Help! How to get rid of water fleas?

[Doc4PC2]

Does anyone know how to get rid of water fleas?

Keep in mind, I have a bunch of under one week old shrimp fry.

They are so tiny, that even with a magnifying glass I can't really tell what they are, the are so microscopic.

They are in a small tank with five CBS, and lots of new born fry. There is no substrate in the tank, just leaves bottom. The water parameters are fine, and the fry seem fine, but there is no way to vacuum the floor of the tank because of the fry, and even a shrimp net won't catch them, that is how tiny they are.

Tank is 2 gallon, 6.4 PH, 0 KH, 6 GH, 150 TDS, 72 temp, RO water, and bee shrimp minerals GH+,

The bottom of the tank is Indian almond leaf, oak leafs, mulberry leaf, one small plant in it's own plant pot with a little substrate in the plant pot. It Is a very small plant.

There is stuff on the floor of the tank because of the leaf breakdown, of half eaten leaves. It has a sponge filter, and Tom's nano canister filter, and a air stone.

The tank has these flies that are so tiny, you can barely see them ,but they are there moving around the tank. Is there anyway to get rid of the flies without harming the new born fry.

[Sbarbee54]

Nope you are stuck with them unless yu want to pull the shrimp and throw a tiger barb in tho clean them up

[Soothing Shrimp]

Just part of a shrimp tank.

[Doc4PC2]

I have a neon tetra, or a small yoyo loach, would they get rid of them and

Not go after the fry? I also have some ottos, but I didn't have any

Ottos with the fry.

[Sbarbee54]

They might but they will also snack on shrimp. Best pest eating fish I have found is tiger barbs but they will snack on shrimp too. I always throw 2-3 In a tank when it is done cycling to let them eat any pest that may have hitched hacked in

[Pika]

Ottos won't snack on your shrimp, but they also won't eat your bugs, most likely.

[Doc4PC2]

Yeah, that is a bummer that ottos don't eat the bugs. The shrimp and fry are even safe with the otos, but

they don't eat the water fleas. I changed the water and sucked them up with a glass turkey baster. I think I

got them all, for now anyway.

 

It is amazing what can just "SHOW UP"  in water. I am one of those clean and organized type of person too,

so I bleached everything all around the tanks. Walls, counters, photos, paintings, anything near the tanks,

tools, you name it, it got cleaned.

[Shrimpo]

Why you want to get rid of them?

[Steve R.]

Valid questions. In a healthy ecosystem you have many different crustaceans, many of which are very tiny. If you don't suspect that they have a negative impact on your shrimps, which they aparently don't have, I would not bother. They might even have a positive effect.

You could also put some fish into the tank that prey on these tiny crustaceans that have very small mouths. I have celestial perl danios (Danio margaritatus) or green rasbora (Microrasbora kubotai) in some of my shrimp tanks and the shrimps are reproducing. I am not 100% sure that they don't eat a juvenile shrimp once in a while, but they don't seem to have a negative impact on the shrimp population.

[Shrimpo]

Zooplanktons, their eggs, babies...are food for your shrimp and shrimplets, they also help break down the organic matters and involve in the filtration process.

 

[JamesHe]

You don't want to get rid of it.

 

it's beneficial, after it die, it's shrimplet's food.

[Doc4PC2]

Thanks all, I did not know all of that. Some of the normal things you run into with a tank

that becomes established blows my mind. You can look at your tank and see these

tiny, tiny, microscopic things moving around the glass, some are so tiny, you can't even

see them with a magnifying glass, and some are just a normal part of having a established

tank.

[JamesHe]

I only get rid of hydra, planarian, which is pest.

 

other critters in the water, if it doesn't harm the shrimp, I just ignore it totally.