Shrimp-safe fish food

HI folks,

I currently have a Betta and three glass cats. My tank is currently cycling (not finished yet).

Once it's cycled I would like to add some neon tetra, some more glass cats, and some shrimp (not sure what kind yet). My question is this: I know copper is not good for shrimp, however all the fish food I see at my LFS has copper sulfate in it. What do y'all suggest to feed my fish with shrimp in the tank? I know I can get shrimp food, but they will surely eat leftover fish food that falls to the bottom of the tank, and I don't want to injure or kill them with copper.

Thanks,
Hal

 

Copper sulfate is deadly to invertebrates. For more info, I'd recommend giving this article a read:



A lot of the lower-end foods like Wardley and Aqueon have copper sulfate in them. If fed in small amounts, it shouldn't kill invertebrates. I know because I used to feed those 2 brands to my fish a long time ago. I kept ghost shrimp in the tank, and I never had them die off because of copper poisoning.

Still, I'd recommend sticking with the higher end foods. My Omega One and New Life Spectrum foods both do not contain copper sulfate. Your specialty shrimp foods, such as Borneo Wild, shouldn't either.

 

What size tank? You have some stocking issues, if you want to discuss them

 

It's a 20G tank. Lol I'm aware of the temp difference between the glass cats and Betta. However I have the temp set at 75° which is in the middle of the range for both glass cats and Betta. Before I got a tank (and before I knew anything about keeping fish) my Betta lived in a glass jar for about a year. No regular water changes, no filter, no heater. I keep my apt about 68°. He seems happy with the 75° for now. I may move him to his own 5 gallon tank in the future and keep it 78°.

Also thanks for the food recommendations. I'll pick up one of those brands and gravel vac the tank really well before adding shrimp.

 

A year isn't long for a betta to live, and I'm sure you could survive in a cold closet if you had to. 75 F is too cold for him.

A 20 gal tank isn't large enough for glass cats either.

 

Well I see your point, but when I look at so-called reputable sources (fish base, seriously fish, etc), ideal temp for a Betta is 72-82. My understanding is that it's best to keep a fish toward the middle of their temp range not the extremes. So why is 75 not okay, but 78 is? 78 is 4° away from their max, 75 is 3° away from their min.

 

75 F is a little too low for them. It's at the low end of their range for Fishbase. You don't want to keep them at their extremes, right?

http://www.fishbase.ca/summary/4768

 

Ahh yes. Fish base has a higher min than seriously fish which I guess is the one I looked at. Seriously fish has the bottom range for Betta 71°. Anyway I was thinking of putting the Betta in his own 5 gallon already. I guess I'll just do that sooner rather than later.

What size tank do you recommend for glass cats? I know you're supposed to have at least six. I thought a 20 gallon was big enough to for them.

 

Do you know what species of glass cats? Or can you take a pic?

I would go with a 29 gal minimum, depending on the species. More fish in a school is always better, if the tank size is appropriate.

 

Okay so I just got a 5 gallon marine land bow front for my Betta. I had a heater that's preset at 78°. Hopefully that's warm enough for him. He definitely likes the lower flow rate on that filter (have a penguin 350 on the 20g). Now I just have the glass cats in the 20g. I'm not sure what species they are. I'll take a pic in a minute.

I was talking it over with the wife and she would like some more colorful fish, so I think I may find a new home for the glass cats and just start this tank over. Thoughts on that? Wife really likes the freshwater angelfish, not sure if there are any species that would do well in a 20g.

Here are some pics of the glass cats. Other two were hiding but this guy was out lol.



And here's the Betta tank. Obviously not cycled but I feel I've gotten pretty good at staying on top of the testing, PWC, and dosing prime and stability to do a fish-in cycle.

Poor guy lived for a year in a jar with no filter and no heater and no regular water changes, so I'm sure he'll be alright.



Glass cat #2



Glass cat #3



I should add that I'd like to set the 20 gallon high up as a community tank, with one schooling fish if possible and some other colorful fish.

Should I start a new thread? This is getting way off topic from my original post which was answered in first few replies.

 

Really it would be down to the type of shrimp you are going to keep, Any shrimp need a cycled tank so you have time to figure it out.
If I were you I wouldn't put any neo shrimp in a community setting however many people do. In the community tank I would look more toward ghost or amano shrimp.

 

What about cherry red shrimp?

 

That's the size of shrimp that are extra vulnerable to fish, especially the babies.

 

A 20 gal high is too small for glass cats, so rehoming them in a good idea. It's too small for an angelfish too (29 gal minimum for one).

What about something like this?
15x Celestial pearl danio or emerald dwarf rasbora or ember tetra (or other nano fish)
10x Cherry shrimp

Dwarf shrimp should be fine and not bothered by the nano fish.

 

I like that. I like the look of those danios. Is there any way to get some more variety as well? Maybe cut the amount of danio and get some sort of smaller centerpiece fish? I know I don't have a big tank to work with. Just seeing what my options are.

 

I should note that I do have a penguin 350 on the tank, I know it doesn't make my tank bigger but should be able to handle more bio load so maybe I could overstock it slightly with the right varieties of fish?

 

It's not bioload space that's the issue - it's physical space, and a big filter won't help that.

What about adding a pair of honey gourami to that stock?

 

Alright. Sorry I haven't replied. Been doing some research. My wife really likes cichlids. I was wondering, what do you think about a pair of Ram Cichlid Would these be compatible with the pearl danio and shrimp in a 20 gallon tank?

 

Not M. ramirezi. They prefer warmer temps above 80 F. Pearl danios prefer lower 70s.

However, the Bolivian Ram, M. altispinosus, prefers cooler waters and thus has temperature overlap with the danios. They're also hardier than ramierzi, so that's a plus.

 

Is the Bolivian ram suitable for a 20 gallon tank though?

 

Alternatively, is there another schooling fish that would do well with the M ramirezi?

 

You could do something like this?

1-2x Blue ram
15x Ember tetras

 

Ahh okay. Would some type of shrimp work in that tank also? Thanks for your patience/help. I really appreciate it.

 

Happy to help

Larger shrimp should work, but the rams will eat dwarf shrimp.

 

Ahh okay. So like a ghost shrimp or similar size?

 

I would think that size would be fine!

 

Okay awesome. Do you know of any colorful freshwater shrimp that are not dwarf? All I can find are Cardinal, cherry, etc and those are all dwarf.

 

Perhaps 1 or 2 CPO? I don't have experience with them, I'd like to get some at some point though.
I think they can be aggressive toward each other so you might only do 2 in a 20g. They are also known to be escpape artists and need a lid that doesn't have huge gaps where the airlines, or wires come in.

 

Ghost shrimp or Amano shrimp are larger.

 

Hmm I'm not sure a CPO would be a good fit for this tank. Seems too aggressive. I guess I'll have to stick with Amano or Ghost. I'm surprised there are no non-dwarf shrimp with similar colorings to RCS and Cardinal (freshwater, anyway).