How to clean tank with baby RCS

[tnt321]

Hi everyone,
I've recently bought about 20 Red Cherry Shrimps. In the second week, 5 shrimps died, because I overfed them and the water got bad.
A week ago, I saw a couple of adult shrimps with the greenish belly hang around the bubble spun air filter. And the last couple days, I saw quite a few tiny white dots moving around the tank and a lot of them moving in and out of the spore of the spun filter.

Are those tiny dots the baby shrimps? If they are, do I have to increase the food supply for all the shrimps?

How can I do my weekly cleaning now without sucking out the baby shrimps.

Your guidance and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[sostoudt]

Hi everyone,
I've recently bought about 20 Red Cherry Shrimps. In the second week, 5 shrimps died, because I overfed them and the water got bad.
A week ago, I saw a couple of adult shrimps with the greenish belly hang around the bubble spun air filter. And the last couple days, I saw quite a few tiny white dots moving around the tank and a lot of them moving in and out of the spore of the spun filter.

Are those tiny dots the baby shrimps? If they are, do I have to increase the food supply for all the shrimps?
probably. feed them the same amount, shrimp dont eat alot. they also will graze on algae

How can I do my weekly cleaning now without sucking out the baby shrimps.
very carefully. i wouldnt gravel vac. just siphon as close to the surface as possible

Your guidance and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

sostoudt

 

[msjinkzd]

Baby shrimp look identical to adult shrimp. They are typically about this size when they hatch --. Are you still overfeeding? I would make sure to gravel vac out uneaten foods. You can use airline tubing which the shrimp can easily avoid, or a small sized vac. A vac ride will not kill them, so just go slow and check your bucket before you dump it. If you don't do good gravel vacs, you will end up with planaria or other secondary pests which can effect your shrimp. Because shrimp graze and eat slowly, I will often recommend for people to get a small terra cotta saucer to place in the tank for feeding. By putting the food in the saucer, its easier to remove any uneaten and prevents alot of debris/uneaten food from building in your substrate. For the record, I feed my shrimp tanks twice a week.

I am suspicious that youor tiny white dots are scuds (amphipods).

 

[tnt321]

Thank sostoudt and msjinkzd. Very good advices. I will use the airline tube for cleaning.
I feed my shrimps twice a day. Is this too too much?

 

[msjinkzd]

yes, they really don't need to be fed that much. Do you have any plants in teh tank? Shrimp graze constantly on teh infusoria and biofilms in the tank, they really only need to be fed a small amount every other day.

 

[mgamer20o0]

many people only feed 1-2 times a week. i tend to do a little more then that but they are not fish. they dont eat much. once the population starts to grow you will be a little less worried. i tend to feed on one end wait 10-20 mins then work on the other side. you can gravel vac just use a net to catch any possible shrimp you might suck out.

 

[tnt321]

Thank four your suggestions on the feeding. I now feed them once every two days.
I think I have a lot of baby shrimps. I see a bit clearer now with some "big" ones with head and tail. They are everywhere... hanging on the other sides of the glasses and around the spunge filter.

What is the survival rate of the baby shrimps? I have a 10gal tank and wonder if it can house all the shrimps?

 

[msjinkzd]

they usually all will survive with good water quality. Each berried female has on average 20-30 babies. stocking density is 10-15 adults per gallon of tank space, you can fit many more juveniles than that.