my first babies! (but also...more ostracods)

JohnPaul · Post by **JohnPaul** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 5:16 pm

First the good news, just this afternoon I saw babies in my RCS tank for the first time! I'm so excited, and also relieved... noticed early yesterday that the first of my five berried females no longer had any eggs, and when I searched the tank for babies yesterday I couldn't see any, so I wasn't sure if she had babies and they were hiding, or whether she had just lost the eggs. But with the shrimplets I saw today, now I know my answer.

Four more berried females (at day 14, 6, 5, and 2 with eggs, respectively), so I should be seeing lots more shrimplets over the next few weeks.

NOW, on the negative side, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago when I gave my tank update thread that I had ostracods. Well...wow...do I have ostracods! At any given moment if I look in my tank, I can probably see 75 ostracods, maybe even more. It has definitely reached the point of being really annoying. The smallest are the size of the point of a pin, the largest are probably half a centimeter.

The question is, how to get rid of them? Anything I could put in the tank to eat them would surely eat my baby shrimps as well. I've been trying to figure out some way to make a trap that would attract them but not attract the shrimp but since they eat the same thing, I am not optimistic that is going to work either.

I suppose I could live with them in the tank if I had to, but there are so many they are a distraction, plus when they molt, their shells (which are white) stand out on the black sand substrate I have, and I don't really care for that.

Anyways, if anyone has ideas, let me know. Otherwise, I just wanted to share my joy about seeing RCS babies for the first time.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 6:38 pm

The only thing I could suggest would be to move out the shrimp temporarily, (before any more young ones appear to make it more difficult), and do a partial with water hot enough to kill the ostracods, but hopefully not the beneficial bacteria.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 7:36 pm

I'd try some guppies for a few days after making sure there are lots of hiding spots for the shrimp.

beckypyyeung · Post by **beckypyyeung** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:35 am

Oh, I'm afraid your guppies might eat the babies.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 8:40 am

The guppies will eat the babies if they cn catch them. So if you have to use fish, you need to provide the shrimp with good hiding places like dense moss or plants.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 9:30 am

The other thing you might try is an unprotected HOB filter. Baby shrimp & ostracods will be sucked in, but mostly ostracods. You can turn off the filter and pull out any babies and dispose of the ostracods.

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 2:05 pm

It's next to impossible to get rid of ostracods with traps and such. You won't ever catch all of them and they will just come back. I also don't see any real reason to get rid of them. I have a few tanks with tons of ostracods and they don't adversely effect the shrimp at all. In the long run, as your shrimp population grows, the ostracods will peobably be outcompeted by the shrimp anyway.

blinster · Post by **blinster** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 2:11 pm

I have a 5 gallon tank and when it gets dark the entire 4 walls are covered with ostracods, I can't even begin to count them. I've been using a toothbrush to brush them off but I am not sure if I actually crushed them or just sent them running.

JohnPaul · Post by **JohnPaul** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 2:13 pm

hmm, well it was worth a shot. I guess I'll just let nature take its course for the time being. Thank for the suggestions everyone.