the substrate tells me it's time for a deep clean. But, how to do it without killing shrimplets?

I have both a manual (hand-trigger) vac that sends water to a bucket, and also an electric vac that pulls up water, substrate, floating plant matter, etc and filters impurities, letting the rest rush back out into the tank. The electric is strong enough to pull bloodworms out of substrate in other tanks (I find them dead in the filter), so shrimplets would surely be sucked out.

Screen could be put over the end of either vac, but I question how much cleaning they will do thus outfitted.

What do you do?

 

[Autumnsky]

There is a video below with another option, from a trusted shrimp keeper.

What I have normally done is (actually not do this very often), take a fluval edge vacuum
https://fluvalaquatics.com/us/product/edge-gravel-cleaner/ I think there was a longer tube version, and another version, check if there are options. They are much smaller tube than most vacs.

I do not use this but have seen one person tape a plastic fork to the end of the vac tub to help maybe move shrimp away, but again, I haven't done that.

Usually just fan the shrimp away and mostly am successful in having few sucked up. But the little guys are pretty curious.

I use a white bucket for checking for shrimp, which makes it easy to see the shrimps darting around.

After you take the mucky water from the tank, let it settle for a little bit.

You can slowly pour off "most" the water through a net with little tiny holes. There seem to be nets with larger holes, very small holes, and then a nylon fabric which doesn't look like it has any holes.

You can use treated water in a gallon / half gallon pitcher, pour through the net to further rid it of silty stuff, kinda cleaning it.

If you put the muck into a white bucket with a few inches of clean treated water, and gently swirl it in a circle, you will see the jerky shrimp darting movements out of the slow swirl of muck. If you have a shrimp, net it and put back into the tank.

If after looking for movement and doing a few swirls, and no movement, then dump it out and do the next scoop of muck. I usually dump it in the garden or flush in the toilet

You can add more clean treated water to the suctioned muck bucket to get the sludge to come out through the net more smoothly. A scoop at a time till the muck is gone and you have caught any possible shrimp. Some of them are SO tiny.

You get better and faster after you get the hang of it. Hopefully this doesn't freak anyone out, but I would do this in a spare bath tub and have plenty of room for swishing and getting fresh water. (Bleach spray everything in the tub when finished).

I would usually also do Clorox type bleach, no fragrances in my bucket with the nets, I think it is a teaspoon, could be a tablespoon for sanitizing, (I'd have to look it up) per gallon of water. Let sit for a few hours and then rinse everything well until the bleach smell is mostly gone and let dry. Rinse off again, I then fill the bucket up again and soak it all in Prime water max dose listed for a few more hours. Rinse again and let dry.

You can use the sanitizing process to clean all the aquarium stuff you use like nets and vac's, buckets, pitchers, cups, etc.

You get faster and this sounds tedious, which it is a bit of extra work, but the idea of throwing away shrimp make the extra work worth it.

Rachel o'Leary video

 

[ADsnail]

Thank you for great advice! I just bought the Fluval edge vac, long version. It's the missing part of the process; I have the other tools and have been looking for something this small. This deep clean will be tomorrow morning's project.

The fork option for moving shrimp is an innovative solution. I may try it, though it reminds me of dinner last night.

Panning for gold...I mean shrimp...the swirling process is something that didn't occur to me. All cleaning is a bit tedious at first but quickly becomes routine, so I'll put on some good music and follow your instructions. Thanks for the links and video too.

 

[Autumnsky]

You are very welcome. It is many years of trying not to lose any shrimplets or bigger shrimp. And it is now pretty quick.

I usually will clean the area where I drop the food first and see how that goes, usually just fine, and later, a week or 2 or month, will do another corner, then the other back corner, or under more stuff towards the back.

Sometimes might do a major clean up but usually not all of the tank, more like half. Really depends on the size and how much time I can devote to it.

If I wait too long it is pretty evident. dark mucky water out of the sand!!! Also I am an over feeder, so always trying to cut back amount of food, and slip a little back towards over feeding. Doing better most of the time, lol.

If you do not over feed, then the shrimp are very content to not be bothered much at all. It can be a challenge to have a shrimp tank enjoyable grazing areas on all surfaces except the front glass amount of dirty tank for them to graze, but still very good water.

Hoping you have a great clean up.

And just remember to schedule enough time to watch the tank after clean up for awhile turn back on anything you may have unplugged.

Also watch the tank parameters after a day, then a couple days if all is well to just make sure there wasn't an mini cycle.

Accuclear if there is too much persisting cloudiness) and fine filter polishing pads I use Fluvals, the larger ones (or whichever are the best value) and cut them down to the shrimp filter size.

Love these little guys.

 

[ADsnail]

All went well with the deep clean. Realized I need to take a page from your scheduling plan and do it a section at a time, so I'll be back at it in stages.

Cloudiness cleared up in less than 30 minutes.

While cleaning I moved around their treasured lotus pods. They love these things; sort of an edible apartment building-maternity ward that they're very territorial about. When I checked parameters 12 hours later, they'd moved the pods back to their original position! It wasn't water flow; they were ganged up on the final pod, nudging it by increments. Hmm...don't want to think too long about how intelligent and determined these little guys are. They're like little Easter Islanders, moving their own shrimpy shrines into place.