# Food!



## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

What brands/types of food do you feed the fish in your tanks with shrimp? I've had some until recently unexplained shrimp deaths in a tank and can now blame copper and cobalt in the food I was feeding my fishies. 

Regards,
Phil


----------



## DannyJohnson2013 (Jul 20, 2009)

is cobalt bad for shrimp?


----------



## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Cobalt's a toxic heavy metal, yes. Just like copper, I don't think it's that harmful to vertebrates in small doses, but can wreak havoc with invertebrates.


----------



## DBL TAP (Apr 21, 2008)

I had a tough time keeping CRS/CBS alive until I started feeding "HBH Carb & Lobster Bites". I know that sounded like a product plug but that food is awesome.

I feed every other day. And because the food sinks, I am able to concentrate it in one location. This allows the shrimp to grab a bit and run away, leaving none for the snails - who are now almost non-existent from starvation!


----------



## dj2005 (Jul 4, 2009)

For my RCS, I feed them a varied diet of Ken's (kensfish.com) pellets and wafers (both types are sinking food). I have had no deaths yet, only batch after batch of baby shrimp being spawned.


----------



## tranr (May 20, 2009)

Hikari algae wafers work for me. =)


----------



## icumailman (Sep 26, 2008)

I'd be careful as a lot of the HBH food has copper in it and I know that some users have reported problems with their shrimps dying off for no apparent reason. Having said that--I will tell you that I use the HBH Krill pellets and the Spirulina pellets with no problems in all of my tanks. A small **very small** amount of copper is necessary for some inverts including shrimp. Hikari has some very good products for shrimp and dwarf crays (yes, some dwarf crays can make an excellent addition to a planted tank! ) The Crab Cuisine and Micro Wafers are staples for me and I use them all the time. When Hikari came out with the Shrimp Cuisine I was a bit concerned as copper is listed in their ingredients. I contacted Hikari and was told that shrimp/inverts need a bit of it to survive and it has to do with moulting health. I thought that was 'bologna' so I did some of my own research here on the web and found that it seems to be true. I have used the Shrimp Cuisine now for a while with no ill effects to my shrimps (I keep red cherry shrimps, Dark green shrimps, Amanos, glass shrimp and Bamboo shrimps). I have also used the Shirikira food and Mosura shrimp foods and my shrimps and dwarf crays go nuts over both kinds of food--those are a hands down favorite! Tetra crisps are also a good source of food for my inverts as are Ken's meat and Spirulina tablets. My Amano's swoop down from the plants to grab a Ken's wafer and try to run away with them! It is pretty funny to watch that!!


----------



## t1824003 (Jul 30, 2009)

tranr said:


> Hikari algae wafers work for me. =)


I agree with Tranr. I gave them Hikari algae wafers and my crystal red shrimp over populated. So this product work really well.


----------



## jinsei888 (Apr 20, 2009)

I feed my RCS and Amano Hikari sinking algae wafers (they fight the cories for it)...plus they just eat anything else they find in the tank!


----------



## cell (Mar 9, 2009)

I feed my fishes (platys) tetramin tropical crisps. Way better than traditional flakes, doesn't cloud water, convenient. My amano shrimps are always stealing flakes from the fishes. Recently, I saw my RCS eating some as well.


----------



## catfishbi (Sep 4, 2008)

dont' have fish only have shrimp, so I feed them Hayashi shrimp food. got it from ebay.


----------



## armedbiggiet (May 6, 2006)

Can you guys share some "bad" food info? How about tetra color bits?


----------



## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

I feed my shrimp everything I feed my fish (tetra color bits/flakes, frozen stuff, pear cores, rib bones) plus I feed them some homemade food from ~rain, shirakura micro powder and their regular stick food.


----------



## jamesstill84 (Mar 29, 2009)

You can make jello for them. It's really easy and they'll swarm to it like flies on poo.  I make it for my snails to keep their shells growing good.


----------



## tranr (May 20, 2009)

jamesstill84 said:


> You can make jello for them. It's really easy and they'll swarm to it like flies on poo.  I make it for my snails to keep their shells growing good.


Jello? Really? What's the nutritional benefit of Jello for the shrimp? I've never heard of that before, so I'm just really curious.


----------



## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Jello's pretty much just collagen and other proteins. Shrimp shells are made out of proteins rather than calcium, so it likely has a positive effect on the little buggers' shell growth. I'm finding that mine are liking bloodworms and other frozen foods. Ever since I stopped feeding any prepared foods except Ocean Nutrition Goldfish formula my shrimpies are doing alright.


----------



## jamesstill84 (Mar 29, 2009)

Snail jello has calcium in it, baby food, any kind of fish food you have, and herbs that you use around the kitchen. They eat it over any other thing I've ever put in the tank including frozen foods. Garlic powder is a big thing I always put in my jello. They can smell it in the water and flock to it. I can provide you with a recipe if you like...


----------



## Fishtory (Jan 21, 2009)

jamesstill84 said:


> I can provide you with a recipe if you like...


Please do!


----------



## jamesstill84 (Mar 29, 2009)

Snail Jello Recipe
=====================================

Ingredients:

1 Jar of baby food (veggies or fruits)
1 Calcium supplement (I use Calcium vitamin from local Wal-Mart)
1 Tsp of non-flavored Gelatin
Any fish food you may want to include
Any herbs around your kitchen (no onion)

Instructions:

1) Crush up all your fish food (algae waffers, shrimp pellets, flake food, etc. (NO frozen or live foods))
3) Crush your herbs really fine (Garlic powder, Basil, Ginger, Parsley, Chili Powder, etc (NO onions))
2) Crush your Caclium pill (if you're using one)
3) Heat your baby food up in the microwave for about 30 seconds
4) Stir in all your fish foods, calcium, herbs with your baby food
5) Stir in the gelatin (make sure it's mixed in real good so it doesn't clump too much)
6) Place the finished product in the refrigerator to setup

Note: Once the Gelatin sets up and it becomes Jello, it will keep longer if you place it in the freezer.
This is a good amount that should last about a month depending on how often you feed and how many tanks you have setup

You can modify this recipe to fit your needs depending on what you have available.


----------



## Thorald (Aug 8, 2009)

Thank you, James. Sounds really interesting and I guess my corries would like it to


----------



## jamesstill84 (Mar 29, 2009)

Just wait till you try it.  My Pygmy Cories love the stuff. I had a dwarf cray fight off a killi to steal the food and run with it.


----------



## DarrylR (Dec 5, 2007)

Shirakura is a big hit with the loaches and inverts ( snails/shrimp).

Gabe ships from Japan, and usually comes within a week or less, and with cheap prices anywhere you see online.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/swap-n-shop/80276-shirakura-foods-12.html


----------



## Thorald (Aug 8, 2009)

jamesstill84 said:


> Just wait till you try it.  My Pygmy Cories love the stuff. I had a dwarf cray fight off a killi to steal the food and run with it.


Wonderful, I have just bought 4 pygmy cories for my shrimp tank (want to get a couple more so I get a nice school).

Before I got the cories I thought I was going to be able to feed the separately, well they proved me wrong the first time I fed them 

I've got these sinking pellets for the cories but they are pretty big (1/3"). I see them nibble on it, but don't know if they eat enough. How do you feed them?

Why can't you use onions?

Do you cut the jello in pieces before you put it in the freezer? Would it stay fresh for a couple of months? Because I only have 15 CRS an 4 Pygmy Cories at the moment and they don't eat much.


----------



## jamesstill84 (Mar 29, 2009)

To be honest, I don't remember why I don't use onions. Maybe I used them in the past and none of the fish really wanted anything to do with it. I can't say that I blame them though. 

I just throw some snail jello or sinking pellets to the bottom and they come flocking to it. Once they get used to it, they'll eat readily.


----------



## Gordonrichards (Apr 28, 2009)

I feed mine Aquarian Bottom Feeder Pellets because they are cheap, and straight up Hikari products.

Fancy Guppy, Sinking Wafers, Crab Cuisine.

They get an aquarian bottom feeder pellet daily and I mix and match a sprinkle of fancy guppy pellets, sinking wafers or a crab cuisine or two maybe 3 times a week.

Leftover food I let stagnant in the tank for a day and I siphon it out or push it over to my canister intake. I am lazy and the shrimp are all alive.


----------

