Feeding Cherry Shrimp - Advice Please...

[Mr Bee]

Hi, following my other post (here) I am planning on getting 6 cherry shrimp this week to go in with my tetra's. I've not seen them in the shop yet - just phoned to see if they had any in stock as I've had trouble finding somewhere to actually get some - so I dont know if they will be juvenile or adult.

I've also got some more (silk) plants to go in, and I'm gonna rearrange my slates to form some cave type structures to give them some more hiding places too.

I could do with some advice on ffeeding though if anyone can help?.......



OK, so I know they will eat some of the algae, but what else do they need - algae flakes? crustacean food? etc.

I've seen lost of things that might be good

• Hikari Crab Cuisine click
• Hikari Algae wafers click
• Shrimp Wafers click
• Tetra Plecomin tablets click
• Tetra Tabimin click
• Tetra Pleco wafers click
• Tetra Variety wafers click
• Cant find a link, but my LFS has one just called "Tetra Algae Wafers"

I also use Tetramin as my standard flake food for my fish, but that gets eaten by the tetras in about 3 seconds flat!

Just any advice on what is good to feed them, and how much to feed them would be really welcome, as I've never kept inverts before. Also, am I likely to need any "liquid calcium" additives like Snailstrong (clicky)??

And is snailstrong safe for my fish?


I know I've asked quite a lot there, but please help me if yu have any advice

 

[susankat]

I use these for all my shrimp. But I only feed mine a couple of times a week, as they will forage in the plants.

Hikari Crab Cuisine
Hikari Algae wafers

Also add
Thin slices of zuchinni
Thin slices of cucumber

 

[tangokitty]

Hikari Crab Cuisine I also feed this, but I feed Tetra algae/veggie wafers.

 

[Mr Bee]

Thanks for the replies, it seems Hikari crab and algae is what other use.

Is it best to feed these from the start, or only when there's no algae left in the tank? I added 6 juveniles yesterday, and so at the moment there's plenty of algae in the tank - will they just want to eat that first, or will I need to add some extra (crab cuisine/wafers etc.) too right from the start. Or should I only add extra only when I notice they've eaten all the algae already present - I have some green and mostly brown (diatom?) algae present on substrate and decor, but they seem to be eating it when I can get a glimpse of them.


Also, how much should I feed? Just drop a wafer (or half) in and remove any uneaten after maybe 2 hours or something?

 

[Wolfenrook]

My cherry shrimp eat whatever I feed to them, including normal fish flake, Hikari Crab Cuisine, Snailshop.co.uk algae pellets. Their fave food though you can't even see, its the tiny life forms that tend to grow on your decor and on live plants. I know that you prefer silk plants, but you would be doing your shrimp a really good turn if you put a few live ones in there as well, at the least some mosses and maybe a couple of marimo balls.

Ade

 

[Mr Bee]

Live plants - Is this for them to eat, live or hide in? Or for the organisms that live in it?

I always imagined keeping plants to be quite involved, requiring careful control of light, fertiliser, CO2 etc. Is this not the case? - Can I just chuck some moss in and leave it to its own devices?

And I thought live plants might get out of hand and take over the tank, or decay and affect water quality and stuff; thats why I've always gone for synthetic, for an easier 'low maintenance' option!

If they will survive just on their own, what sort of moss would you reccommend?

I've got some Hikari algae wafers and frozen brine shrimp (reccommended by fish store I got them from) for them. When should I start feeding them this, and how much; is 1 wafer enough (or too much) for 6 juveniles??

 

[susankat]

Live plants give the shrimp micro organisms to feed on, plus live plants also keep the water quality better. Low light plants like mosses and anubia are very easy to care for with little maint. except for keeping the moss trimmed.

 

[Wolfenrook]

I prefer christmas and weeping moss where mosses are concerned, and a lot of shrimp folks like marimo balls (sometimes labeled moss balls, but it is actually a kind of algae) as well. Neither of these are very fast growing, and moss is very easy to trim when it gets too big.

Ade

 

[Mr Bee]

I might add some xmas or weeping moss then. Is it just a case of placing it on the bottom of the tank, and it will kind of rest or sit there and grow, and doesn't need any fertiliser or CO2 or anything like that?

Is moss ok to grow/sit on gravel too; I mean it doesn't need to be planted in soil or anything like that?

I've read a bit about marimo balls, which also look quite good and easy - just a green furry ball that is sat in the tank..... again, I guess this doesn't need any maintenance or special care conditions? Just a quick trim or splitting if it gets too big??

 

[Wolfenrook]

You can get away with growing moss on your gravel, but it looks nicer tied onto decor with some thread. Should be ok without ferts etc unless you have tap water devoid of anything much.

Marimo balls are extremely easy to grow, as you say you just put them in. They're a variety of algae (that doesn't go nuts), and as such as easy as algae to grow.

Ade

 

[Mr Bee]

Cheers Ade, I'm gonna call into P@H on my home from work tomorrow and see what they have in the way of moss and marimo. I have barely seen my shrimp since they have gone in the tank, just a couple of sightings so far, they must be well hidden!!

I have also tried giving them some of the frozen brine shrimp and the sinking algae wafer - but I think the tetra's have eaten most of what went in, even eating off the bottom and searching amongst the plants for the brine shrimp. So I'm not sure how much (if any) was left for the shrimps to eat


So I'm finding it a struggle to get any calcium supplement in to the shrimps so far with the tetra's nicking it all!!

Hoping if I can get some moss or something, and maybe make some smaller cave structures with my slates, I might be able to put some brine shrimp in for them, and hide it from the tetras.