# Filter for Shrimp Breeding?



## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

I just found out I have a 20L aquarium at my parents house complete with filter, hood, lights, etc. It has a Penguin 125 filter. If I plan to use it as a shrimp breeding tank, do I need to use a completely different filter or can I use a pre-filter sponge? If I do need a different filter, could someone give me an example of one I could buy? If I can use a pre-filter sponge, what types of attributes do I need to look at when purchasing? Any links would be appreciated. 
Thanks,
Ren


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## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

You could just use a pre filter on the intake, Thats what i use on my HOB filter for my shrimp tank seems to work fine.... I think the main thing to look for is that the holes in the sponge arnt to large... that way tiny new born shrimp would be much less likely to be sucked up, or stuck to the sponge from the intake pressure


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I went back to using a Media Mesh bag ($2) at petsmart to cover the filter intake. If you can find a dense sponge prefilter, such as the ones at kensfish.com, then you can use that too. But I find the mesh bag the best way to prevent shrimp sucked into the filter. The draw back is that you have to clean it out often to keep the flow up. But it beats kill shrimp, and/or spending a few hours searching for those shrimp in the canister filter that made it in.

So media mesh bag, with rubber band to secure it.

Here's my detailed experience with it all: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...lanted/26519-shrimp-filter-cover-no-more.html

-John N.


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

A sponge filter will also provide some thing for the shrimp to nibble on all the time as well. If you use the HOB filter put a prefilter on the intake like the others suggested


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

Awesome and cheap! Thanks for the quick reply. I appreciate it! (This will work with the Penguin HOB right?)


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

It should work with any HOB filter.


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

Is there a *recommended* substrate? Lighting? Perhaps a link to all of this information so that I don't have to keep pestering you all?


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Substrate and lighting are up to you. People prefer darker substrates to bring out the color of the shrimp, i.e. Caribsea Eco Complete. Lighting is gear for plants for the most part. 

You can check out petshrimp.com for more information on the different shrimp out there and their water parameters. But feel free to keep on asking your questions, it helps others here too! 

-John N.


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

Are the canisters (such as the eheim and fluval) better than an HOB for breeding? If so, why? (Thanks again for all of your replies!)


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

For simple breeding purposes, sponge filters (one that's attached to an airpump like the hydrosponges at kensfish.com) are ideal because they don't suck up shrimp, and fish like to sit on the sponge and eat at the microorganisms collected there. They will need to be squeezed out once in a while to clean them off. But sponge filters are the way to go for a breeding setup for shrimp or fish.

Between an HOB and a canister, there's no real difference in terms of breeding. Both filters must be covered in order to prevent the shrimp from getting pulverized by the impeller or trapped into filter media. If I had to chose though, I would get a canister because when injecting CO2, the HOB has a tendancy to aggitate the water and release some CO2. Plus, canisters don't require as much cleaning as a regular filter.

-John N.


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## ykh (Jun 18, 2004)

a simple box filter will work too. some baby shrimps will get sucked in once in while but they will do just fine inside the box


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## FobbyBobby23 (Mar 8, 2005)

If you have a HOB filter or any traditional canister filter (aside from the Zoomed 501) you can, like others said, furnish your own pre-filter. You can buy premade pre-filters like the Lustar Filter-Max line of filters. They have 3 different sizes for different sized tanks, but they all use the same fittings to connect to the filter intake (I knnow they fit onto Aquaclear HOB filters fine) and I like the sponges they use.

I know Kens Fish Home of Quality Fish Food, And Supplies At Excellent Prices. has all 3 sizes of the Filter-Max. You just have to scroll down and you'll see it listed.

Other sites I've seen usually only carry the bigger Filter-Max III (like Aquarium Supplies, Pet Supplies, and Pond Supplies at Discount Prices)

Or, depending on the size of your tank you can get a canister filter like the Zoomed 501. The impeller actually is connected to an intake inside the filter that has a sponge over it, so the shrimp could survive in the canister, especially if you leave media out of one of the compartments. Not to mention, they won't get crushed by the impeller as they are sucked into the filter. I'm not sure about the designs of other canister filters, but I'd imagine they are probably similar.


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