cherry shrimp

[pg]

 I have a rather odd problem. I have a ten gallon tank that has literally produced hundreds of cherry shrimp. I have flooded the LFS. I had trouble at first establishing them and now have too many. Not wanting to just toss them, I dumped some in my 100 gal with some pretty big guys- goldfish and clown loaches and they still thrive. My problem is how can I get rid of them so I can move on to some more exotic colors and varieties. The tanks are all very heavily planted and I have to be careful I do not drag them from one tank to another on plants I am moving. I want to stay within the same species so I can not mix them. I have tried trapping and although it works to a degree it is not going to remove them all which is what I will need. Ideas on fish/plant friendly "poison" that can be reversed? Tank is too nice to break down totally to get rid of them.

For those struggling to establish them I would suggest that if the tank seems ok then start with the still mostly clear young small ones. They seem to transfer better. Doing that is when I was successful.

As an aside, I did see Carl's comment about them escaping/jumping out and I will say I have a thin openning along top back of 100 gal. It looks like a line of dead roaches on the floor after couple weeks. It is a pain as a really hard place to reach to clean. Still plenty inside however.
PG

[Carl]

Welcome to Everything Aquatic PG!

Since I am already familiar with your tanks and expertise, please feel free to jump in more with your expertise in other threads (including if you disagree with me, as I am always learning too).

Your problem is one many would love to have!
Your point is an excellent one:
"For those struggling to establish them I would suggest that if the tank seems ok then start with the still mostly clear young small ones. They seem to transfer better. Doing that is when I was successful."

Dylox would be my first choice, but with Clout no longer available, this is not possible

Copper will and can harm some plants, but often plants will bounce back (this however depends upon the species)

You could try praziquantel. There is mixed results in using this with Shrimp for treating Flukes, so while I have never used it for actually killing shrimp, my thoughts are that in a slightly higher than normal dosage it should kill the shrimp while leaving plants OK (so this would be my choice)

Here is just one product containing this (PraziPro):
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Waterconditioner.html#prazipro

Carl

[devonjohnsgard]

Yea, I usually hear how people are having trouble keeping them alive. I have some fish that I know would try to eat them, so I've never tried. I know you have a lot of plant growth in your tank, so I'm sure they have plenty of places to hide. Once my plants get thick like yours, I'll give them a try.

[pg]

I will give the praziquantel a try and let you know how it goes. I will probably trap the numbers down first for a week. I happen to have some on hand as for a long time the aquarium sources were much less $ for my dogs! Carbon to remove when I am ready I presume?
As a thought for those trying to keep shrimp, they seem to love the foam filters. Even in the 100 gal. you can see them klinging on the surface. I am sure it is a great feeding place for them and they can hide around the back and bottom.
PG

[devonjohnsgard]

Jul 28, 2014 20:49:09 GMT -5 pg said:

As a thought for those trying to keep shrimp, they seem to love the foam filters. Even in the 100 gal. you can see them klinging on the surface. I am sure it is a great feeding place for them and they can hide around the back and bottom.
PG

This is what I've noticed too. Actually, there is a lot of things in the tank that really enjoy the sponge filter to snack on I'm going to be rearranging my tanks around to make it so I can keep some shrimp. Get some of the more aggressive fish in there own tank, then put some shrimp in the community tank. We'd love to see some picture if you have them. I believe your tanks are pretty thick with growth right?

[pg]

The plants are very plush in the shrimp tank. I am happy to attach a picture but not sure how to do that. I am in the process of finding the small thorned nerites and relocating them in preparation for prazi treatment.
PG