peppermint shrimp in overflow?

[drstupid]

i have a little aiptasia problem in my overflow. actually, some of them are big enough to scare the cat.

it's a full length ("calfo style") overflow with two 1 1/2" drains, each with a 1 1/2" durso on it. the return flow is probably between 800 and 1000 gph, the sump is in the basement other things are fed by the return pump, so it's hard to tell for sure, but this is my educated guess.

i'm considering intentionally adding peps to the overflow. what are the chances of them getting sucked right down the drains? one feeds my skimmer, it's a needlewheel with a large recirculating pump that will almost certainly shred a shrimp and spit it out in the collection cup. many snails visit the overflow, very rarely i'll see one show up in the sump and i've never heard one go through the skimmer pump. will the shrimp be just as unlikely to get sucked down the drain?

if it seems like a reasonable risk, then how many should i add? it's a 4' overflow with about 8"x6" of water running that length.

 

[oceanparadise1]

lol thats a good question i think im gonna stick around to see the answer to this one!

 

[jefathome]

Can you put some gutter-guard over the drain openings?
If so, that might work?


Also, why not just empty the overflow and scrape them off?

 

[sassafrass]

rather than risking the shrimps lives I would take a large syringe without a needle push on some tubing make some kalk paste draw it up into the syringe turn off the return pump and squirt a little kalk into each . From my experience pep shrimps won't eat aiptasia larger than a dime. Also wait about five minutes before turning the pump back on
Best Regards, Lee

 

[drstupid]

i already have a kalk paste regimen going on, it's very difficult to get to most of them. that's how they got so big.

emptying and scraping is a good idea. so is gutter guard, although i worry about setting up a situation where the drains can get blocked.

lee, i've heard if you wound the big ones peps will go at them. i can do that with a long stick.

i've never had peps that ate any aiptasia before, of course.

 

[Toddrtrex]

My overflow is different -- corner overflow on a reef ready tank. In the past I put a pep in there to take care of aiptasia, worked like a charm. Granted I modified my durso standpipe so that I have a sponge over it --- so I didn't have to worry about it going down it.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I say just leave the aiptasia in there. They aren't doing any harm, if anything they're filtering your water for you on it's way to the sump.

 

[drstupid]

that's a good point LOJ.

 

[kar93]

Leave them in there, There was a video on Reef Videos a guy was maintaning a tank and he couldnt realise why the tank was so well as it hadn't been kept properly and he found aiptasia in the overflow which was helping the tanks filtration. But if you do put shrimp in there you can simply put fishing live over the PVC piping.

 

[Eklikewhoa]

If you are using durso pipes or similar then the shrimp should be able to stay in there.

But like the others....why remove them if they are out of sight?