Puffer food

[patola_l]

Hey all, so i have a 15 gal tank, and im thinking of breeding some kind of shrimp in it so that i can feed them to my F8P's....could i also put any fish in the 15 gal? or will they all attach the shrimps and their fry.

[jetajockey]

if you are breeding go with red cherry shrimp, they are the easiest to work with. Also pest snails, ramshorns and pond snails are simple to breed and a staple for the puffer keepers that I know.

[BeavisMom62]

Im not sure, maybe something small like neon tetras?

Something else you might want to try. I used to keep F8's and I also bred ghost shrimp to feed them. It was fun. But I also bred those typical pond/pest snails in there with the shrimp. You know how sometimes if you buy plants from some lfs and they already have some pond snails on them? Well Walmart told me that, of course, lfs have problems with that too. The snails end up in their filtration system, so they just opened up the filter and scooped out a handful and gave them to me for free! Of course there was no trouble breeding the snails either! Had tons of them.

[patola_l]

I also have pond snails breeding in the tank already, the puffers love them. But was thinking shrimp would be great too...is there any difference in feeding them cherry shrimp or ghost shrimp? i suppose if breeding cherry are easier that makes most sense. Perhaps ill just go fishless in this breeding tank, i want them to breed well so maybe even small neons could make them feel threatened.

[jetajockey]

cherry shrimp is way easier. There are lots of different ghost shrimp species, only some of them can breed in freshwater, plus they have a larval stage which makes things more complicated also. RCS come out looking like miniature versions of their parents.

The only fish that I've had any luck with keeping in my shrimp breeding tank is otocinclus, bristlenose plecos, and corys. I think the corys might eat some baby shrimp also if they had the chance but i've never seen them actively stalk/kill any.

[patola_l]

hmm cherry shrimp it is then, uhh i they are 4$ each at my LFS...how many should i get to start, so they breed

[jetajockey]

i'd try to find them cheaper online. Here in the states they often sell for less than a dollar each. Whenever I sell them I usually go for 20+extras for 20 dollars shipped.

As far as starting a colony goes, the more, the better. It's going to take a few months for them to get settled in, berried, and hatching/growing out young ones.