How to avoid killing these small cherry shrimps?

[professorjimjam]

I maintain Cherry Shrimp in my tank, where they reproduce successfully. The tank contains soft sand, and the offspring these shrimp produce are exceedingly small. During water changes, most of the juveniles perish, either drawn into the siphon or pulled into the filter, where I observe many trapped in the sponge, resulting in their death.

Does anyone possess experience in cleaning a tank without causing harm to these delicate creatures?

Please refer to the accompanying photo, which shows a medium-sized shrimp beside a juvenile. Even with the camera fully zoomed, the soft sand particles appear large, underscoring the minute size of the baby shrimp.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[troublesum]

I've never kept shrimp but i would assume its just like having fry in your tank, I would assume you have a HOB just put a prefilter on your intake tube as for WC i use to tie pantyhose on the bottom of my python so i wouldn't suck up fry.

 

[dmyersWv]

Pre-filter is a must if youvuse hob or canister filter. I switched to sponge filter for my shrimp tanks. The panty hose is a great idea I will try it.

 

[professorjimjam]

Thanks guys

 

[RyanScanner]

I syphon into a container first then pump it out from there after checking with a torch. Occasionally I’ll have a few. I believe shrimp prefer low flow filters.
Numbers game I guess out of every 50 shrimpets 10 probably won’t make it. 20 becomes 200 pretty quickly though.

 

[professorjimjam]

Thanks

 

[Toby_H]

Hey Jim,

I've kept a 40 Gal Cherry Shrimp tank for 5 years or so. My colony has gone up and down over the years.

As mentioned, I agree a prefilter is a must. That said, I've still seen baby shrimp get stuck to the sponge and perish. But far fewer than would get eaten by the filter without it.

Before I water change, I go through the tank with a turkey baster and blow the debris out of the crevices and corners so it settles out in the open. Then when I do a water change I hold the end of the hose in my right hand and pinch the hose (slows down flow) with my left. From then on it's a dance to avoid sucking them up.

When doing large overhauls, I also move water into a bucket, then review the bucket to remove shrimp. But I've not been able to get a technique in doing this that is practical enough to do for regular water changes. If this were my only tank, I'm sure my method would work. But it's currently one of many. Ryan, I'd love to hear more about your technique.
Once I have a bucket full of water & waste (mostly detritus from plants), the baby shrimp are even harder to pick out than they were to avoid in the aquarium.

 

[RyanScanner]

I have live black worm that consume the detritus completely filling the substrate so I don’t mess with it. The tank seems very stable with just a 40% water change once a week. I have a small air hose to syphon though and refill, takes about an hour both ways. And a lot of plants/moss.

 

[professorjimjam]

Thank you Toby and Ryan