# Recommend me a shrimp food . . .



## Wookii (16 Jan 2020)

So, our tank is coming along nicely, plants are growing, and inhabitants seem to be happy.

The cherry shrimp (Bloody Mary's from a cull sale) seem to be doing well. Some of the smaller ones that I can recognise seem to have grown substantially in the three weeks they've been in the tank (one stray that has a clear band like a Rili is about 50% bigger than when we introduced it).

However, they show virtually no interest in any food I introduce to the tank.

So far I've only really added blanched cucumber and Hikari Algae wafers for the Oto's, and some Glasgarten Shrimp Dinner for the shrimp. A few of the shrimp pick at the algae wafer and cucumber, and slightly fewer pick at the shrimp dinner pieces, but there is no real excitement over any of it, as I've seen i various videos online. Literally one shrimp will wander up and have a peck every 5 minutes or so, and then wander off.

I do feed a half potion of Glassgarten Bacter AE every day though, and the shrimp spend most of their time grazing the plants, and in particular the moss - they are obsessed with the moss lol

I really want them to start breeding at some point, so I kind of want them to get excited over some good quality food that might give them everything they need to breed successfully. Maybe I'm worrying over nothing, and the Bacter AE is enough for them, however I'd like to try some alternatives to see if I can spark some interest.

So over to you guys for some suggestions please?


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## Siege (16 Jan 2020)

They are probably eating more than you think with their grazing skills.

have a look at any of the shrimp king food. The 5 in 1 mix pack will be good to try!

https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/shrimp-king-5-in-1-discovery-pack-2275-p.asp


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## Iain Sutherland (16 Jan 2020)

I dont know the size of tank or number of shrimp but it's unlikely you need to feed them at all unless you bought a colony.

If it's a 60cm tank there is no need for food until you have over 50 shrimp and even then it would only be a weekly pellet of something like shrimp king.  They have all they need in the tank doing what they are design for...grazing biofilm and scavenging anything they find.  If they dont fight for it then it's a good sign it's not needed.

Bacter AE will supplement a lot also, if it's a mature tank personally I dont see any point in the 'bacteria' powders.  Something like Gravidas is much better for supplementing tiny shrimp and a pot lasts forever!

Dont over think shrimp, especially cherries, in no time you will have hundreds.

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## thatblokeoverthere (16 Jan 2020)

Mine have daily Bacter AE supplemented with a few Hikari Crab Cuisine every couple of days or so, which they love. Blanched broccoli is a big favourite as well.

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## Conort2 (16 Jan 2020)

Mine just get whatever is left over from what the fish have, which isn’t much as the fish polish it off rather quickly. Most of the time they just scavenge and graze on the surfaces throughout the tank. I think what Ian said is great advice, don’t over think them. Put them in and as long as they aren’t predated on by fish, leave them to it. Before you know it you’ll have loads of them.

cheers

Conor


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy (16 Jan 2020)

You may find this of interest:
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/gear/the-big-shrimp-food-test/


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## Wookii (20 Jan 2020)

Thanks for the responses guys - apologies for the delay in replying - this forum doesn't automatically apply notification . .  grrrr.


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## Wookii (20 Jan 2020)

Siege said:


> They are probably eating more than you think with their grazing skills.
> 
> have a look at any of the shrimp king food. The 5 in 1 mix pack will be good to try!
> 
> https://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/shrimp-king-5-in-1-discovery-pack-2275-p.asp



Thanks - yes, I visited ProShrimp on Friday, and picked up a few more bits along with another 10 Bloody Mary's - shopping list was as follows:

Shrimp King 5-in-1
Shrimp King Yummy Gum
Hikari Shrimp Cuisine
Glasgarten Mineral Junkie balls


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## Wookii (20 Jan 2020)

Iain Sutherland said:


> I dont know the size of tank or number of shrimp but it's unlikely you need to feed them at all unless you bought a colony.
> 
> If it's a 60cm tank there is no need for food until you have over 50 shrimp and even then it would only be a weekly pellet of something like shrimp king.  They have all they need in the tank doing what they are design for...grazing biofilm and scavenging anything they find.  If they dont fight for it then it's a good sign it's not needed.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the insight Iain. I bought a cull batch of 40 Bloody Mary's initially just after Christmas (though the seller sent me around 45 in the end), and I've added another 10 from ProShrimp on Friday.

I have to admit, that's the first time I've read someone suggest not feeding them at all? I do want them to breed, so I assume adequate food was necessary to induce that - though that said, I have in fact seen some berried females for the first time this weekend - at least three have eggs.

ProShrimp advised me to limit the Bacter AE to every other day, and feed other items on the days in between (though I appreciate that it is in their interest to sell shrimp food!


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## Wookii (20 Jan 2020)

Conort2 said:


> Mine just get whatever is left over from what the fish have, which isn’t much as the fish polish it off rather quickly. Most of the time they just scavenge and graze on the surfaces throughout the tank. I think what Ian said is great advice, don’t over think them. Put them in and as long as they aren’t predated on by fish, leave them to it. Before you know it you’ll have loads of them.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Conor



Thanks Conor - yes, perhaps I am overthinking it. I just want the colony to thrive, as I have lost three of them already to reasons unknown - though the berried females suggest there could be babies fairly soon!


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## Wookii (20 Jan 2020)

Matt @ ScapeEasy said:


> You may find this of interest:
> https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/gear/the-big-shrimp-food-test/



Thanks Matt, yes I did read that after posting this thread - though I'm always wary of 'magazine' articles.


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## Wookii (20 Jan 2020)

So of the foods I bought, I've tested the Shrimp King Complete, and they gathered around that very readily. I've also tested the Yummy Gum, and they almost completely ignored it. I also put in a Glasgarten Mineral Junkie 'pearl' and they also tucked into that.

That said, given the advice above, I think I'll dial back on the foods a bit now rather than feeding them daily.

Thanks for the input guys.


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## Iain Sutherland (20 Jan 2020)

I think the reason people talk about feeding a lot is often shrimp keepers keep tanks pretty sparse by way of plants/decoration.  In a bare tank, sure you need to feed but add lots of plants and moss and the shrimp will largely look after themselves.

For context, my shrimp tank is completely covered in plants with 300+ shrimp and I feed every other day if I remember and just 2 or 3 sticks of food each time...  
only thing I would add is that is fully grown adult shrimp demand far more feeding, if you restrict feeding too much you wont see full grown adults as they dont reach maturity.  It's easy to forget that a full grown cherry shrimp can top out close to 2cm.

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## Ed Wiser (20 Jan 2020)

Feed cucumbers blanched once a week to my shrimp. I feed enough to keep them from eating plants.


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## Protopigeon (21 Jan 2020)

Wookii said:


> So of the foods I bought, I've tested the Shrimp King Complete, and they gathered around that very readily. I've also tested the Yummy Gum, and they almost completely ignored it. I also put in a Glasgarten Mineral Junkie 'pearl' and they also tucked into that.



I have tried all sorts and Shrimp King Complete is by far the favourite for both my cherries and my crystals.

I give them both Bacter AE for the babies too. Very little of that goes a looong way


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## Steve Buce (21 Jan 2020)

I mainly use glasgarten products bacter ae, shrimp baby, mineral junkie, shrimp dinner
But have a look "marks shrimp tank" food,like the nettle mix

If your shrimp aren't eating the food theres probably enough food in the tank already


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## Aqua sobriquet (21 Jan 2020)

I’ve got lots of baby shrimp in my tank and they seem to be doing well on Bio Tase and Shrimp King Baby. The adults get small bits of Spirulina wafer from time to time as well. I’m pretty sure some of my floating plants are being munched as well though!


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## Wookii (22 Jan 2020)

Thanks for the feedback guys.

When I have put some Shrimp King Complete in, a number of shrimps do feed off it, but nothing like the swarming behaviour I see in various YouTube videos, which I guess reinforces the idea that the shrimp are presumably finding more preferable food elsewhere in the tank. I'm assuming that's probably the best indicator - if they swarm the feeding dish, they are hungry and not finding enough foods naturally in the tank. If they don't swarm the feeding dish, they really don't need it!

I have reduced the Bacter AE to a half dose 1-2 times a week, and I'll feed some of the dedicated shrimp food experimentally once a week, and check the response.


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## Onoma1 (26 Jan 2020)

Try blanched nettles. I pick a stalk from a clean area (not near a road or next to an area where dogs can reach). I pinch out any damaged or discoloured leaves and then either dip it in boling water for 45 seconds or pour a kettle full of water over it while holding the end of the stem. The shrimp swarm onto it and it's gone in a day or so. Keeps them going for a week.  I also dry nettle leaves in the microwave (sandwiched between two plates/ kitchen roll paper). Thid also works well.

I bought some of Mark's nettle mix as @Steve Buce suggested and the shrimps love it (they also love Mark's other products).


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## david boden (26 Jan 2020)

Could not agree more with this suggestion.
Could I add that it's easy to cut a real good load of nettle stems in summertime, and place them in boxes or bags in a boiler room or airing cupboard for use throughout the winter and springtime....I just drop the crisp dry leaves into the tanks.
Also, the same thing can be done with organically grown apple tree leaves, and grapevine leaves if you've got somewhere to grow them.
It's interesting to Google "nettle leaf analysis" etc. , and lt's amazing the richness of minerals and compounds they contain......a true super-food.........and free !


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## Gill (26 Jan 2020)

Nt Labs make a great food. I use the Shrimp Enhancer as well as the ProBiotic and Tropical. 
Snowflake foods, Nettles, Oak Leaves, IAL, Fish Science Tabs, Tropical Tabs, Shrimp king Snail sticks and shrimp sticks, Frozen bloodworm and daphnia, Live Daphnia - Yes shrimp will catch them and consume them. Spirulina and Chlorella from the health food shop. Tetra Pro Colour Crisps - they go nuts for these, Dried Mealworms, Krill, Daphnia and ant eggs.


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