Shrimp feeding discussion

[Shrimple minded]

Along the lines of discussion that forum member "I'm Going Shrimp!" raised, as a novice shrimper I find myself not knowledgeable on shrimp feeding "best-practices".  I'd like to get some insight on how successful shrimpers determine their feeding regimen.  I feel that in my efforts to maintain "high" water quality, I may have been overly cautious with feeding amounts and frequency.  To that end, here are some of my initial questions:

• Is there a way to estimate or calculate how much I should feed my shrimp, based on colony size (or other measure)?
• What are some good guidelines on how often to feed shrimp?
• Do biofilm-growth products such as Bacter AE count as a "feeding day" or are these generally in addition to other foods?
• Can shrimp survive on biofilm and food alone, or does leaf-feed fall under the "must-have" category?
• How important is feeding schedule consistency?  Can shrimp deal with some variation, or should I be maintaining a strict adherence to certain foods on certain days so as to avoid problems?

I realize there are differing opinions and that understanding shrimp-feeding most likely comes from experience, however I'm just trying to speed up this learning curve for myself and I would assume others as well.

 

For my own feeding history, I'll offer up the following (40G breeder with 20-25 shrimp, 2 IALs, cholla and lots of mosses):

1. GlasGarten Bacter AE:  1-2 times per week, at just slightly over 1/2 the recommended dosing (1 flat scoop for 25 gallons, I use one flat scoop for my 40G breeder)
2. GlasGarten Shrimp Dinner / MK cheeseburger / MK red & black diamond / various Han foods:  probably averaging about once per week, amount around 1-2 BBs (yes the type used in pellet/BB guns)......sorry I have no other way to communicate and estimated amount

Would the above put me at "under-feeding" levels, or is my current regimen reasonable for this amount of shrimp?  ( I can't say I've ever had to remove leftover food, the above amounts are always consumed within ~2 hours)

 

Interested in gathering as many data-points as possible, so don't be shy, tell us all your shrimp-feeding secrets!

[DETAquarium]

This is my opinion and from personal experience; I will try to answer all of your questions.

 

1) Unfortunately there is no mathematical equation that will give you an accurate feeding quantity to date. This is due to so many variations, such as shrimp size, shrimp type, and food type, etc. Currently I have primarily fed MK-Breed line of shrimp foods, the food breaks down quickly within your tank so I suggest a petri dish. I like that it breaks down because it allows all shrimp sizes to feed whether it be adults to shrimplet. I feed my Taiwan Bee tank 50-60 shrimp, roughly 30 adults Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, each of these days I feed 3/4 of a stick. On weekends I usually drop in Snowflake, very small piece. So far I like the results, the weekend I feed snowflake or nothing simply to allow for their digestive track to clear our completely.

 

2) Larger colonies of 50+ I use the regimen above, smaller colonies I usually feed Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 1/4-1/2 piece of stick.

 

3) Bacter AE I would consider to be a "food" resource and I highly recommend using caution with this product. The product itself is fantastic, but I see to many people over dosing, as well as using this product while their canister/HOB filters are running. If you use these two types of filtration I would turn them off, let the Bacter AE settle for a minute then turn the filter back on. Overdosing or using the product incorrectly can contribute to poor water quality and/or excess algae growth.

 

4) Yes, shrimp can survive on manufactured foods and biofilm alone, leaf litter is a product that inhibits the growth of biofilm. Shrimp don't technically eat the leaves themselves, but eat the bacteria/micro-organisms breaking down the leafs. I find leaf litter extremely important for all the agents that reside in leaves. The benefits greatly outweigh the cost in my opinion.

 

5) In my experience I find consistency important when it comes to feeding. Many days I walk up to the tank and its almost as they know its time to feed, they all scurry out of hiding. Yes it may be coincidence, but consistency with shrimp period is important.

 

Sorry for the long response, I probably missed a few things but I hope this response helps.

[r45t4m4n]

^+1 Completely agree.

 

I feed a bit less every day though. Any stick food not eaten in 3-4 hours I remove, either by tweezers or syphoning.

 

In my tank with 50+ shrimp:

 

Mon-Fri (5PM) - Half Stick  (cycle between MK Breed Red/Black, White, More Meat, SL Aqua White)

Saturday - Snowflake/Mulberry Leaves/Papaya  Leaves

Sunday - Bacter AE before water changes (allow the Bacter AE to settle for a few hours before water change)

 

In my tank with about 30 shrimp I use the same as above with even less, about a 1/4 stick.

 

I also add Nigon Baby Bacter when there are smaller shrimp in the tank every 2/3 days depending on activity.

[Shrimple minded]

Sorry for the long response, I probably missed a few things but I hope this response helps.

Don't be, this is exactly what we're looking for.  Appreciate your detailed opinions very much.  Based you your and r45t4m4n's response, I can clearly see that my feeding practices have been considerably under (both in amount and frequency) what you target.  Thanks DET