IIIHawKIII

ok. so i've gotten mixed reviews if ghost shrimp fry can grow and survive in freshwater the whole life cycle.

regardless, i have one that has some eggs on her. could i catch her and put her in a net breeder thing? or just let "nature" take its course in my 29g community tank?

would she be ok in a net breeder?

sirdarksol

I wouldn't bother with the net breeder. If the shrimp have a planktonic youth stage, they'll probably fit through the cracks.
Whether or not they can survive freshwater depends on the exact species of shrimp (there are a few that are sold as ghost shrimp). I don't know how to tell the difference, as they are all really closely related, and appear very similar.
The best protection baby shrimp can have is clumps of Java moss, Christmas moss, or other fine, frilly plants.

IIIHawKIII

i was contemplating getting some java...but i don't want it to take over my whole tank. but i'm sure the shrimp would love it. and how can i stay snail free if i do get into plants?

sirdarksol

If you're concerned about that, you can do a bleach dip, or better, a potassium... (crud, it's another "p" word. I'll look around to complete this statement) dip, which will kill any and all hitch-hikers on the plants.

IIIHawKIII

that would be awesome and i would greatly appreciate it.

sirdarksol

Potassium permanganate.
I think I've heard that you can get it at hardware stores.
The instructions I have found are "fill a bucket to 1/2 full and mix in Potassium P. until the water turns dark pink." A quick dip of a few seconds is enough to kill most hitch-hikers, both gastropedal and bacterial.

MaddieLynn

At our nearest Petsmart, the plants are guaranteed to be snail-free.

sirdarksol

Unfortunately, Petsmart doesn't normally sell Java moss. I'm not sure Java moss would work with the snail-free plants, either, since they keep the plants out of water in damp containers. I don't think Java moss would deal well with that (but I could be wrong).

IIIHawKIII

would java deal with the dip ok? and marimo balls?

sirdarksol

Java moss should deal with it fine... not sure about marimo. Marimo are a type of algae, and Potassium P. is often used as an algaecide. On the other hand, marimo should be easy to clean of snails and egg sacks.