# gravel vac? in shrimp tank



## paddles (Oct 20, 2011)

I have a shrimp only tank, that has cherry red shrimp of varying ages, from older (that I bought) through to latest hatching... it has an undergravel filter, and I would like to vac the gravel (it's getting a little grotty in there. generally I just do a weekly water change on this tank (it hasn't been set up that long (3 mths??? ) it was set up with established gravel (ie taken from an existing tank.) i removed half the plants today, and would like to clean? the tank... but how to do this without harming the shrimp? or sucking up the babies??

thank you for your time


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

If you have a UGF you shouldn't need to do a gravel vac? Most people just suck water off the top of their tank during WC's as babies will hang out near the bottom of the tank.

If you really needed to gravel vac cover the intake of the suction tube with pantyhose or some other material.


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## paddles (Oct 20, 2011)

I think it's a case of I've been overfeeding... The tank looks rank... so maybe just do normal waterchange, as has been said, stop feeding.. and hopefully all else will clear up?

if I cover the hose, won't that defeat the purpose of gravel vacuuming...


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Cut back on the feeding. Maybe not even feed for 2-3 days and let the shrimp clear their stomachs. You can do daily small WC's to clear up the water, like 5-10%.

Well, if you cover the hose you won't be able to suck any of the larger bits in, but at least you can suck up water near the bottom of the tank without sucking in any babies. The issue is that the opening has to be large enough to suck up poop, but small enough to not suck up babies. Very few things meet both those criteria. But really, with your UGF you're pretty much set and don't need to gravel vac!


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## paddles (Oct 20, 2011)

Ok, I did a 1/3 water change, got a few babies, but not too many (tipped the water in the goldfish pond... we'll see what happens there... I noticed that I also seem to have leaches??? they look/move like tiny leaches... are these an issue? I'll put some fresh plants (well taken out of hte big tank) in tomorrow.. I haven't been running the filter 24/7 because I was worried that the preasure? would harm the babies... but I'll leave it on now...

another question, would a borneo pleco harm the shrimp?


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

I usually just vacuum as normal then get the babies out of the waste water container. It's possible you've got leeches in the tank, but until you know what they are for certain there's no great worry, after all, they've not been hurting things to this point, right? Are you certain that they aren't tubifex worms?

I saw a borneo pleco at the fish store and asked about them on here. Several people stated that they kept shrimp and these fish together without problems. I didn't get a chance to buy the fish in question, but there ya go.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Are you sure they are leeches? If they are leeches they would stick to the sides of the tank/substrate, move like an inchworm. Tubiflex would be inside the substrate, or wiggling around in the water column.

And you should always leave the filter on 100% of the time. If the flow bothers the babies they would hide in the moss or what not. Make sure you block the intake with a sponge and all will be well.

The only 100% shrimp safe fish is the otto. So someone's results with a pleco could vary with what you experience.


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## fresh.salty (Jul 2, 2010)

I use a 1/4" line to clean in my 3g. Mainly around the front so the substrate looks clean against the glass. Just sort of stir it up and then siphon it out. The 1/4" line doubles as a club to keep the shrimp out of the way. lol


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Stirring up your substrate too much can cause all kinds of spikes and usually ends up worse than better off. Cutting down on feeding will help for sure. For my tanks that don't need active substrate and just have black gravel, i have maybe half an inch at the most to keep the substrate from getting clogged up. My active substrate tanks, I just leave and when I do decide to clean it, I will tear down the whole tank and redo it and probably put in a UGF instead but I don't disturb the substrate at all.


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## Redflame (Dec 4, 2011)

I vaccuum either way I don't like dirty tanks just do it carefully, I have a large water changer and a small tube I use for gravel cleaning, I visually check each section first to make sure there aren't any shrimplets in the way. 

If you are worried that you may have sucked up shrimplets check your water after the fact and if necessary or as an additional precaution you can always dump the water out into a strainer or a net.


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## paddles (Oct 20, 2011)

they are definately leaches... stuck to glass, moving like inchworm etc.. I'd like to clear the tank of them, but don't know any way to do it... I know where they have come from...


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Where did they come from? You should definitely get rid of the ASAP if you think they are leeches. You can treat them with fen/flubendazole.


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## paddles (Oct 20, 2011)

I put some plants out of the fishpond I have in the back yard into the tank... I know that there are leaches out there... I'm looking into what to do... I'll treat the tanks today... is there anything that is NOT safe for the shrimp?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Something like "Planaria away" that contains copper I believe. But flu/fenbendazole are 100% safe. Unless you're a nerites or briggs snail.


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