Changing Substrate With Shrimp

[Liv15]

So I'm probably going to change my gravel today and yesterday my mother went out and bought a load of tiny cherry shrimp. She thinks there must have been almost 20. In my tank I have a piece of driftwood. Obviously I will be removing this to change the substrate but I think all the shrimp are hiding in it. How am I going to do this? Do I just take it out and put it in a bucket? I don't want to lose or accidently throw away any shrimp! Some are really tiny too.

 

[fluttermoth]

It's going to be tricky. If the shrimps are hiding in the wood, they will most likely swim out as soon as you move it

All you can really do is save every single bit of water that comes out of the tank and pour it through a sieve before you throw it out; swill your old gravel in some tank water and sieve that as well.

Good luck!

 

[nic1]

Hello,
I wouldn't change it all in one go, a little bit at a time is probably your best bet,
Especially as they are quite new they could be quite stressed already, changingb the substrate now could stress them a bit more.
I would take out a bit at a time and that way you can really observe the substrate and check for the shrimp.

Or you can drop shrimp pellets in at one end of the tank and slowly clear the other side while they are eating.
Of course they would come out of hiding when they feel abit secure so this may take a bit of time

 

[Liv15]

I think I'm going to leave the tank as it is, since I'm going to be upgrading to a larger tank quite soon. But the same advice sort of applies since I'll be moving them over. Thanks!

 

[betta fish]

Sounds like you are doing the right thing, if you give them a little time to settle down and grow bigger and stronger they will be better able to withstand the move.