Need Guidance On How To Feed Cherry Shrimo

I set up a vase based 40 litre aquarium and added neon red rainbows 3 weeks ago. It is planted and has a large piece of driftwood. Last weekend I then added 6 RCS. Before adding them I added the recommended dose of Bacter AE and then the following day added it again as I was worried the tank is too new and would lack biofilm.

On the third day I dropped a couple of HikarI algae wafers. Around 8 hours later I removed these as they were still more or less there. I had seen some RCS on the wafers but they were mostly not interested. The shrimp otherwise seem fine. Not possible to say if I have had any casualties yet as they tank has lots of hiding places but I have seen 3-4 out regularly and they are active and exploring.

I was looking for some guidance on how to know when to feed them. It seems the plants, sponge filter and biofilm is enough for them at the moment. But how would I know if they were not getting enough food in the tank? Also, should I carry on adding Bacter AE every few days?

 

What are you feeding the rainbows?

 

The rainbows are on micro pellets or frozen food. The rainbows are tiny so the pellets have to be crushed and frozen stuff is usually chopped into tiny bits.

 

Shrimp don’t need a ton of food. They are tiny critters who constantly eat. If you add in extra food like an algae wafer, and the shrimp mostly ignore it, then they are getting enough food from biofilm and other bits in the tank. If you add extra food and they are all over it, they are hungry and you should give them additional food more regularly. I only recently started using bacter ae since I am setting up a new tank so i’m not sure how often to use it.

 

Thanks. So is it best to try giving them something every 3-4 days and remove if they don't eat it?

Also, at the moment I'm getting some plants melting as they are added to the tank and then new growth. Is it ok to leave the dead leaves in for the shrimp to eat?

 

My red neons won't eat the pellets. I have to crush flake in a baggie until it is almost like powder. My shrimp go after that. I keep a piece of cuttlebone in all my fish tanks. I haven't had shedding problems since I've been doing that. Yes they will eat the dying plant pieces. I think you have enough elements in that tank for them to stay healthy. Dropping in a couple shrimp pellets from time to time is good also just to see how many are piling up on those.

 

Thanks. I tried flakes a couple of times but couldn't crush them small enough (will try your method) so got micro pellets and I crush them in my fingers as I am dropping them in. They are more or less powder by the time they hit the water and the added benefit of them sinking slowly which the red neons seem to prefer.

 

Keep an eye on the dead leaves and nitrate levels, though. If there's too many it can cause a nitrate buildup. It also can make the tank more prone to bad bacteria. I had a bacterial infection that I am pretty sure is due to having too many decaying plants. I think you can leave decaying leaves in there, but you may not want too many. If the shrimp can't keep up with eating them at a reasonable pace, they may start to rot. I'm not saying that it will definitely cause a bacterial infection, but that my experience was that too many dead leaves was detrimental to my tank.

 

Ide keep adding Bactor AE once a week and do half recommended dose, as for leaves the best to use are catapa or oak tree, the oak leaf must be well dried so if you collect when they fall and leave to dry for 2 month before use, you only need one oak leaf or half of large catapa and just leave it in the tank.

 

I do have a catapa leaf in there which they seem to enjoy. I also have a christmas moss carpet which is around 8 inches by 4 inches and around 3 inches tall now which they seem to visit every now and again.

I think I'll go with Bacter AE at half dose once a week and wafers twice a week and remove the wafer if they haven't eaten it.

 

I feed mine one algae wafer once a month (It takes my large colony 3 days to eat it) and a pinch of HikarI Shrimp Cuisine every morning onto a little plate so that the food doesn't get lost in the gravel. They ate my daphnia colony but they like daphnia too. I also keep finding mine inside my filter so I have to carefully open it inside the tank before I clean it.

 

This is what's going to happen to your catapa leaf over a few month, just leave it there

 

I feed mine one algae wafer once a month (It takes my large colony 3 days to eat it) and a pinch of HikarI Shrimp Cuisine every morning onto a little plate so that the food doesn't get lost in the gravel. They ate my daphnia colony but they like daphnia too. I also keep finding mine inside my filter so I have to carefully open it inside the tank before I clean it.

You can add a sponge pre-filter to keep them from getting sucked up.

 

It is a sponge filter. I have no idea how they ever get in there.

 

That’s weird! So they crawl down the tube?

 

Show us a picture please

 

Wouldn't they get blown straight out of the tube if they tried to crawl down it?

 

I feed all my shrimp and small fish (livebearer fry etc) betta pellets (micro granules that float for a bit but sink after a few seconds/minutes, depending on how much movement there is with the filter flow). That's all you need to give them, feed the fish and the shrimp will also eat the same food

 

This is what's going to happen to your catapa leaf over a few month, just leave it there

Any leaves for that matter

 

I feed a tiny amount of Bacter AE every other day as I have babies. I also feed a small amount of food daily as the tank isn't that large and there isn't that much to go around. With only a few, yours are probably still foraging on what's available in the tank. Eventually, they may need more supplementation as they deplete the initial resources quicker than they are replaced, or they start having babies.

Shrimp do need protein, but they need plant matter even more. I would try to feed them a shrimp specific food if you do feed them directly.

 

I feed a tiny amount of Bacter AE every other day as I have babies. I also feed a small amount of food daily as the tank isn't that large and there isn't that much to go around. With only a few, yours are probably still foraging on what's available in the tank. Eventually, they may need more supplementation as they deplete the initial resources quicker than they are replaced, or they start having babies.

Shrimp do need protein, but they need plant matter even more. I would try to feed them a shrimp specific food if you do feed them directly.

They LOVE thinly sliced zucchinI too!

 

I put in some frozen spinach that I rolled intoittle balls