Do daphnia or freshwater shrimps feed on crypts? Here is the
situation.

I had a 40 liter plant tank with otos and a few cherry barbs for
color. The tank had been up and running for a year without any new
fish or plants added. The food I fed to the fish included Tetra flake
and tabi min. No live food. Nice algae coating on one side for the
otos. 3 weeks ago, I noticed small specks which I took for "fry" in
the tank. With only the cherry barbs and otos in the tank I suspected
it would be fry from these fish. Rather than try to siphon out the
tiny "fry", I moved the cherry barbs to the community tank hoping to
let the "fry" grow.

When the "fry" grew to roughly 2-3 mm, it was plain to see they were
not fish fry at all. Looked more like tiny shrimp with the many legs.
They sometimes crawl like insects on the glass and flee to the bottom
and try to embed themselves in the gravel when the lights go on. Fine
I thought. I'll let them grow and use them as live food for the
community tank. I had a nice grove of 5-6 brown crypt. wendtii. Now
the crypts are virtually wiped out with the little buggers hanging on
the edges of the nearly defoliated crypts. Little over one year's
worth of growth gone in less two weeks. I guess that the cherry barbs
were keeping these plant munchers under control but I've never noticed
the things until this past August.

1) So where did I get these "shrimp" if they are really shrimp. Eggs
in the dry food?

2) Should I chance feeding them to the fish in the community tank? I
have crypts in there too and wouldn't want those plants to be wiped
out too if these "shrimp" should take hold.

Thanks.

On 20 Sep 2003 17:13:43 -0700, (Ron Henryq)
wrote:

Do daphnia or freshwater shrimps feed on crypts? Here is the
situation.

I had a 40 liter plant tank with otos and a few cherry barbs for
color. The tank had been up and running for a year without any new
fish or plants added. The food I fed to the fish included Tetra flake
and tabi min. No live food. Nice algae coating on one side for the
otos. 3 weeks ago, I noticed small specks which I took for "fry" in
the tank. With only the cherry barbs and otos in the tank I suspected
it would be fry from these fish. Rather than try to siphon out the
tiny "fry", I moved the cherry barbs to the community tank hoping to
let the "fry" grow.

When the "fry" grew to roughly 2-3 mm, it was plain to see they were
not fish fry at all. Looked more like tiny shrimp with the many legs.
They sometimes crawl like insects on the glass and flee to the bottom
and try to embed themselves in the gravel when the lights go on. Fine
I thought. I'll let them grow and use them as live food for the
community tank. I had a nice grove of 5-6 brown crypt. wendtii. Now
the crypts are virtually wiped out with the little buggers hanging on
the edges of the nearly defoliated crypts. Little over one year's
worth of growth gone in less two weeks. I guess that the cherry barbs
were keeping these plant munchers under control but I've never noticed
the things until this past August.

1) So where did I get these "shrimp" if they are really shrimp. Eggs
in the dry food?

2) Should I chance feeding them to the fish in the community tank? I
have crypts in there too and wouldn't want those plants to be wiped
out too if these "shrimp" should take hold.

Thanks.


Sounds like gammarus. Try an imaged search on Google.

They can be hard on plants. Some fish eat them, others won't, or
won't eat enough to control them.

Be careful when moving plants, and don't put them where you might not
want them later.
--

- Charles
-
-does not play well with others

Charles wrote in message . ..
On 20 Sep 2003 17:13:43 -0700, (Ron Henryq)
wrote:

Do daphnia or freshwater shrimps feed on crypts? Here is the
situation.

I had a 40 liter plant tank with otos and a few cherry barbs for
color. The tank had been up and running for a year without any new
fish or plants added. The food I fed to the fish included Tetra flake
and tabi min. No live food. Nice algae coating on one side for the
otos. 3 weeks ago, I noticed small specks which I took for "fry" in
the tank. With only the cherry barbs and otos in the tank I suspected
it would be fry from these fish. Rather than try to siphon out the
tiny "fry", I moved the cherry barbs to the community tank hoping to
let the "fry" grow.

When the "fry" grew to roughly 2-3 mm, it was plain to see they were
not fish fry at all. Looked more like tiny shrimp with the many legs.
They sometimes crawl like insects on the glass and flee to the bottom
and try to embed themselves in the gravel when the lights go on. Fine
I thought. I'll let them grow and use them as live food for the
community tank. I had a nice grove of 5-6 brown crypt. wendtii. Now
the crypts are virtually wiped out with the little buggers hanging on
the edges of the nearly defoliated crypts. Little over one year's
worth of growth gone in less two weeks. I guess that the cherry barbs
were keeping these plant munchers under control but I've never noticed
the things until this past August.

1) So where did I get these "shrimp" if they are really shrimp. Eggs
in the dry food?

2) Should I chance feeding them to the fish in the community tank? I
have crypts in there too and wouldn't want those plants to be wiped
out too if these "shrimp" should take hold.

Thanks.


Sounds like gammarus. Try an imaged search on Google.

They can be hard on plants. Some fish eat them, others won't, or
won't eat enough to control them.

Be careful when moving plants, and don't put them where you might not
want them later.

Looks like gammarus. Thanks. The brown crypt must be a delicacy
because the riccia, ludwigia, bacopa, and java ferns look fine.
Faster growers I guess. Time to re-introduce the cherry barbs into
the tank. I still don't know how the shrimp got into the plant tank
after a year up and running. No new plants or fish introduced since I
started the tank. I've watched the tank like a hawk since a year ago
and only now this happens. Not fatal except to the crypts but learn
something new everyday.

Charles wrote:

Sounds like gammarus. Try an imaged search on Google.

They can be hard on plants. Some fish eat them, others won't, or
won't eat enough to control them.

Wow, thanks Charles! I've seen those buggers from time to time, and always
thought my Amano Shrimp were occasionally breeding.

Between loaches, ancistrus, tetras, angels and otos, I guess the gammarus
population here is kept in check. But next time I find them in the filter,
I won't put them back in the tank!

[i]
You can add those Gammarus you pull out to a cichlid tank. They are efficient at eating them, though few other fish are. Gammarus are a bit too hard shelled and slippery for most fish. Even if the Gammarus ate the crypt leaves, if the roots are still in place, the crypt may slowly recover. Of course if they had time the Gammarus will have dug out and eaten those roots too.