I'm having a tough time with these tiny little "seed shrimp" in a planted tank. At first they were just a minor nuisance, but now the water and tank surfaces are pretty thick with them. The tank in question is a 40 breeder with a school of rummynose tetras and assorted plants with Eco-Complete substrate. Filtration is an AC70. Lighting is 4x39W T5HO for 8hrs/day. No injected CO2, but I dose with Flourish Excel daily. I have a few ideas, but I don't want to do anything that will kill the plants, and I don't want to contaminate the tank and make it unsafe for invertebrates, since I plan to eventually add some shrimp. If anyone has any input on these ideas, or has some other ideas they can share, I'd appreciate it.
Copper-Based Treatment: I'm not even sure if this will kill them, I've read conflicting info. I'm also not sure if this will kill the plants. I know it will kill shrimp, but I've read that you can effectively remove it from the water after treatment.
Dimilin: I've heard of this used for fish lice and anchor worms and various crustacean and copepod parasites. It works by inhibiting the formation of chitin, so there's no doubt it'll kill the ostracods. Again, just worried about the plants and long-term contamination of the tank.
CO2 Mega Dose: I was planning on upgrading to injected CO2 eventually anyway. I was thinking that I could maybe remove the fish and dose heavily with CO2 to suffocate them.
UV Sterilizer: I know it works against algae and microscopic parasites and whatnot, but these things are a little bigger, easily seen with the naked eye. I'm not sure if the UV will kill them. If I did go this route, I would get one of the all-in-one types with the built in pump, like the JBJ Submariner or something similar. Any input on this unit or suggestions for other ones?
Thanks.
Copper-Based Treatment: I'm not even sure if this will kill them, I've read conflicting info. I'm also not sure if this will kill the plants. I know it will kill shrimp, but I've read that you can effectively remove it from the water after treatment.
Dimilin: I've heard of this used for fish lice and anchor worms and various crustacean and copepod parasites. It works by inhibiting the formation of chitin, so there's no doubt it'll kill the ostracods. Again, just worried about the plants and long-term contamination of the tank.
CO2 Mega Dose: I was planning on upgrading to injected CO2 eventually anyway. I was thinking that I could maybe remove the fish and dose heavily with CO2 to suffocate them.
UV Sterilizer: I know it works against algae and microscopic parasites and whatnot, but these things are a little bigger, easily seen with the naked eye. I'm not sure if the UV will kill them. If I did go this route, I would get one of the all-in-one types with the built in pump, like the JBJ Submariner or something similar. Any input on this unit or suggestions for other ones?
Thanks.
