# Lightly vacuuming Shrimp Stratum



## cprash (Apr 1, 2012)

I'm considering grabbing my siphon and vaccuming uneaten food particles and other stuff out of the substrate. I have FSS. It's very loose and will be disturbed by even the lightest of vacuuming. Two questions:

1. Do I have any alternatives to vacuuming to get that detritus out?
2. Should I introduce my nemesis, pest snails, into that tank to deal with this sort of thing? I hate them, but they keep the substrate in my 29 gal community sparkling.

I got a glass feeding dish, loose particles hopefully wont be a major issue in the future. I'm just terrified of getting worms and I just took a large rock out of the tank too. Otherwise, I wouldn't consider the vacuum approach at all.


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## cprash (Apr 1, 2012)

Just thought of a third thing. I might use skinny airline tubing as a tiny vacuum. That won't get under the substrate though.


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## jesuses (Apr 16, 2012)

I was told not to by my LFS when I bought regular stratum, but I still do anyway. They said not to because it would cloud the water and be impossible to fix, but the other day that I rescaped and made a mess eveything eventually settled down within hours. Just do it lightly and often enough so that stuff never gets deep under.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

I work in small grid sections, use my fingers to gently swirl over the substrate and use a small airline to vaccuum. 

In the feeding areas i actually use my hand to lift up the substrate where there's the most crap. Its a necessary evil and usually most of my MTS congregate in the vicinity.

Pond snails actually churn through a lot of the crud but they also produce a lot of poop as most snails do. Best to vaccumm up the poop when possible.

The problem with vaccumming fluval stratum using a traditional vaccum tube is the stratum wont hold up to the abuse and will break apart.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

You should never be vacuuming your substrate in your shrimp tank. If you have food particles then you are obviously feeding too much. 

I have not had a shrimp death in probably half a year and it can all be attributed to stable parameters. If you disturb your substrate you offset the balance and stability goes out the window.

Think about the stream and puddles that shrimp come from. There is always something on the bottom like leaves, soil, sticks, debris etc.


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## Caleb19 (Sep 27, 2010)

+1 to Hedge's statement.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

+1 to hedge_fund as well. I wouldn't vaccuum. I was doing so back in the day, which I believe led to many shrimp deaths. Just leave it alone and all is well.


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## Kunsthure (Aug 2, 2010)

Would MTS help this situation?

-Lisa


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

if it annoys me, ill take my tubing and instead of being directly over the substrate I put it against the glass at an angle. The water force is usually enough to just catch the loose layers of food without disturbing to much. I usually use a 5/16 hose or something.

But I only get the crud at the surface.


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## moosenart (Feb 18, 2012)

i use a turkey baster and blast the excess into the water column and it gets sucked up by the filter. I only do that when after i rinse the sponge filter


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## cprash (Apr 1, 2012)

@Lisa, I'll probably transfer some MTS from my community tank, I have every snail known to man (accidentally) in there

@accord, used then same length just now, thanks for the advice

@moose, that's a really good idea. I'll do that if they make a mess with the looser foods in the future

@hedge, yeah, hopefully i'll never get to this extent again when i'd have to vaccum.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Really appreciate it.

-Calvin


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## reefdive (Aug 16, 2011)

There is 1 correct answer here . It is logical and many many other issue's listed here about the health of invertebrates can be traced back to not following the basic principal's of Keeping Animals and Growing Plants . What keeps shrimp alive ? Stable Water and Oxygen . There are many many ways to accomplish something but many times simplest is best . Now if I could just apply that to my life everything would be so easy  . Observing nature all the answers can be found . Its how we interpet and apply them that makes the difference


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## Kunsthure (Aug 2, 2010)

@cpcrash Someone's on Twitter. 

I *despise* the look of mulm, it's the main reason I switched from gravel to sand. The black sand showed to mulm too, about half an inch below the surface at the glass. I'm hoping I won't see the mulm with the Flourite. I don't have any rooted plants so I don't need the mulm. 

I've used the turkey baster to blow the schmuck in the air. But nothing really gets sucked up because of the sponge pre-filters. Maybe I could take them off just long enough to suck take in the bigger stuff.

-Lisa


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## Hmoobthor (Aug 15, 2011)

I use a mini vacuum siphon and vac up stuff on the substrate only..anything i see ontop but have never fully vac below the substrate.


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## Kunsthure (Aug 2, 2010)

I guess you could vac like you would sand instead of gravel. You sorta swirl the vac around so you stir up the mess and it gets sucked up and out.

I always hand vac into a bucket, just in case I suck up a shrimp. I save my DIY Python only for draining and refilling.

-Lisa


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

Kunsthure said:


> I guess you could vac like you would sand instead of gravel. You sorta swirl the vac around so you stir up the mess and it gets sucked up and out.
> 
> I always hand vac into a bucket, just in case I suck up a shrimp. I save my DIY Python only for draining and refilling.
> 
> -Lisa


I hate sucking up my shrimp, I still use my python to the sink. I have something I put on the drain on the sink so that when im done I can see what shrimp are there, catch them and put them back. It made my water changes a much longer process.


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