Beeshrimp dragging food

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » Mon May 07, 2007 12:44 am

I sometimes give my beeshrimp Tetra Plecowafer. 2 or 3 dropped in the water near the front of the tank always brings out a crowd. I did notice that the wafers tend to end up in different parts of the tank but I always put that down to the current in the tank.

This morning I witnessed the real cause of it. 2 shrimp had found a wafer and were bickering who got to eat it. It ended with the biggest shrimp picking up the wafer and swimming to a different part of the tank. I was just too baffled to pick up my camera. Never thought they'd be able to lift something that big.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon May 07, 2007 4:03 am

They can do amazing things. Just be careful with wafers. That can be way too much food. You need to be careful of uneaten food.

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » Mon May 07, 2007 5:00 am

Yes, I know. That's why I test and change water and regularly do a visual inspection.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Mon May 07, 2007 8:02 am

I took this from articles section:

You feed your shrimp just like you feed your fish..i.e. several times a day a good portion of flake food or pellets. Your shrimp seem happy, run for the food and gobble up everything in time. Suddenly, you notice a dead shrimp. This is usually accompanied by your shrimp losing coloration and lack of appetite. Most of your shrimp just sit there and do not do much of anything. They do not even come running for the food during feeding time. In fact, most shrimp do not come at all. You notice your shrimp dying en masse.

Suggestion: Feed your shrimp very, very sparingly. When I say sparingly...I really mean it. Only feed them tiny amounts of food once a day and only as much as they can gobble up within a few minutes. Do not ever let a pellet or other food item sit in the shrimp tank for several hours or more. Yes, the shrimp will eat it eventually, but the food is polluting the water in the meantime. This advice is especially important in newly established tanks where additional food is a must as no algae had a chance to grow yet. Once algae are growing and the tank is established shrimp should rarely be fed additionally. This mistake is one of the most common killers of shrimp.

TKD · Post by **TKD** » Mon May 07, 2007 5:25 pm

4 algea waffers are gone over night in my cherry tank

.

TKD

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » Tue May 08, 2007 8:34 am

The bee shrimp seem to be much more difficult to keep and more sensitive than RCS to less than perfect water quality.
I would add only what food they can entirely consume in five minutes several times a day.
20 bee shrimp can be fed with just a 1/4 to 1/8 piece of an algae wafer per feeding..

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue May 08, 2007 9:51 am

I don't use wafers at all. I powder all food and add just a little pinch. Greedy shrimp can't hog the food that way.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » Tue May 08, 2007 10:49 am

I think that is a better way too feed them, too.
I have many small BN fry scattered all over the place and they get the occassional wafer which the shrimp also help themselves.

One food I use a lot because everything from discus, plecos, Corys and their fry eat well is the earthworm sticks. Shrimp seem to really go for it too.
It quickly softens and expands several volumes. Then the small particles it is made up of become available in bite sized pieces which the shrimp grab and run off to eat in privacy. Three to five pellets feeds a couple hundred RCS a day.

The algae wafers are almost as solid as concrete and are not my favorite food. I go through about 2 lbs of algae wafers a year vs 15 lbs of earthworm sticks.

pleco_breeder · Post by **pleco_breeder** » Tue May 08, 2007 3:16 pm

Hello,

Since we're now on the topic of foods, I used to feed spirulina tablets to my ancistrus fry tanks. These tablets quickly dissolved and formed a 1 inch circle of pure spirulina powder, the only ingredient, on the bottom of the tank. Most everything eats it, but I'm curious if anyone knows if it would be worth the expense to order a couple pounds for my shrimp. One tablet would easily be enough to feed a couple hundred shrimp, but costs about $8 per pound with a minimum of 2 pounds. Don't mean to hijack the thread, but this seems to be the direction it's going.

Thanks,

Larry Vires

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:14 pm

I think it is a waste. The shrimp do fine with just about any food. I've been using powered veggie flake and rotting oak leaves.

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Sun May 13, 2007 3:40 am

Pleco_breeder

The use of High Dollar Foods for the keeping and breeding Shrimp are not really needed.
When there is a lower cost alternative is availible and will do just as good
along with the Micro-organisms in your tank to round out there Diet.

John

pleco_breeder · Post by **pleco_breeder** » Sun May 13, 2007 9:17 am

Just to clarify, spirulina is dirt cheap. I pay something like $3 a pound for the tablets after shipping. Unless you're buying bulk trout chow, you're not going to beat that. The powder is a bit cheaper, but very messy to work with. The only viable reason I've found for buying the powder is gutloading worms and flies for feeding fish.

Larry Vires

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Sun May 13, 2007 10:44 am

I bought some spirulina from that big old auction site....and it was fairly cheap too (it wasn't that cheap originally according to the sticker). I use it when I make my Critter Crisps©.

Post by **Mustafa** » Sun May 13, 2007 12:36 pm

Guys...keep in mind that the spirulina you buy is dirt cheap because:

1. They have been disqualified as "human grade" because of things like too high heavy metal and "mineral" content (and similar problematic things)

2. Nobody knows how long these tablets and powders have been laying around before they are sold to you as there is no expiration date on them. All the people that sell this stuff as "fish food" buy it in bulk and have it laying around there for a very long time, most likely under less than ideal conditions. Plus, who knows how long it was already in storage before *they* bought it. And chances are that it wasn't stored as well as "human grade" spirulina since its "substandard" anyway.

If you really *have* to buy spirulina for one reason or another, you can get it from a store that sells supplements and vitamins. Those small bottles will last a long time and they all have expiration dates on them (avoid the ridiculously long, unrealistic expiration dates and look for ones that are about one to two years out). Shrimp for sure don't need it, nor does it give them any benefit really....I tested it for years. All the "microorganism/algae" food they need is grown "live" right there in their tank. The fish food that you feed additionally not only feeds the shrimp (partially anyway) but also "fertilizes" the microorganisms (biofilm etc.) that grows in the tank as food for shrimp. Think of it as "live food." Ever wondered why your shrimp (the healthy ones anyway) *always* keep picking although there does not seem to be anything where they are picking?

No other "gimmicks" such as spirulina or spinach etc. needed in my experience.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Sun May 13, 2007 4:50 pm

The one I bought is for human consumption from a health food company....why on earth anyone would want to have a spirulina shake is beyond me.