Amphipod infestation

[jeffrey.wyman]

Any suggestions on how to clear out an amphipod colony in my opae ula tank? They are multiplying like crazy and are starting to crowd out the shrimp (the opae ula are forced to sit on the walls because the amphipods are a bit territorial on the rocks). The tank has been leaning on the SW side, so I'm thinking maybe going full FW for a few weeks should kill most (all?) of them?

I'm thinking of trying to catch the shrimp and then restart my tank...

Mustafa, is this why you have many small tanks as opposed to few large ones?

[Mustafa]

Mustafa, is this why you have many small tanks as opposed to few large ones?

I wouldn't say they are small tanks (mostly 20 gallon, some 10 gallon), but they aren't huge vats for sure. It just happened this way given the space I had at the time I put up the tanks. As for the amphipods...don't go full freshwater. Just go to one third to half ocean salinity. That appears to be closer to the ideal for these guys anyway. Depending on the species, the amphipods may adjust, though. The best thing to do is to just stop feeding. The amphipods will starve...the shrimp won't, even after months of no feeding.

[yoster]

I had a pretty bad infestation with my smaller tank. I stopped feeding for about 2-3 months. Like Mustafa stated, they will starve to death.

[YoungMrHoward]

Are the amphipods harmful?

[Mustafa]

Not directly, but they can multiply faster and crow out the shrimp as the first post here already said. They may also directly bother the shrimp by climbing on them if there are tons of them in the tank.