Socks Suck

[duanes]

What sp. of shrimp? Do you find they breed readily enough to support their use or do you have to supplement their numbers?

I believe they are from the genus Macrobrancium.
I get them from a small stream on the island where I live (Isla Taboga, Panama).
They seem to spend a lot of time in fresh water, but the larvae may first develop in the Pacific, and then they return to the stream.
I have seen some carrying eggs, and they seem to magically appear in the tank.

 

[Damascus]

I believe they are from the genus Macrobrancium.
I get them from a small stream on the island where I live (Isla Taboga, Panama).
They seem to spend a lot of time in fresh water, but the larvae may first develop in the Pacific, and then they return to the stream.
I have seen some carrying eggs, and they seem to magically appear in the tank.

Do you think there is a specie of shrimp commonly available in the US I could try and replicate this with? I suck at breeding things but would like to try

 

[Midwater]

Socks have been thrown out of the windows. (Well I still have got them, just do not know what to do with them for now.)

Now I have got five layers of poret foam and two layers of filter floss. See how that goes.

 

[PhishMon84]

I've always found them more hassle then benefit... maybe its the accessibility of my sump, not sure but my first chamber of my sump is one horizontal foam pad and about 7 or 8 vertical that fill the entire void. i only take them out when doing water changes and the pump is off. then i shop vac out the sump.

i'd love to centralize the tanks into a massive sump with a table of socks but thats not happening any time soon.

 

[duanes]

Do you think there is a specie of shrimp commonly available in the US I could try and replicate this with? I suck at breeding things but would like to try

The type I have are common all over Central America, but I believe what ever is available will work in a sump (as long as they don't kill each other).
I have used some large ones from the mainland as well.

 

[Midwater]

i'd love to centralize the tanks into a massive sump with a table of socks but thats not happening any time soon.

I am beginning to think you would need in the order of twenty socks for any reasonable rate of flow.

 

[Damascus]

The type I have are common all over Central America, but I believe what ever is available will work in a sump (as long as they don't kill each other).
I have used some large ones from the mainland as well.
View attachment 1500466

I wonder if cherry shrimp would work. They seem to breed readily enough for most people?

 

[duanes]

I wonder if cherry shrimp would work. They seem to breed readily enough for most people?

Cherry shrimp should be fine, when I was in the states, I used similar species in my sumps.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Question for duanes, do cherry prawns/Macrobranchium prawns/etc actually break down NO3-causing detritus enough to reduce the bioload more than they contribute to it? That's the impression I'm getting and I want to make sure it is correct.

 

[aussieman57]

I use a 10 inch sock on my 125 gallon tank. I change it out once every 5-7 days. I just hose them out and air dry them. A 4 inch or 7 inch sock IMHO is no bueno. They are a pain but keep the water crystal clear.