# Plants & Filter Intake



## Capt. (Nov 24, 2004)

I noticed someone mentioned fine leaved plants are good for baby shrimp. Any specific recommendations? Besides java moss. I'm going to the store tomorrow and will be buying lots of stem plants. They have a good selection so feel free to name uncommon ones if you want. I'm hoping to get Limnophila sp. Gigantea, I figure this would be a good one for them.

Also I've heard people say it's necessary to cover the filter intake with a sponge prefilter. Is this true? I have an Eheim 2213, it doesn't create too much suction. It's also a pretty big (4 foot) tank.

Shrimp are tigers and cherries.


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## iris600 (Feb 12, 2004)

Shrimp will get into any filter intake, in my experience. I bred cherries for quite awhile in a ten gallon tank with a small HOB filter set on the minimum flow. When I needed to capture juveniles (I put them in orders as bonuses) I would simply pull them from the filter. With a eheim, I don't think they'd survive quite as well living inside the filter. Besides, shrimp love to hang out on sponges and pick up debris.


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

Capt. said:


> I noticed someone mentioned fine leaved plants are good for baby shrimp. Any specific recommendations? Besides java moss. I'm going to the store tomorrow and will be buying lots of stem plants. They have a good selection so feel free to name uncommon ones if you want. I'm hoping to get Limnophila sp. Gigantea, I figure this would be a good one for them.
> 
> Also I've heard people say it's necessary to cover the filter intake with a sponge prefilter. Is this true? I have an Eheim 2213, it doesn't create too much suction. It's also a pretty big (4 foot) tank.
> 
> Shrimp are tigers and cherries.


Cambomba is good as a plant. Also, if I was you, I would put a sponge on the intake.

Cheers,
Pedro


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

You can put a small sponge cut out into your intake if you want, but I wouldn't worry too much. I have two 50 gal tanks each has an XP2 as a filter. Everytime I clean out the filter, I find a bunch of cherries happily living inside the cannister. I have never seen a dead shrimp inside the cannister.


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## Capt. (Nov 24, 2004)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to keep an eye out for a sponge for the intake.

Pedro I didn't buy Cabomba because I didn't think I had enough light. Here's what I came home with:

Crypt. walkeri and what I believe is affinis
Limnophila sp. Gigantea
Rotala wallichi
Egeria najas
Ludwigia repens


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

Check out Kensfish.com. They have these awesome prefilters that work great with shrimp tanks. 

These come with different types of attachements so it's bound to fit whatever type of inlet you have.


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## Urkevitz (Oct 26, 2004)

JerseyScape said:


> Check out Kensfish.com. They have these awesome prefilters that work great with shrimp tanks.
> 
> These come with different types of attachements so it's bound to fit whatever type of inlet you have.


I use that same pre filter, I love it, I have only found one cherry shrimp in my filter since I starting using it over a year ago.


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

Urkevitz said:


> I use that same pre filter, I love it, I have only found one cherry shrimp in my filter since I starting using it over a year ago.


How did a cherry manage to get in the filter through the pre-filter?


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## T_om (Dec 23, 2004)

What the folks are telling you about a sponge pre-filter is exactly correct. Cannister filters are hard on shrimp and they WILL get sucked up if the intake is not covered with a sponge.

Tom


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