How To See Ghost Shrimp

[JohnDyer]

I just got some ghost shrimp yesterday for my 55 gallon aquarium. Everything was fine, all the fish were compatible, the aquarium is heavily planted, etc. But when I got home, I remembered something pretty important. How the hell am I supposed to clean my tank now? My siphon is 2.5 inches in diameter, the shrimp is barely 1 inch. I can see the fish to avoid sucking them up, but it takes me ages to even find the shrimp. What do I do?

 

[Fishy friend2]

Put a sponge or small net over the intake so they don't get sucked in or just slowly maneuver it around the plants and make sure that a ghostie is not in it's path

 

[JohnDyer]

Will the sponge stop it from sucking up the poop and dead plant bits at the bottom? And will it still injure the shrimp?
My gravel is all this brownish color, nearly impossible to see a shrimp, even if I moved very slowly.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Will the sponge stop it from sucking up the poop and dead plant bits at the bottom? And will it still injure the shrimp?
My gravel is all this brownish color, nearly impossible to see a shrimp, even if I moved very slowly.

Just make sure that the squares in beetween are around 1/2 by 1/2 inch so all the buts get stacked up but not the shrimp

 

[JohnDyer]

I'm still kind of worried about accidentally flattening the little guys against the substrate, but since I don't have any better ideas, thanks!