New meeting location for the 2023/2024 Season will be at J.A. Dulude arena.  Meetings start at 7 pm.

Cherry Shrimp vs Canester Filter

Started by neon1423, February 29, 2016, 07:25:39 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

neon1423

Hey all, so I just cleaned one of my canester filters and found easily 20 young cherry shrimp in it. They were all still alive so they got rescued and put back in the tank. So obviously they got sucked up into the filter. In the past I have tried putting a bit of foam over the intake to difuse the suction and let the shrimp escape but found that they quickly get clogged and signifigantly slow my water flow. Is there any reccommendations you can make to help me save my cherries?

Mike L

I put foam  filters over all  intakes  for breeding purposes.  They are cleaned with weekly water changes. Are you doing weekly changes. What foam are you using over  the intake.  I use the same filter material used in the filters.  If using this material they become the primary mechanical filter and as a benefit are easier to access for cleaning.
Mike

Al

#2
I also use sponges on all my filter intakes. I use sponge filters - Hydro Sponge filters from ATI. I use the #2 sponge which is 2 3/4" diameter by 4" high - the internal cutout for the lift tube assembly fits perfectly around my Eheim intakes. There are 2 versions - regular and Pro - the Pro having larger pore spacing, meaning coarser and requiring a lot less cleaning than the regular. They come in black and disappear against a black background and are pretty cheap and will last forever. I usually cut a small piece of sponge and fit it in the open end to close the entire intake. As Mike says, a weekly or monthly cleaning - it slips off effortlessly and 1 squeeze under water and it is good to go. The sponge also holds a lot of edible bits for fry that they can pick at.

Zoe

Quote from: neon1423 on February 29, 2016, 07:25:39 PM
Hey all, so I just cleaned one of my canester filters and found easily 20 young cherry shrimp in it. They were all still alive so they got rescued and put back in the tank. So obviously they got sucked up into the filter. In the past I have tried putting a bit of foam over the intake to difuse the suction and let the shrimp escape but found that they quickly get clogged and signifigantly slow my water flow. Is there any reccommendations you can make to help me save my cherries?

I ordered some stainless steel pre-filters (instead of the usual sponge). When I receive them and try them I will let you know if it's any better.

Also, my filter intake is significantly high in the tank, it only reaches down about 4". I did this because if the filter leaks, it won't empty my whole tank onto the floor. The added benefit is that my fish/shrimp don't really get near it because it's so far off the ground and away from plant cover.