LittlePenny wrote: ↑Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:59 pm
Update: this afternoon the snail who has been presumed dead emerged! the last time I saw it, was on March 17th, the day I added it to the tank!
Honestly, I was beginning to worry that my shrimp don’t have enough to eat and have been debating feeding a tiny tiny amount for the first time. Do you guys know if the fact that the snail made this appearance after being in the sand for such a long time, is related to the amount of food (or lack of) in the tank?
Thank you in advance
Hey! Congrats on freeing your shrimp. I also freed mine! Just like everyone else on this forum I will advise you against feeding. Especially if you still have that awesome biofilm. My biofilm is barely visible and I try to feed as little as possible. I fed once in my first month, I kinda regret it because you have to go in and get whatever your shrimp don’t eat and it disturbs stuff. If you only have four shrimp like me, it’s hard not to have leftovers. Shrimp do like snacks though, so if you’re gonna feed just make sure to take out the snack after a couple hours. I wouldn’t feed because your tank is still new and you have that great biofilm.
If your snail is in the sand and not suctioned to the to the walls it means theres enough stuff in the sand that he doesn’t even have to go searching on the walls.
If your shrimp don’t swim around a bunch it’s because there is so much food just where they are standing they don’t even have to look for it (-:
Hi shrimpnoobie, thank you for your response and input about feeding.
I’m in the same boat as you are with the biofilm. The majority of it is gone, although I am sure there some invisible biofilm as the shrimps swims upside down at the surface and eat.
Do you still feed occasionally? And if so how often and what amount? What kind of food have you tried?
They definitely swim around a lot looking for food, and I don’t see any visible algae, which is why I was considering feeding and monitoring closely.
Thank you!
LittlePenny wrote: ↑Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:59 pm
Update: this afternoon the snail who has been presumed dead emerged! the last time I saw it, was on March 17th, the day I added it to the tank!
Honestly, I was beginning to worry that my shrimp don’t have enough to eat and have been debating feeding a tiny tiny amount for the first time. Do you guys know if the fact that the snail made this appearance after being in the sand for such a long time, is related to the amount of food (or lack of) in the tank?
Thank you in advance
Do not feed them. You don’t need to. If you see them picking at anything and bringing it to their mouth they are eating. You just can’t see the microorganisms. I have specks of algae that you can see with a magnifying glass but not so much with the naked eye. It’s always been this way. The biofilm doesn’t exist anymore on my tank either. Maybe a thin tiny film layer. Either way I don’t feed. If I do it’s like once in a blue moon like every month and a half.
LittlePenny wrote: ↑Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:47 pm
Hi shrimpnoobie, thank you for your response and input about feeding.
I’m in the same boat as you are with the biofilm. The majority of it is gone, although I am sure there some invisible biofilm as the shrimps swims upside down at the surface and eat.
Do you still feed occasionally? And if so how often and what amount? What kind of food have you tried?
They definitely swim around a lot looking for food, and I don’t see any visible algae, which is why I was considering feeding and monitoring closely.
Thank you!
Yeah my shrimp are active as well, do not worry I had the same thought process as you. I feed a spirulina powder and I literally take one tiny rock of the powder and THAT IS IT. They will grab it and hold on to it and eat and drop it and then another will grab it. I have not fed again but I intend to as it is just nice for the shrimp to have a treat, but they do not need it. Seriously, whatever food you buy use ONE PIECE that is as tiny as your eye can possibly see. I wish I would have gotten a sinking food because my shrimp take so long to find my floaty food, so I recommend a sinking food. Any high quality food will do, but a lot of the people on this forum talk about seaweed and spirulina so that is what I bought. I saw this guy give his shrimp a tiny bit of egg yolk and they loved it, so do not worry they are not picky.
So you can feed if you insist but the shrimp probably do not need it, although they appreciate it. Just make sure to have a way to clean the leftover food out after a couple of hours. I use a turkey baster. Leaving the food in your tank poses a much greater danger to your shrimp than the speculation of them starving.
LittlePenny wrote: ↑Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:47 pm
Hi shrimpnoobie, thank you for your response and input about feeding.
I’m in the same boat as you are with the biofilm. The majority of it is gone, although I am sure there some invisible biofilm as the shrimps swims upside down at the surface and eat.
Do you still feed occasionally? And if so how often and what amount? What kind of food have you tried?
They definitely swim around a lot looking for food, and I don’t see any visible algae, which is why I was considering feeding and monitoring closely.
Thank you!
Yeah my shrimp are active as well, do not worry I had the same thought process as you. I feed a spirulina powder and I literally take one tiny rock of the powder and THAT IS IT. They will grab it and hold on to it and eat and drop it and then another will grab it. I have not fed again but I intend to as it is just nice for the shrimp to have a treat, but they do not need it. Seriously, whatever food you buy use ONE PIECE that is as tiny as your eye can possibly see. I wish I would have gotten a sinking food because my shrimp take so long to find my floaty food, so I recommend a sinking food. Any high quality food will do, but a lot of the people on this forum talk about seaweed and spirulina so that is what I bought. I saw this guy give his shrimp a tiny bit of egg yolk and they loved it, so do not worry they are not picky. I think the recommendation from the "shrimp masters" on this site is bi weekly or monthly if you do not have visible algae.
So you can feed if you insist but the shrimp probably do not need it, although they appreciate it (: . Just make sure to have a way to clean the leftover food out after a couple of hours. I use a turkey baster. Leaving the food in your tank poses a much greater danger to your shrimp than the speculation of them starving.
Of course regarding feeding you can feed more as the population grows. Back in their former tank where there was little visible algae I would feed mine a couple dozen tiny Hikari shrimp cuisine pellets every month or so and it would all be eaten within a few hours. But keep in mind I have over a hundred and fifty shrimp. The key about feeding is to make sure the shrimp finish it all in a reasonable length of time and there are no leftovers.
I haven't fed them in their new tank yet, but given they've already polished off all the visible algae that was on the walls I may need to eventually.
As another reference, I had an ecosphere for 8 years before I knew how bad they were and liberated the sole survivor 6 months ago. Never in that 8 years did I ever feed them. Nor have I put any food in the new tank in 6 months. They're all fine and even reproducing.
Thank you for the input and info everyone! I will hold off. My intention was to provide a snack once every few of month rather than "feed" on a regular basis, but it sounds that with such small population it may not be worth the risk.
Hi guys, wanted to update about my tank. Things seems to be going well. 10 additional shrimps from Mustafa were added last Sep. and seems to be growing and active. I am starting to see green algae forming on the glass and rocks (versus the brown I’ve had all along). The snail reproduced and I’ve seen a couple of babies. Still never fed the tank and there seems to be plenty for the shrimps. Recently I did a little remodel and added artificial plants, which seem to be the new favorite hang out spot. Still no barried shrimps, but it’s still very cold here, so maybe when the weather warms up.
Hi everyone! it's been a while since my last visit. I've been contemplating migrating my shrimps to a larger tank and was getting ready to start cycling it when I saw the first-ever barrier female! I'm so excited!
I guess shrimpies will have to hold off on the move to a bigger house for now
LittlePenny wrote: ↑Thu Aug 06, 2020 11:23 am
Hi everyone! it's been a while since my last visit. I've been contemplating migrating my shrimps to a larger tank and was getting ready to start cycling it when I saw the first-ever barrier female! I'm so excited!
I guess shrimpies will have to hold off on the move to a bigger house for now
the last time I saw it, was on March 17th, the day I added it to the tank!
