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A big thank you - Bottom feeders to share with Harlequins

Thanks again for the help Darrel. The main thing that's putting me off getting shrimps at the minute is acclimating them into the tank. Never tried drip feed before.
 
Thanks again for the help Darrel. The main thing that's putting me off getting shrimps at the minute is acclimating them into the tank. Never tried drip feed before.

Don't be put off, it's easy. I just got a bucket. Added the shrimp plus water from the bag and put it on the ground next to the tank. Then got a piece of airline tubing and put one end in the tank (wedge that end behind a lily pipe or use a peg or similar to clip it in place) then part way down the tube tied the tube itself in a simple oveehand knot. Now place the other end of the tube in the bucket and give it a suck to start the syphon. Once started you can adjust the flow rate through the tube by tightening or loosening the knot. You want a steady/constant drip. Leave it running for 30-60 mins and then net the shrimp and add to the tank
 
Thanks again for the help Darrel. The main thing that's putting me off getting shrimps at the minute is acclimating them into the tank. Never tried drip feed before.
I’d go with shrimp for clean up as the others have mentioned already. Proper scavengers that will eat almost anything. The corys will need to be target fed and can’t be relied upon to ‘clean up’. In fact I can’t think of any fish that can will properly clean and scavenge, unlike shrimp and snails who will munch anything.

In regards to drip acclimatisation, don’t be put off. It really is easy to do, is just abit more time consuming that’s all. A piece of airline with a knot tied In it and a small bucket and container is all you’ll need.

cheers

Conor
 
Still on the same vein and taking the advice of going down the shrimp route, I'm thinking of getting the Neocardina Red Cherry shrimps.

Thinking of visiting Pro Shrimp in Mansfield, when I buy the shrimps, will I automatically get a mix of males and females? Never kept shrimp before or even seen them in anyone's home tanks, just the YT videos. Any help or advice would be most welcome.
 
You'd be unlucky to get all the same sex from a random group of shrimp. It's easy to tell the difference between sexes and any shop selling them should happily do you a mix.
I've bought bits and bobs from proshrimp (not shrimp though) and the service has always been excellent, so I'm sure they will be able to offer good advice.
 
You'd be unlucky to get all the same sex from a random group of shrimp. It's easy to tell the difference between sexes and any shop selling them should happily do you a mix.
I've bought bits and bobs from proshrimp (not shrimp though) and the service has always been excellent, so I'm sure they will be able to offer good advice.
Like yourself Mort, I've bought from Pro Shrimp before but never livestock. It wasn't until I watched a few YT videos that I realised that shrimp are not the dull, lifeless creatures I'd imagined they were.
 
A few weeks ago I asked for recommendation for bottom dwellers to help clean up and live in a tank with Harlequin Rasboras. Among the many helpful suggestions were shrimp, something I had never kept or even experienced before.

After some searching, I went with the shrimp and bought two separate groups of ten Red Fire Cherrys from two different stores. Now they're in and settled, all I can say is I have never seen so many people staring into a tank as much as the one with the shrimp in it, really great to see all the interest. At first it was a game of "spot the shrimp" but now they're a bit braver and out more often we see them all the time.

So a big thank you to all for the help and suggestions, especially those of you who broadened my horizons and suggested the shrimp.
 
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