Bamboo shrimp feeding

[libertybelle]

Interesting. I have heard that but when I look for evidence online all I found was people finding an empty nerite shell and speculating the assassins hunted it down. Of course I’ve had plenty of nerites die in my tanks over the years without assassin snails help so that didn’t worry me too much.

I decided to give it a shot but I only picked up one so there can be no ‘ganging up’ on bigger snails. It’s a beautiful little invert.

The nerite already in there is easily 3-4 times the assassins size and there are quite a few mini ramshorns around the tank now.

It’s a bit of an experiment because the nerite is huge and the mini ramshorns are tiny. So I’m not really sure if either is really their preferred size prey. Obviously I’m hoping he takes to the ‘snack size’ critters. I’ve seen this guy right next to the little ones without seeming interested but maybe it’s just not hungry yet...

Unrelated note; my cherries are starting to pop out little ones that I see from time to time hidden in the plants. (So cute!). And I’m afraid to clean my tank! Lol, I know a lot of people who breed shrimp don’t clean their gravel because the babies are so tiny it would be impossible to avoid them. Still... feels weird not to vacuum the gravel; especially after my amanos drag the shrimp pellets all over the place and make a mess!

[libertybelle]

Well the assassin isn’t bothering my nerite. He’s also.... vanished. Saw him for about three hours cruising around and haven’t seen him since. Buried in the gravel, perhaps. Hopefully he’s finding the occasional mini ramshorn to snack on and keep him happy.

Unfortunately now three of my five bamboo shrimp have decided to take a walk and are no more. The tank does have a cover but they are obviously slipping out at the gap where the filter outlet is. I should put up a moat...

Interestingly, the two who remain are the two who seem amenable to syringe spot feeding. Perhaps the others weren’t able to get enough to eat without the spot feeding and sought greener pastures. I don’t think I’ll get any more, clearly there is something they don’t like about the tank, be it food supply or something else, and it’s quite sad finding them on the floor!