Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Should shrimp be given any extra food if their in a mature tank with lots of algea and biofilm?

Two of my tanks have a 75 watt fluorescent light on all day and one gets natural sunlight through the window for a part of the day. These are shrimp only tanks with no plants. I'm giving them all this light so the algea will grow for the shrimp and it's been growing well.

I've got fish flakes I could feed them. But is there any benefit to giving them extra food as long as they have all this algea they can eat?

As long as they are eating (i.e. picking), growing and reproducing there is no reason to feed. If you don't see any algae growing in your tank and/or your shrimp are not growing despite picking all day long and/or the females never carry eggs (after you have made sure you actually have females) then you can feed *some* food. Once you see algae/biofilm grow again you should stop. If you're lucky, you may never have to feed. If you're unlucky, your feeding can cause the water to go "bad" and kill your shrimp.