Feeding Red Cherry Shrimp

[Esequiel]

Hi all, i have recently added 3 x red cherry shrimp to my 70L tank. The only other occupant is a betta hence only 3 shrimp incase they end up as food as im aware different betta's have different temprements towards tank mates. Lucky mine is placid and quite playful with them, he follows them around and watches intently at what they are doing. At first i thought he was going to eat them but after the first day in the tank he stopped making moves after them and now doesnt chase them!
 
My problem is feeding them, i have some shrimp sticks which were recommended in store but they ignore them. Should i feed before lights out so they can get them at night or should i change to algea wafers?

 

[StevenF]

Keep in mind they will feed on any excess food you give your fish plus any algae in your tank.  You might actually have enough food in the tank already.  however if that is not the case try algae wafers Those work for me.  keep trying different things until you find something they like.

 

[Baccus]

Cherry shrimp are premdominately scavangers (well most shrimp are really) or if you like opportunistic so there is every chance the limited number of 3 are finding plenty of food as StevenF had already stated. Shrimp will eat almost anything organic they come across and will happily spend hours just on something like Java moss eating minute food particles and mirco flora and fauna.
Personally I have found that my shrimp don't always go crazy for dedicated shrimp foods (possibly because they get enough variety from all my different fish foods) but they do especially like things like Catfish wafers, algea wafers and simple things like Indian Almond leaves. The beauty of Indian Almond leaves is they will also be good for the Fighter because of the antibacterial properties the leaves have and the releasing of tannins which make the water generally more favourable to Siamese Fighters. Some shrimp keepers/ breeders feed their Shrimp speciality foods that are aimed at improving colour and health, while also offering human foods like Kale and Bananas. Be aware though any human foods you feed your shrimp should be organically grown as the chemicals used during the growing/ harvesting/ dispatching of the fruit/ veg can be very harmful if not down right deadly to the shrimp. Afterall the chemicals are mainly there to protect the fruit/ veg from insect attack.

 

[Jeremy180]

Agree with all of the above.
Additionally, I'd look for a food that contains iodine.
There is some debate on whether supplemental iodine helps with shrimp molting, but I don't see how it would hurt.
I've also heard that a regular diet very high in non-plant protiens  can possibly cause molting issues with dwarf shrimp like cherries
As this is a good description of any quality beta food, it might be best to be a bit more careful of letting the beta's food hit the bottom of the tank, and continue the supplemental feeding of the shrimp, keeping in mind that shrimp don't need much in terms of quantity at all.