The Shrimp Tank

[Hanlou]

Thanks again, I'm really happy with my 'little tank' addition, the shrimp are a pleasure to watch, this morning I've found a moulted shell hanging on a plant, and counted 8 out of the ten added on Wednesday night
The root is full of algae, and there's some small bits of fish food on the substrate, do I need to add shrimp food?

Personally I think a small amount of shrimp food is always beneficial for them - I don’t think they need anywhere near as much as shrimp food tubs will tell you to feed but I would always try and give them some shrimp food a couple of times a week - perhaps more especially so with Caridina shrimp as they’re a bit more fragile.

Dennerle shrimp food isn’t expensive and has good reviews. I have read recently that GlasGartens Bacter AE is fantastic stuff but it’s more of a specialist shrimpy biofilm additive than food. I’m getting some for my future shrimp. There’s some good reviews on YouTube of different foods - Pro Shrimp have a really good range of brands.

[jacksdad]

I like the look of the GlasGartens Bacter AE, its a bit expensive to buy up front, but I'd need about 0.25g per day, so a 70g tub would last 280 days!
That's about 6 pence per day which sounds better than twenty quid

[Hanlou]

I like the look of the GlasGartens Bacter AE, its a bit expensive to buy up front, but I'd need about 0.25g per day, so a 70g tub would last 280 days!
That's about 6 pence per day which sounds better than twenty quid

Yes that’s what I decided - it’s pretty economical when you work it out like that lol! That’s one thing about shrimp food - a tub will last aggeess!

I do like my little shrimpy feeding dish - it’s so cute - even though am waiting for my lovely-but-clueless-about-all-things-aquatic family to ask why I’ve got an ashtray in the tank!!

[Si4geckos]

I like the look of the GlasGartens Bacter AE, its a bit expensive to buy up front, but I'd need about 0.25g per day, so a 70g tub would last 280 days!
That's about 6 pence per day which sounds better than twenty quid

I use Bacter AE. Definitely don't need anywhere near what it says on the tub. I used to feed half a scoop a day (recommended for 10-20 shrimp) when I had about 600! It's very expensive mentally when you spend £20 for a tiny pot. Lasts me over a year though even with hundreds. Good for when you get babies as the food spreads everywhere. New borns barely move for the first 48hrs. Need to get food to them.

I also feed shrimp king complete and some other random german shrimp food I got on a clearance deal.

Glad to see they've settled in and coloured up well. I like your tank

[jacksdad]

Thanks Si, I've just received the Bacter AE and been adding a tiny spoonful, probably a fifth of their spoon, in the 55 litre tank. The shrimp seem to be doing well, still can only see 8 at once though! I've found 2 moulted shells so assume they are growing, hopefully adding the biofilm will help them. I'll be looking at getting another 10 soon as well, I assume you'll have plenty!

[Si4geckos]

Thanks Si, I've just received the Bacter AE and been adding a tiny spoonful, probably a fifth of their spoon, in the 55 litre tank. The shrimp seem to be doing well, still can only see 8 at once though! I've found 2 moulted shells so assume they are growing, hopefully adding the biofilm will help them. I'll be looking at getting another 10 soon as well, I assume you'll have plenty!

I have plenty growing on. Not loads full-sized, but plenty big enough to go whenever.

I use about 1/3 of a scoop a day (I probably have 200-300, if not more of varying sizes) plus about 1-1.5cm of shrimp king complete. Even 1/5 of a scoop is probably overkill for your tank if there's uneaten fish food in the tank. In the big tank I've never fed anything specifically for shrimp. I can't see much algae, but the ones in there seem to be doing just fine without any assistance. I'd maybe do bacter AE 2/3 times a week until you get some babies happening.

Glad they're doing well. 8 is a good number to spot. They're masters of disguise!! The other 2 are probably just better at hiding than the others.

Have the neons shown any interest?

[jacksdad]

Ok thanks, I'll ring you next week. I've added the small amount as stated, should I add it for a few days, to build a biofilm, then cut it back to say once a week? There is still algae coming out of the woodroot thing, and the shrimp seem to like it, plus theres algae growing on the plants and java moss. As for the neons, they don't go near the shrimp, and I only feed them every other day. I've got some "Ocean Nutrition" shrimp wafers from the local shop, tiny little dots, the fish usually eat them all but I have seen a couple of shrimp carrying one away to their hiding place.

[Si4geckos]

Ok thanks, I'll ring you next week. I've added the small amount as stated, should I add it for a few days, to build a biofilm, then cut it back to say once a week? There is still algae coming out of the woodroot thing, and the shrimp seem to like it, plus theres algae growing on the plants and java moss. As for the neons, they don't go near the shrimp, and I only feed them every other day. I've got some "Ocean Nutrition" shrimp wafers from the local shop, tiny little dots, the fish usually eat them all but I have seen a couple of shrimp carrying one away to their hiding place.

I'd go easy with bacter AE. Think I overdid it when I first got shrimp (I followed the instructions on the tub) and polluted the water. If there's algae and stuff and left over food, they'll be fine. Surprising how little they actually eat. There'll be a lot of 'stuff' in the tank they graze on, you just can't see it.

[jacksdad]

Ok thanks, I'm not adding any more bacter AE for a few days, as you say there's loads of stuff in the tank from when I cycled it: the shrimps and the fish have got plenty of food for a while.

[Hanlou]

I like the look of the GlasGartens Bacter AE, its a bit expensive to buy up front, but I'd need about 0.25g per day, so a 70g tub would last 280 days!
That's about 6 pence per day which sounds better than twenty quid

I use Bacter AE. Definitely don't need anywhere near what it says on the tub. I used to feed half a scoop a day (recommended for 10-20 shrimp) when I had about 600! It's very expensive mentally when you spend £20 for a tiny pot. Lasts me over a year though even with hundreds. Good for when you get babies as the food spreads everywhere. New borns barely move for the first 48hrs. Need to get food to them.

I also feed shrimp king complete and some other random german shrimp food I got on a clearance deal.

Glad to see they've settled in and coloured up well. I like your tank

Thank you for all the information - that’s what I’d read whilst doing my research!

Great to read someone else’s experiences! I’ve got some teeny weeny weeny scoops from eBay (they are so cute! ) for it so I don’t overdose it lol.