# How To Keep Shrimp Out Of The Filter?



## djlen

I've got some of my Cherry Shrimp in a small tank with an AquaClear Mini HOB filter. I put a piece of filter sponge over the intake tube to keep them out of the filter........or so I thought.
I cleaned the filter today and there was an adult sized shrimp in the filter. How in the world did he get in there? And more importantly, how do I keep them out in the future.
I'm hoping to have babies eventually, and if an adult could get in there the babies will have no problem as well.
Do I have to change filter type or is there something else I can do?
Any feedback would be appreciated.

Len


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## jamesB

Are you positive that the shrimp got into the filter thru the uptake and not simply by climbing up the wall and into the filter? I have read several threads where people have had there shrimp crawl out out of their tanks to their deaths. My shrimp spend quite a bit of time on my intake sponge but I have never seen them try to get thru the sponge and into the intake itself. One final not if the AquaClear Mini is anything like my hob a full size cherry would likely be beat up pretty badly going thru the impeller. 

Just my 2cents.

Good luck growing your colony.

james


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## bristles

I have a friend who regularly harvests baby cherries from the floss in his canister filter with no ill affects. So just spend a little extra time when you clean the filter to separate out the shrimp and every thing should be all good. I also think that the adult shrimp found its way into the filter by way of a dry land hike.


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## John N.

This thread might help. It took too long to pluck the cherries out of filter floss, and the filter itself. I now use a mesh as described in the linked thread.

-John N.


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## djlen

I didn't know that they had the ability to come out of the water. I'll bet the bugger climbed up the return sponge (put there to damp the surface disturbance) on the return ramp. If that's how he did it, he must have been pretty determined. The water runs pretty quickly over that sponge.
I'm going to check John's thread now.

Any other thoughts?


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## bharada

Baby Cherry shrimp are only about 1mm long so the coarse filter sponges offer little resistance for them to crawl through. I have some pond prefilter sponges on the intake of my Fluval 304 and still routinely harvested 30-40 shrimp of varying size everytime I cleaned the filter.

If you really want to keep shrimp out you need to use a finer pore sponge (like is used in sponge filters), or wrap the intake with a bit of nylon pantyhose.


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## djlen

Ok, I just read John's post and the AquaClear filter block is that I am already using. I think it will be affective for adults, but I'm sure the young will go through it like it's a freeway. They're just too tiny for that coarse sponge to be affective on.
And if my suspicion are correct, they buggers are going up the return ramp anyway.
Now I'm thinking sponge filter, which I am not thrilled with. I hate air pumps.
I thought I was done with them years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Len


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## beviking

Hey Len, the shrimp can definitely climb up the sponge! You're better off removing it for the shrimps sake, not so much the plants sake...darn CO2!
-Bill


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## John P.

What about something like this?:








eBay: Black Sponge Filter Guard - For Eheim, Jebo, Tetra (item 250018837963 end time Nov-13-06 08:26:41 PST)


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## djlen

John P. said:


> What about something like this?:
> 
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> 
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> eBay: Black Sponge Filter Guard - For Eheim, Jebo, Tetra (item 250018837963 end time Nov-13-06 08:26:41 PST)


Thanks John. They even mention using it to protect your shrimp.
That one is way too big for my Mini filter, but I did find a site that has smaller ones if I decide to go in that direction.

Len


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## DaFishMan

1. Get a piece of sponge (the type used for inside hob filters)
2. Trim to size (cut to a half inch larger then the intake tube)
3. Cut an X in the middle, and slip it over the end of your intake tube 

Cheap, fast, effective, keeps plant gunk from your filter, and easy to rinse.
(about once a week)

Baby shrimp can still stick to a nylon covered intake tube, and a piece of sponge does not gunk up as fast. 

Hope this helps


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## Shrimp&Snails

DaFishMan said:


> Baby shrimp can still stick to a nylon covered intake tube


Ottos and bn plecs can get caught on nylons.....I lost an otto this way.


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## djlen

A filter sponge is what I'm using over the intake tube and I think it will be fine for adults. I worry about the babies getting into the filter by going right through it though.
In this case I'm really feeling like he climbed up the return ramp an got in that way. Since I found out that they actually enjoy being in the filter and seem to do OK there I'm not as concerned as I was previously.
I am going to have to have a better plan for breeding them and I think separate tanks with sponge filters will be the answer for that.

Len


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## eklikewhoa

i use a filte sponge sheet and wrap it around my filter intake, no problems yet.


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