How can you tell if you are underfeeding Neocaridinas and how to feed when away?

[Helina]

Hey!

I have a chance of getting my desired Neocaridinas finally but I'm concerned about how to tell if I'm not feeding them enough. And also, how to feed them when I need to be away from home for a week or 2? Do you leave an algae shrimp stick into the aqua as an additional food when leaving?
Would the 1 turn around / day from smallest setting with EHEIM flake feeder be sufficient for 17 green neon tetras and leave the excess food of it for about 10 Neocaridinas?

 

[Naughts]

The most important thing is a biologically established tank. Planted tanks with leaf litter and other botanicals are best as it provides micro-organisms. After 6-12 months a balanced ecosystem provides enough food for the shrimp who graze all day. You can then supplement them with food to ensure they are well fed before you leave and they won't need feeding when you're away.

 

[MattW]

@Naughts hit the nail on the head there.

Recently I have stopped cleaning/scraping 2 sides of the glass in my 60L which is home to my Neocaridina. It has become haven to biofilm and many microorganisms including Zoothamnium's and Stentors which the shrimp do feed on.

Bacter AE could also be used as food. Something I've wanted to try for a while now.

 

[noahm]

This won't directly answer your OP, but something I have noticed after keeping Neocaridinia is that I never have to clean off dead leaves. I prune the stem plants just to keep them healthy, but I don't think I have ever removed dead lower leaves from my Crypts. They are just cleaned up as they die.

My personal feeling is to try and feed minimally. If they are breeding, they are eating enough. If you go away, give them a slice of zucchini on a clip. Honestly though, anything shorter than a week is usually no problem to not feed (fish or shrimp) unless you have tank-mates that might start looking at the shrimp as food.

 

[Essjay]

I have Neocaridinas in two tanks.
In my main tank with fish I don't feed the shrimps specifically. They eat fish food and whatever else they can find (algae, biofilm, whatever).
In my shrimp only tank (OK there's a Clithon nerite in there as well) I feed Dennerle Shrimp King Complete every second or third day, and less than the jar says to feed. The rest of the time they eat whatever they can find. They must be getting enough food as I siphon up baby shrimps at every water change.

 

[Magnum Man]

My cherries are in with some live bearers, and they also clean up fish food, but that tank is heavily planted with easy growing plants that don’t require a fertilizer, and they keep everything green and nice… how much to feed any of our aquatic friends, takes getting a feel for, and remember, most people over feed… if your shrimp are reproducing, you’re at least really close… adding a compatible tank mate (s) gives them other foods between the actual food, and wastes which they will break down…

 

[Colin_T]

Shrimp have a high metabolism and can eat a lot of food. They should be fed at least once a day, preferably 2 to 3 times a day.

If you are going away for a week or two, feed them 3-5 times a day for a couple of weeks before you go and have lots of plants in the tank. Then feed them once before you walk out the door and leave it at that until you get home.

 

[MaloK]

In an established ("really" planted tank***), If the water chemistry is good. Cherry shrimps can withstand weeks without food.

And still multiply.

You're on your fresh initial colony, And as far as I know they can all die in the next days, for no reason, up to a complete explosion of babies. I nearly lost everything a year ago. Now I'm selling them. But I admit that I wasn't pleased with all it took to get there. But besides grossly compatible water parameters, the quantity of hiding place changes everything and they prefer plants over anything else.

Cherry shrimps are fast paced, short life, adventurous, suicidal little critters. In the long term a good baby survival rate becomes a priority for the colony survival.

While their longevity is said to be around 2 years, I've yet to have specimens last that long in crowded tanks. While multiple generations occurred and perpetuity of the specie remained insured.

As soon as there will be babies that makes it in your water... Nature is going to take it's course.

*** from the pictures in your posts. You need a lot more plants and hiding places.

With the fish you have... Think of it as a micro environment. The more complicated it is, more exciting it becomes for your guests and fun for you.

 

[Helina]

In an established ("really" planted tank***), If the water chemistry is good. Cherry shrimps can withstand weeks without food.
*** from the pictures in your posts. You need a lot more plants and hiding places.

Hey! Thank you for your input and ideas.

I got some weeping moss to go with the shrimp to make my tank more suitable for shrimp. Also many more small Vallisneria are in their process of growing up. The wood piece in my tank has though many hiding spots and tunnels.

My tank doesn't have CO2 equipment so the tiny carpet-like tiny leaved plants that I see in many heavily planted show tanks with shrimp, won't manage it in my tank. Therefore I have lots of gravel and decorative stones instead. I hope the weeping moss will conquer the bottom though and make a carpet eventually in parts of the tank for shrimp.

For the time being I got also commercial algae sticks for shrimps for when I need to leave home for Christmas week and what's left of the fish flakes daily should be enough to feed the couple shrimp I have now I think. Since I wasn't able to get a colony from a deal which was available at the time of writing the opening post, but instead got just a couple elsewhere.