Got baby shrimps that you're finding impossible to get out of your planted tank? Problems with planaria? Nathan Hill reviews a new product that could really help.
First impressions; you get an urge to drink from it/store something in it/use it as a smoking aid.
The catch pen is a corking piece of blown glass. Smart and functional, its role is either to catch nuisance planaria from a tank, or, even better, allow you to gather tiny shrimplets that are otherwise nigh impossible to get out of a planted tank.
Simply remove the cap from the catch pen, place in a little bait, replace the cap and sink the unit into the tank. Depending on what you want to catch, either place the mouth facing into the substrate, allowing only planaria to get in, or leave it exposed and go shrimplet trawling.
The narrowing nozzle means that any animal finding its way in is on a one-way journey. Getting the shrimps back out is a case of merely taking the cap back off and pouring out.
It’s all so basic that it’s genius — just like the cat flap.
It’s not the cheapest thing in the world, but a lot smarter and robust than home-made shrimp traps. If I get back into shrimps any time soon, and didn’t have one to hand, I’d buy this product.
Price: £22 from aquariumplantfood.co.uk
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