As we are probably all well aware of the hitch hiking capabilities of our shrimp, I thought it was important to warn of another possible hitch hiker when moving plants about from different tanks....and its not snails.

This afternoon I happened to be looking in my one dedicated cherry shrimp tank and was shocked to discover a small fish fry now apporimately 2mm in length. It is most likely a blue eye fry (pacific or spotted) and the only way it could have got into the tank was as an egg on some Hornwort either from the tank next door or the spotted blue eye/ native shrimp tank below. There is the very faint chance the fry is a rainbow fish but being a blue eye is the most likely.

Considering the size of the fry and the fact that it has not been getting any fry foods only some tropical flakes and any sinking foods I put in for the shrimp to swarm over, I am guessing its lucky to have got to the size it now is. But it also makes me wonder if any brothers and sisters might have made the unexpected trip with it. I know I have not added weed to the tank for a number of weeks, in fact the last time I mucked around in the tank I removed a heap of weed.

I will be showing my husband the little fry, and re-interating what I have told him previously " NEVER just throw excess plants/ weed from the tanks out, you never know when a fish might have laid eggs on it".

For now I will leave the little fry in with the shrimp and once its big enough to identify which species of fish it is I will then put it back with its respective parents.

Good tip mate. My shrimp always hitch a ride on plants I trim in the tank. Lost some nice colours this way too lol

I have transferred a baby cory that way - it showed up in a shrimp tank that had never had fish in it. I'm almost sure it came across as an egg on a thermometer as that was the only item transferred between the tanks. The fish tank had several cory fry and the eggs had been on the glass near the thermometer. Would never have thought it possible.

Not a very good photo, but here is the little tacker

I knew fish eggs could survive transfers, its how I ended up with a goldfish out of the blue, the egg came with some weed. But I am just surprised that its taken me so long to spy this fry. It is especially easy to accidentially transfer blue eye and rainbow eggs because the eggs can take up to 10 or more days to hatch and being tiny they are easily over looked.

Looks like its back to the habit of leaving all removed plant life in a tub of water for a few weeks like I usually do. It keeps my dog happy, since he thinks ALL tubs of water are for him to drink. Makes for tricky aging of water for my native shrimp tank, with a dog and a cat both helping themselves.