Peppermint shrimp breeding success but a problem

[Levinson]

I successfully bred peppermint shrimps! Yay!
So far I have over 70 that settled successfully and more are expected to settle (not that many more though). I'm not sure if this is a good number or not, but it sure is good enough for me.
But now there is a problem. I have far too many of them and no place to put them in, no grow-out tank. I only have my display tank that isn't even that big, around 100 litres. They are in the isolation box in the display tank for now (as shown in the photo) but there's no way my DT can house all these shrimps, especially with its current residents in it. This wasn't as much of a problem when I bred sexy shrimps before.

I guess I could get a separate independent tank set up, or have a new tank that connects to my current DT (so I don't have to acclimate the animals between the two tanks whenever I move them, buy stuff like ATO, skimmer, light, etc, or manage two tanks! I'm super lazy and cheap!).
I still haven't got a plan yet but one idea I had was to put another tank next to my current DT at the same elevation and have an inverted U pipe filled with water to create a water bridge connecting the two tanks, then have an ATO sensor and pump placed on each tank to move water between the two tanks. If the siphon in the U pipe breaks, the ATO sensor (placed outside of water normally to get the pump to work) will sense the rising water on the tank and stop working. Just a thought for now but I gotta come up with a plan soon.

 

[MyFirstCar]

I've only way I've seen repeatable success on this forum for 2 tanks having the same water is that they both just come from the same sump.

 

[Levinson]

I've only way I've seen repeatable success on this forum for 2 tanks having the same water is that they both just come from the same sump.

Side by side sump/water bridge proof of concept.

Wanted to add a sump/refugium to my nano. . . Cause yeah. Space under tank was limited. Space in the tank for an overflow was also limited. . . This is what I came up with. . . obviously there’s some work to be done, but this is just a proof of concept.

www.reef2reef.com

This is the method I explained. Looks like someone here has done it before.

 

[Levinson]

Or I could have a new tank drilled, add an overflow leading to the DT, place it higher than current tank then have a return pump pumping water up the new tank from the current DT. Basically plumb it like the current DT is like a sump. I won't have much room for the extra water when the pump is off so I have to be careful though.

 

[TokenReefer]

Nice work. Do you have a sump?

 

[TokenReefer]

You can definitely do the u pipe.. I hung an extra 20 gallon off my sump a while ago for a while; worked fine. Siphon never broke if the ends were submerged. Started with 1 u but added another as a failsafe and more flow

Post in thread 'No Presh Reef' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/no-presh-reef.940278/post-10820964

 

[formallydehyde]

Any chance you could sell or give the surplus of them to a local fish store that would rear them further? I know they're small but most places I've seen that carry peps have a decent number of tiny ones anyway. I recently got one from reefcleaners that arrived about the size of my thumbnail. Great job by the way, they're adorable.

 

[Levinson]

Nice work. Do you have a sump?

No sump.

You can definitely do the u pipe.. I hung an extra 20 gallon off my sump a while ago for a while; worked fine. Siphon never broke if the ends were submerged. Started with 1 u but added another as a failsafe and more flow

Post in thread 'No Presh Reef' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/no-presh-reef.940278/post-10820964

Good to know!

Any chance you could sell or give the surplus of them to a local fish store that would rear them further? I know they're small but most places I've seen that carry peps have a decent number of tiny ones anyway. I recently got one from reefcleaners that arrived about the size of my thumbnail. Great job by the way, they're adorable.

Sounds like an option!

 

[Levinson]

Over 80 settled now and more to come.

 

[Makara23]

That's awesome! I had tons of peppermint shrimps spawn at night and saw tons of tiny shrimplings floating, but I think either the pump or fish got to them by morning.

Do you have a guide on rearing the shrimps from spawn to adult? Or point to the guide you used? I always wanted to try this if I had the time and dedication.

 

[Levinson]

That's awesome! I had tons of peppermint shrimps spawn at night and saw tons of tiny shrimplings floating, but I think either the pump or fish got to them by morning.

Do you have a guide on rearing the shrimps from spawn to adult? Or point to the guide you used? I always wanted to try this if I had the time and dedication.

I've used the book 'How to Raise & Train Your Peppermint Shrimp' as the reference.

 

[Levinson]

@AlgaeBarn
I've read on your website that you aquaculture your own peppermint shrimps and would like to ask a question if you don't mind.
I'm planning on building a grow-out tank for them but I don't know what kind of stocking density I can keep them in as they grow bigger like, what kind of sized tank or tanks I should consider.
Any advice or input on this would be much appreciated.
Also, just like to let you know I'm based in South Korea so I won't be selling them overseas (for now anyway).

 

[Tony Thompson]

Hi @Levinson, congratulations, I also have the book you mentioned, great book, entertaining and easy to digest.

If you don't get a response, may I suggest you reach out to @Sallstrom on this forum, he posted an article on the subject.

 

[Levinson]

I've been thinking about how I could do this and draw up a plan.
This is my current DT and the stand. Well, very simplified version of it. It's an AIO tank. 60 x 45 x 45 cm.

And the drawings below are for one of the ideas I had.
The goals were:
- Add a new grow-out space for the shrimps.
- Minimise impact on how the current tank is setup and operated (including adding new water flow or changing flow directions, etc)
- Share the water chemistry

The idea is to connect another same-sized tank to the existing one. A new return pump (return pump2) inside the AIO return chamber pumps water to the new tank on the right. The water-filled clear pipes (acrylic or clear PVC, 2 of them for safety measures) return water back to the return chamber. The return pump is connected to the Smart Skimmer security (AutoAqua) so should the water level in the new tank reach the sensor for whatever reason (syphon breaking etc), the pump will stop. The overflow pipes on the new tank side will be inside an overflow box (which I will have to DIY). If I turn off the pump 2, I should be able to drain the new tank for water changes without affecting the old tank or breaking the syphon. I'm thinking of adding a filter-sock slot in the overflow box. It will have a slightly lower inner wall so water can flow over if the sock gets too clogged.
It's not in the picture but inside the AIO, there is a wall between where the syphon pipes are and where the pumps are, and the water flows over to the return chamber. To use this method, I will have to raise the water level inside of the AIO chambers including the return chamber (where the ATO will be).
The current stand is made with aluminium extrusion so I can expend it easily. The orange part will be bolted on.
So far, this seems to be the best I can think of but I wish there was an easier way like using plastic boxes somehow. I wonder how the clownfish breeders do it.
There are still things I'm not too sure about like;
- The stocking density of the shrimps. I don't know how many I could house in this but thought maybe I could build some vertical structures (apartments?) with egg crates that might help stock more of them.
- The flow rate I should aim for with the new pump. Is the higher flow rate all that meaningful even when there is not much in between the pump 2 and the return pipes (like bio-filter media)?

Do you think this is the dumbest idea ever? I have drilled bigger tanks before myself and I'm not against it but minimising impact on how the current tank is setup and operated is what I want the most. To achieve that I will need to drill to the AIO chamber but since my current AIO chamber is just an acrylic box sitting inside the tank (as opposed to walls glued to the tank) it becomes way too much work. That's why I've decided not to drill. I could however, have the new tank drilled and connect it to a sump below but that is for another day.

Sorry about the long boring write-up. Any feedback will be appreciated.

 

[Levinson]

Update:
A few more have settled since then. I haven't counted how many I have.
I've had 7 larvae still pelagic and one of them settled today. I was excited and moved it to the isolation box in the picture but it got swarmed, killed by its bigger siblings instantly then eaten! I should have been more careful. Its exoskeleton was likely still soft from moulting too. Won't happen again.
So I'm left with 6 pelagic larvae now.
The settled little ones eat more than the grown-ups.
Video of them feeding.

 

[Levinson]

Last time I bred Sexy shrimps, they weren't brutal like this at all. They were much more peaceful with their siblings even when there was a big size difference.

 

[Levinson]

I messed up. I let the shrimps eat each other in the small isolation box their number has gone down greatly.
Feeding a lot does help but wasn't enough.
They grow too fast and eat too much I need a temp solution before the new tank. I have a much bigger isolation box being delivered today so hopefully it will help.

 

[saltcreep74]

I successfully bred peppermint shrimps! Yay!
So far I have over 70 that settled successfully and more are expected to settle (not that many more though). I'm not sure if this is a good number or not, but it sure is good enough for me.
But now there is a problem. I have far too many of them and no place to put them in, no grow-out tank. I only have my display tank that isn't even that big, around 100 litres. They are in the isolation box in the display tank for now (as shown in the photo) but there's no way my DT can house all these shrimps, especially with its current residents in it. This wasn't as much of a problem when I bred sexy shrimps before.

I guess I could get a separate independent tank set up, or have a new tank that connects to my current DT (so I don't have to acclimate the animals between the two tanks whenever I move them, buy stuff like ATO, skimmer, light, etc, or manage two tanks! I'm super lazy and cheap!).
I still haven't got a plan yet but one idea I had was to put another tank next to my current DT at the same elevation and have an inverted U pipe filled with water to create a water bridge connecting the two tanks, then have an ATO sensor and pump placed on each tank to move water between the two tanks. If the siphon in the U pipe breaks, the ATO sensor (placed outside of water normally to get the pump to work) will sense the rising water on the tank and stop working. Just a thought for now but I gotta come up with a plan soon.

That's so cool...congrats..

If it were me, I would pony up for a small 10 gal'ish grow out system and rear them until they get to small size. I would them trade them for credit at my LFS... they are hard to get at the moment so I'm sure you'll be able to trade them out.

GL..

 

[Levinson]

Ok, I got the new bigger box and moved the shrimps into it. Also placed a piece of egg crate in it.
It was difficult moving them. They were too hard to catch with the net I ended up using a turkey baster to blast them off the old box after draining the water. I hope it wasn't too stressful for them. The new tank will take more time to set it up. I had over 90 of them settle before but now I have way less than that I don't want to count them. Lesson learned I guess.

 

[Levinson]

I found some tiny hydroids growing on the glass. I pull them out and tried putting them in the isolation box for the little peppermint shrimps to see if they'd eat it. And they did in no time. It was interesting to find out because I searched to find out if peppermint shrimps eat hydroids but couldn't find any info on it in the past. I know it doesn't mean all peppermints would go after hydroids but at least it's a possibility.