shrimp food covered in slime or mold

[Brian Flowers]

hi all , new member , been raising self cloning crayfish , new to shrimp , picked up some " culls " different colors , not sure type , blue , light blue , red , orange , black , red clear , orange clear , quite a mix . new 5 g tank ,  new sponge filter , cholla wood , feeding Hikari crab cuisine , after a day its covered in some weird clear slime , or mold . 

im at a loss . never experienced  this in my Marmokreb tanks .

Thanks , Brian

[jayc]

HI Welcome to SKFA.

Are your shrimps eating the crab cuisine at all?

I don't blame them if they are not eating it. There are much better alternatives out there. Crabs will eat any junk, but shrimps are a lot pickier in their choice of food.

Have a read of the numerous choices in the "Food & Nutrition" subforum. And remember, you don't have to limit yourself (and the shrimps) to processed foods. Look at leaves, flowers, vegetable off cuts or even frozen bloodworms.

[Zoidburg]

New tank, new shrimp... they may not be interested in eating at all and it's normal for food left in an aquarium to go 'old'.

Agree with jayc though, there are better options out there for food. They do best on an algae/vegetable based diet and that food is high in protein. May be okay in a *small* amount once a week but no more than that.