Shrimp behind paludarium false bottom
The title says it all. I have a large paludarium which I just added some Neocaridina shrimplets to last night. I checked on them this morning to find that of the ten, only one was in the front, display part of the tank. The rest had found a hole somewhere and are now in the mostly inaccessible part of the tank. The false bottom encompasses much of the tank and goes all the way across. I have a small pump powering a dripwall which is removable but it is otherwise enclosed.
They appear to be fine and are behaving like normal. Would you leave them? Try to get them to find their way back out and contain them in something else while they grow? I have no doubt they could survive back there, even thrive and breed. But I don’t really want them there. Not sure how to go about getting them out so I can removed plants and substrate and seal up any hole(s) to keep them where I want them.
Any tips on luring and trapping shrimp?
They appear to be fine and are behaving like normal. Would you leave them? Try to get them to find their way back out and contain them in something else while they grow? I have no doubt they could survive back there, even thrive and breed. But I don’t really want them there. Not sure how to go about getting them out so I can removed plants and substrate and seal up any hole(s) to keep them where I want them.
Any tips on luring and trapping shrimp?
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Some photos. (yeah, it needs a proper stand) Hard to get ones without lots of condensation. The water area is larger than it looks, as much of the rock on the left side overhangs. But it does unfortunately get in the way of doing things in the water. I didn’t originally intend this tank for shrimp, and it was intended to be mostly left alone. I obviously didn’t expect the shrimp to find their way back there.
Also here: the area I have access to and can remove the pump from. I’m sorta figuring a long piece of tubing with something to gently suck shrimp up when they are in reach could actually be the most effective.
My best guess is there’s a hole somewhere on either end, but it’s hard to tell when it has water and plants in it. If I can catch the shrimp, I would consider draining the tank, removing the substrate, and giving all the edges a fresh silicone job.
ETA: total water volume is just under 4 gallons though the front area is only about a third of the floor space. Tank is 24”L by 12”W.
ETA: total water volume is just under 4 gallons though the front area is only about a third of the floor space. Tank is 24”L by 12”W.
I love Thai micro crabs. They are hard to get ahold of though. I was about to plant something in the water but that’ll have to wait until I’ve solved this problem.
A friend suggested luring them with food, but I’m not sure they would find their way out. They seemed pretty happy where they found themselves!
A friend suggested luring them with food, but I’m not sure they would find their way out. They seemed pretty happy where they found themselves!
An update: a couple were suctioned out. These were not drip acclimated to their new/temporary home of a planted vase. This was apparently a mistake because they didn’t survive the transfer. I ended up opting simply to pump out as much water as possible with the tank elevated at the end opposite my access point. I opted for a dump and hope approach eventually, as the airline tubing wasn’t working.
There are five survivors of the ten shrimplets I started with. Should’ve been more but a couple kinda disappeared. Maybe had a bad molt? Regardless. The survivors were drop acclimated to their new abode and are doing well. They are looking bigger every day and should make a good colony in no time that can then seed the big tank. I gave all the edges a new coating of silicone and the holes should be gone, now.
There are five survivors of the ten shrimplets I started with. Should’ve been more but a couple kinda disappeared. Maybe had a bad molt? Regardless. The survivors were drop acclimated to their new abode and are doing well. They are looking bigger every day and should make a good colony in no time that can then seed the big tank. I gave all the edges a new coating of silicone and the holes should be gone, now.
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