matt6765

I just got some cherry shrimp and I was wondering what to feed them.... I have bottom feeder pellets and algae wafers..... is this good for them.... Also when do I replace the pellet..... right after it is gone or put a new one in every day.

Thanks

Time

I think that you could feed them that. Of course its good for them. Don't they eat algae and veggies? They snack moss too.

matt6765

I have java moss and guppy grass in the tank.... will they eat it?

matt6765

Also can I over feed them or will they just graze all day?

Time

Well if java moss is still moss I believe they will eat it. I am planing on getting an algae cleaner to replace my pleco in 10 gallons. They will eat it when they are hungry. You would still need to feed them. They will use the moss as a snack so they never starve.

enthusiast

you definately dont want to drop in a new pellet everytime the last one is gone !! that would be waaay too much to feed them

the shrimps are scavengers, they dont necessarily 'graze' all day, but they are spending their entire day scavenging around for food.

You shouldnt feed them exclusively only the pellets or the algae wafers. The shrimps will find food themselves within the live plants you keep in your tank. The live plants themselves have microscopic food items that the shrimp is eating from. However for healthy and happy shrimp (just like with fish) you should SUPPLEMENT their 'normal' diet of the food they find from your plants with the pellet food and algae wafers.

if your tank is just the shrimp with no other ground feeder fish i would drop in a few pellets every night, or maybe 1 or 2 algae wafers every night before you went to bed. If you DO have ground feeding fish then you should already be doing this to feed them...& the shrimp you really shouldnt even consider when feeding your fish. You put in enough food for the fish, and the shrimp are there as a type of 'clean-up crew', & whatever trace is left over will be plenty enough for them to survive well

Toddnbecka

Cherry shrimp won't eat java moss or any other live plants aside from a bit of algae. In a 2 gallon tank you really need to be careful about overfeeding. Once daily is fine (provided the previous food is gone.) One thing they are quite fond of is dead leaves. When I kept cherry shrimp a couple years ago I found they would eat dead water lily leaves from the backyard pond literally overnight. An entire 4-5" diameter leaf would be a skeleton by morning between the several dozen shrimp and however many snails could crowd onto it. Hardwood tree leaves are also acceptable, but they need to soak before being used for food. Just make sure you don't add any unwanted hitchikers as well. You can microwave anything collected from a pond to make sure there's nothing harmful before it goes into the tank.

Time

I'm sorry for misinforming I read they ate moss.

aquarist48

Hello Matt. I moved your thread to the "shrimp/crabs" section of the forum.
http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/shrimps-crabs/
Thanks!
Ken

matt6765

ok thank you ken and everyone else

matt6765

One more question should there always be food in the tank at all times or no..... I know you said dont replace the pellet after it was gone but on this one website it said to also have food in so they can graze..... any comments on that?

Toddnbecka

Shrimp will graze on the biofilm that covers just about every surface in an aquarium, but are particularly fond of dead/decaying vegetation. Sure, they'll eat flakes, pellets, whatever is available, but that's not their natural diet. IME they'll even help keep pleco poop from sitting around on the sand. I'm not sure whether they eat it, or just pick it apart to see if there's anything edible to be found, but my substrate has been noticeably cleaner since I dropped the cherry shrimp into the tank with the BN's and red lizards.

matt6765

ok thankyou

enthusiast

there will always be food in the tank, wether you add food or not; which is why its important to not overfeed