Shrimp Tale – Episode three – ARE YOU FEEDING YOUR SHRIMP RIGHT ?
#Episode_Three #Shrimp_tale
Topic:ARE YOU FEEDING YOUR SHRIMP RIGHT ?
To understand this we need to first understand the eating habit of shrimps in their natural habitat. Shrimps are omnivorous. In the wild, freshwater shrimps are scavengers that scour their native waterways looking for algae, bacteria and other microorganisms, decaying plant matter. They will also scavenge dead fish and even dead shrimp that they happen to find.It’s best to replicate this when providing a diet for the shrimp in your aquarium. This means they need a primarily a plant-based diet with some animal protein mixed in. It’s also best to offer them a mixed diet that provides a broad spectrum of nutrients.So this leaves us with mainly two options:A. Naturally Available Vegetables, Leaves and Animal ProteinB. Commercially Available Shrimp FoodFortunately there are a wide variety of things you can feed your shrimp to make sure they’re happy and healthy.
Options:Algae:
Algae should make up the majority of your shrimps’ diet. This is why it’s so important to only add shrimp to a mature tank that already has enough of algae and biofilm in it. Spirulina Algae is a naturally occurring superfood which is high in protien content and preferred by all bottom feeders including shrimps. It can be bought from shops as well in various forms. If your shrimps are scraping and grazing around the tank it means they’re happy and finding food. This lets you know that you can probably go a few days between feedings.But, if they’re restlessly zipping around the tank, they’ve eaten up all the algae and really need some supplementary feeding. Dont confuse with “male mating frenzy”.Lastly, if your shrimp are not cleaning algae effeciently it means you’re feeding them too much other stuff. Start skipping a day or two between feedings and they’ll get back to work on the algae.
Fresh Blanched Vegetables:
Fresh veggies give shrimp a healthy plant-based supplement to their core diet of algae. Things like cucumber, spinach, zucchini, sweet potato, carrot and/or broccoli. Basically, vegetables which are rich in Calcium.Before feeding you need to prepare the vegatables for the shrimp. This involves cleaning away any unwanted harmful pesticide residue on them and then either freeze drying them or boiling and cooling (known as blaching in short) them as needed. By freezing them it makes them easily available.Vegetables, when possible, should be peeled because it eliminates possible pesticides.Slice your veggies so they’re about ½ inch (1.25 centimeters) thick (broccoli can just be broken into small pieces).(Blanching Process: Boil for about 2 minutes. Remove them and immediately place them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.)Boiling and chilling the veggies breaks them down enough so they’re easier for your shrimp to eat. It should also make them sink to the bottom so they’re not floating all over the tank. You can offer veggies several times a week. It’s fine to leave a piece in the tank overnight and then remove whatever the shrimp haven’t eaten.
Leaf Litter:
This mimics a shrimp’s natural environment since leaves fall into waterways and accumulate on the substrate. This is perhaps the cheapest and one of the easiest ways to feed shrimps.Infusoria (a collection of harmless bacteria and other microorganisms) will grow on the leaves as they break down. Shrimp love this biofilm and infusoria and will be more than happy to have dried leaves in their tank.Dry leaves can be collected from local area, but make sure that they haven’t been exposed to things like chemical fertilizers or pesticides.Indian Almond Leaf(Catappa), Jackfruit leaves, Guava leaves, Mulberry leaves and other similar leaves can be used in the shrimp tank to encourage faster growth of biofilm. This induces breeding as well in them. May sure they are dried n washed before introduction into tank.
Homemade Shrimp Food:
The best thing about homemade shrimp food is that you know the ingredients you have used to make it. However it is a bit experimental initially.
Commercial Foods:
There are many different opinions about commercially available shrimp food. Some believe it does more harm to shrimps than benefit them while others swear by it and donot bother making homemade food or even veggies for that matter. However it must be noted that there are certain compounds which are important for improving shrimp colouration and they are specifically added in good quality shrimp food. These compounds are not readily available in the market in small quantities. So often commercial food are the easiest way to provide a very well balanced diet for your shrimps. To be honest your shrimps will eat any fish food. But just make sure they eat more plant based food like algae than protein.Figuring out the best food for your freshwater shrimp can seem a little overwhelming at first. But once you understand a few basic principles, you can play around with things and figure out what’s going to work best for you and your tanks.And remember with Shrimps it is always “Feed less But more Frequently”. Using a feeding bowl is a good shrimp keeping practice.Until then stay tuned for more.. we will be sharing some easy DIY recipes for shrimp food soon. Happy Shrimp Keeping !!