Feeding Bamboo Shrimp?

[MurfQ]

Due to a major algae problem, I decided to add an asian filter shrimp, wood shrimp, bamboo shrimp, or whatever other name you care to go by to my tank. The problem is my water is now crystal clear and I am afraid that the little guy is going to starve to death.

So I thought maybe I could give him some sort of supplement. But the only thing I have been able to find is Micro-Vert by Kent Marine. This is intended for marine fine filter feeders such as anemones, corals and such. Would this be ok to add to a freshwater tank for filter shrimp? I asked the lady at the lfs and she said no, but I got the impression she didn't have a clue what she was talking about anyway.

Anybody know if this is any good, or if there is something else I could get?

 

[Musket]

Have you tried to contact KENT and ask them? I have no idea myself not being a Marine keeper. Check their website for more info and give them a call. I'm sure they would be happy to assist you.
Good luck, let us know what you find out.

 

[hsherman1986]

my blue wood shrimp will eat leftover flake food, every now and then, at feeding time, he will scurry out and grab one of the sinking wafers I put in the tank for my loaches, and since I know he likes these, i drop a couple into his hiding spot if he doesn't come out (a couple to make up for piggish clown loaches).

Mine really only comes out during water changes, otherwise, he is really shy. I would defintly purchase a sinking wafer for the shrimp (mine likes the Hikari Sinkning wafers for Catfish, loaches, and other bottom feeders), if you are concerned about him getting enough food.

 

[MurfQ]

You can get blue wood shrimp??? That sounds cool.

I just fired off an email to Kent, so I'll let you all know what they say when they respond.

In the meantime, based on advice I found on another forum, I crushed an algae wafer yesterday, mixed it in some tank water and squirted it down by the shrimp. He seemed to be in his glee. I picked up some sinking food today that I plan on putting under an ornament that I know he likes to hang out under and my goldfish can't get to (they'll eat anything in site and leftover flake food is not possible with them).

I picked up 3 more today. I really love these guys, so I hope I am able to feed them well. I plan on keeping three of them in my 25 gallon and moving one into my 10 gallon as soon as I get it set up and am sure there are no water quality issues.

 

[Satsumas]

Yes! Finally someone has seen a blue bamboo shrimp! I was asked "are you sure it's not a lobster" when i was talking about them!

Have you got a pipette or something that will do the same thing MurfQ?
If so you can crush up some food in tank water then shoot the shrimp with it.

They do get pretty big! I was going to keep a pair in my 20gal long but i thought they would look a bit silly as they would be the biggest thing in there. That one in a 10gal may become a problem with it's biolad although i've never kept these and only researched them when i was looking to buy.

HTH

 

[hsherman1986]

Yea, one of my local lfs carries a lot of fish and inverts that you normally can't find. He was $25, but well worth it (same price as the blue lobsters/crayfish). He looks just like the blue crayfish, but he has the fans instead of pinchers.

I do know that mine poops a lot, and with his size, I would not keep him in anything less than a 20g

 

[MurfQ]

Have you got a pipette or something that will do the same thing MurfQ?
If so you can crush up some food in tank water then shoot the shrimp with it.

That's precisely what I did with the crushed up algae wafer. Used one of the many pipettes from my test kits

Yeah, I may have overdone it with the number. I just assumed that a shrimp that eats mainly micro-organisms and such from the water wouldn't do much to add to the bio-load. Never assume Oh well, I'll just have to keep a close eye on the situation. How quickly do they grow anyway?

 

[lovemybarbs]

Yea, one of my local lfs carries a lot of fish and inverts that you normally can't find. He was $25, but well worth it (same price as the blue lobsters/crayfish). He looks just like the blue crayfish, but he has the fans instead of pinchers.

I do know that mine poops a lot, and with his size, I would not keep him in anything less than a 20g

I read somewhere they can be red, blue or green. Mine started out brown and turned bright reddish-orange.

 

[hsherman1986]

probably. Mine shows some pink in the belly sometimes. There were two in the tank at the lfs that were mostly pink. I was thinking about going back and getting one more so mine has a buddy (maybe I will se him more that way...)

I don't know how quickly they grow, I bought mine at the size he is. I will let you know if he gets any bigger They did have a few really little ones too (just over an inch), but they didn't have any of the smaller ones when I went back.

Most shrimp don't carry much of a bioload, but same with fish, I would assume. The larger, the higher.

 

[Toirtis]

Mine get spirulina powder and frozen rotifers (from Hikari) and do fabulously on it.

 

[MurfQ]

Unfortunately, my food selection is rather limited around here. Even though there are numerous pet stores, they all seem to carry the same thing. I would really like to get my hands on some of that spirulina powder. It would be so much easier than trying to crush up algae wafers. I guess I'll have to look around and see if there is somewhere online that I can order some for a reasonable price that doesn't charge outlandish shipping. I have no idea what rotifers are, but I've checked out the various frozen foods available around here and I don't recall seeing anything by that name. How often do you feed them?

 

[Toirtis]

I would really like to get my hands on some of that spirulina powder. It would be so much easier than trying to crush up algae wafers.

Ir can be had online easily enough, or just crush your algae tabs with a big mortar and pestle.

I have no idea what rotifers are, but I've checked out the various frozen foods available around here and I don't recall seeing anything by that name.

Anyone that carries Hikari should be able to order them in:
http://www.hikariusa.com/rotifer.htm

How often do you feed them?

Every second to third day seems sufficient.

 

[zenkatydid]

my shrimp get plain old algae wafers every couple days and go nuts for them.

 

[hsherman1986]

nutrafin makes a veggie flake, might be easier to crush and squirt than a table? readily available at Petsmart

 

[hc8719]

Yes! Finally someone has seen a blue bamboo shrimp! I was asked "are you sure it's not a lobster" when i was talking about them!

i was under the impression (from petshrimp.com) that no shrimp in the aquarium hobby are naturally blue.

i have a neocardina sp. also called a neocardina blue. the ones from asia are blue, but their offspring are never blue. meaning they must have their tissue dyed

 

[hsherman1986]

that is what mine was labeling as at the store. I hope he isn't dyed...


edit: wait a sec, me and you are talking about two different shrimp. I did a search on the name that you provided, and everything that I got back pictured a small shrimp, no more than an inch long. The shrimp that is in my tank is WAY bigger than that. He is at least 3" long, if not larger. THe common name on the tank where I got mine said "Blue Wood Shrimp" then had a scientific name under that (which I thought was the same name that you posted til I crossreferenced)...FWIW anyway...

 

[MurfQ]

Anyone that carries Hikari should be able to order them in:
http://www.hikariusa.com/rotifer.htm

I don't recall ever seeing any Hikari products around here.

nutrafin makes a veggie flake, might be easier to crush and squirt than a table? readily available at Petsmart

There's no Petsmart here, but that might be available around here. Nutrafin seems to be the most popular thing around. I've noticed veggie tablets, but I'll have a look for the flakes.

Thanks for all the help everyone! You guys (and gals) are great.

 

[hc8719]

that is what mine was labeling as at the store. I hope he isn't dyed...


edit: wait a sec, me and you are talking about two different shrimp. I did a search on the name that you provided, and everything that I got back pictured a small shrimp, no more than an inch long. The shrimp that is in my tank is WAY bigger than that. He is at least 3" long, if not larger. THe common name on the tank where I got mine said "Blue Wood Shrimp" then had a scientific name under that (which I thought was the same name that you posted til I crossreferenced)...FWIW anyway...

if that was directed to me hsherman, my shrimp is also quite big, pushing 2" the neocardina sp. was the closest looking shrimp i've seen to mine. (she actually was in a ghost shrimp feeder tank)

 

[hsherman1986]

see my thread "I Finally Found It". That is the shrimp that I have. The one you have is a different species. I believe one of the websites that I found when I did the search for the actual scientific name of my shrimp, I came back with a page from petshrimp.com about them. THeir picture shows a much darker species though.

 

[MurfQ]

I finally got a response from Kent Regarding the use of Micro-Vert in freshwater aquariums. This is what they said:

"I suppose it could. The only issue is that it is so heavy in organics that it could make mess of the tank you are feeding it to in fresh water. I would use it in moderation when doing this for that fact."

I think I'll stay away from it and stick to crushing up algae and such. I got some spirulina flakes after that should be much easier to crush than the algae wafers.