Bacopa eaten overnight?!?!

[Mattant1984]

So my bacopa caroliniana has been growing extremely well in my tank with pretty much zero algae and literally over night this has happened!!

I'm assuming it's the amano shrimp, could someone confirm this for me please. The only other shrimp in the tank are cherries.

Fish wise I only have ember tetras, cardinals, albino glowlights and a few corries so sure it wouldn't be any of the fish.

Just to add I did a water change last night and the bacopa was fine then

 

[Hanuman]

Could also be snails if you have some. Either way, for that to happen, they must be food deprived. Amanos would really have nothing else to eat. When was this Bacopa planted?

 

[Mattant1984]

No snails in the tank and the bacopa has been planted for a good 5 or 6 weeks.

I have been trying to feed the amanos more but obviously not enough lol, can't believe they have stripped it that quickly!!

 

[Hanuman]

No snails in the tank and the bacopa has been planted for a good 5 or 6 weeks.

I have been trying to feed the amanos more but obviously not enough lol, can't believe they have stripped it that quickly!!

Amanos can be voracious. Let me show you how they cleaned up a stem I added from another tank covered with algae in just a few hours. The stem in the front was added 2 days prior. Considering how they ate the algae, I added a second stem, the one in the back.

Night at ~8pm


Morning at ~8am


Interestingly when I add fish food like wafers or similar food, they get interested in it for a while then just move to something else not long after. They prefer fresh stuff like algae, dead leaves, or vegetables like cucumbers etc.

 

[Mattant1984]

That's where I'm having g the issue I think, I add algae wafers etc but like you say they don't seem that interested for long.

Would you nip off those leaves on the bacopa? Will they grow back?

 

[Hanuman]

That's where I'm having g the issue I think, I add algae wafers etc but like you say they don't seem that interested for long.

Would you nip off those leaves on the bacopa? Will they grow back?

If you leave them they will degrade and shrimp will have a go for it unless you add some other food. If you remove them shrimps might start attacking other leaves unless you supply food.

 

[Hufsa]

Livestock for sure, looks a lot like amano damage. (Damage from suckermouth type fish usually looks more rasped and less like clean holes.)
Try giving them more vegetables, some can be put in fresh, some can be blanched, and some (like sweet potato) are better to boil for a little while before feeding.
If they dont go for it right away try preparing it a bit more so its a bit softer.

"Veggies, its got what shrimp crave"

Take them out after 12-24 hours and monitor water quality. Be careful with potent stuff like broccoli, cabbage etc, these have a big impact on the tank if left too long.

 

[Hanuman]

They seem to like veggies when they turn softer. One example is cucumber. When I add it, they barely touch it. After 12h, that's when they go for it and they will eradicate it in a few hours, leaving the bare paper thin skin.

 

[Andy Pierce]

Cherry shrimp seem to enjoy blanched nettle leaves. I haven't tried amanos on them yet but it could be worth a go.

 

[John q]

Amano shrimp have a taste for weakened leaves, they generally don't decimate healthy leaves 🤠

 

[Mattant1984]

Livestock for sure, looks a lot like amano damage. (Damage from suckermouth type fish usually looks more rasped and less like clean holes.)
Try giving them more vegetables, some can be put in fresh, some can be blanched, and some (like sweet potato) are better to boil for a little while before feeding.
If they dont go for it right away try preparing it a bit more so its a bit softer.

"Veggies, its got what shrimp crave"

Take them out after 12-24 hours and monitor water quality. Be careful with potent stuff like broccoli, cabbage etc, these have a big impact on the tank if left too long.

I definitely think it's the amanos (my amanos are quite big as well) I wouldn't have thought cherries could do this sort of damage could they??

 

[Hanuman]

I definitely think it's the amanos (my amanos are quite big as well) I wouldn't have thought cherries could do this sort of damage could they??

Cherries could never create such damage in such short amount of time.

Amano shrimp have a taste for weakened leaves, they generally don't decimate healthy leaves 🤠

I think so too. It's possible they grazed on the leaves that had some algae. This might have led to some damage. Leaves then deteriorated and amanos had another go, creating those holes.

 

[Mattant1984]

Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.