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Do It Yourself Shrimp Trap

 

 

Do It Yourself Shrimp Trap

Article by: Joel MacClellan

 

 


It can be a pain to try and remove a lot of shrimp from a tank.  I thought I'd try trapping them using a modification on the fish trap idea. The basic idea is to create an entrance, an incentive (e.g. food inside), and make it hard to escape. It works! Construction is very simple. 

You’ll need the following tools & materials:
1. Plastic Bottle (Gatorade bottles work best because of its shape)
2. Serrated Kitchen Knife or similar
3. Shrimp Food



Here’s how to assemble it:

Empty the Gatorade bottle. Wash it. Wash again. And again. Use only hot water to wash. Never use soap! Leftover Gatorade can poison the tank and soap can do the same thing as well! Using hot water is just fine.


Cut the bottle at the area it restricts (or about 2/3 towards the top on other bottles):

 


Cut a hole in the lid that a shrimp can fit through but not big enough for fish:

 


First place shrimp food in the bottom. Invert top portion of bottle and place in bottom portion (this may require a bit of force in the Gatorade bottles, as they “interlock” creating a good seal).  In any case, be sure that there is no means of escape along the top, as this is where the shrimp will try to get out!

 


Next, place the trap in your tank.  I’ve found that placing it upright works better than on its side, the way fish traps are usually placed. Come back in a few hours to collect your shrimp.

 


Note:  Some have had problems with shrimp asphyxiating and dying inside the bottle, likely due to insufficient circulation.  I’ve never had this problem, either because it is near my filter output or because I didn’t leave the bottle in too long.  It might help to poke small holes all over the bottle with a pin to aid circulation (the down side is that water will go everywhere when you take the trap out of the tank).  In any case, I’m not responsible if your shrimp die inside your trap.