Cherry Shrimp and Gravel Vac

**Gemini** · 07-29-2008, 04:16 AM

Hi. I've found a place I can get my cherry shrimp from and my tank is nice and established. All levels at 0, except for Nitrates at <10ppm. My question is though, how do you gravel vac when cleaning if you have baby cherry shrimp? Or do you not?
If I'm moving two corys out of the tank for the cherrys, should I just do a vac really well before I put the shrimp in and then not worry?

**toddnbecka** · 07-29-2008, 04:32 AM

Use a small diameter hose (very carefully), and check the bucket for baby shrimp before you dump it. Alternatively, you could filter the water through a fine-mesh net as you siphon, then submerge enough of the net to check for baby shrimp.
If you use sand for your substrate it's a bit easier to deal with than gravel.

**Sounguru** · 07-29-2008, 04:42 AM

Basically he has it right.....

**Gemini** · 07-29-2008, 04:48 AM

Ok. I have a little gravel vac, the tube is only a bit thicker than air hose tube. The opening that goes into the gravel is only about the size of a 20c piece. So I'll just use the tube, not the vac part. I could replace the substrate... I'm getting a 4ft tank in a cpl days that my partner wants to be white sand so maybe I should swap this over too... Would the shrimp like the sand though?