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Natural Shrimp Food Reviews


OzShrimp

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Like the commercial Shrimp Food review topic it would be benficial to have one for the natural products, Indian almond leaf, Banana, Mulberry leaves etc.

Similar template minus the Net WT been replaced with breakdown time to assist in polluting water.

Name -

Type of Shrimp fed -

Price -

Preparation-

Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent)

Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent)

Rating -

Pros/Cons -

Comment -

Edit: I have added pro/scons for instance IAL - stains water etc. However not really applicable in all cases and removed price

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Contributions by Torface

Name - Banana

Type of Shrimp fed - CBS, yellow and blue cherries, DRNS

Breakdown Time - Poor

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 4/5

Comment - My shrimps love banana! They're all over in within seconds. Except for the blues, they're not really into much though... It goes mushy pretty quick though so only leave it in for an hour or so.

Name - Spinach

Type of Shrimp fed - CBS, red, yellow and blue cherries, DRNS

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 5/5

Comment - Although they don't attach it as instantly as they do the banana, i often find the spinach is all gone if i leave it in overnight... so they must love it!

Name - Cucumber

Type of Shrimp fed - CBS, yellow, red and blue cherries, DRNS

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Comment - Easy to feed, my shrimps seem to enjoy it!

Name - Red capsicum

Type of Shrimp fed - CBS, yellow, red and blue cherries, DRNS

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - Poor

Rating - 2/5

Comment - I didn't see them eating the capsicum, i don't think they liked it much!

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Contributions by Squiggle

Name - Indian Almond Laeves

Price - Depending on source, anywhere from free to $2 per leaf

Type of Shrimp fed - All

Breakdown Time - Excellent, can be left in the tank indefinitely

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent, once the leaf breaks down enough they all love it

Rating - 10/5

Comment - I would have to say that when mixed with a varied diet it is the best food for shrimp, it doesn't foul the tank, it actually gives of beneficial enzymes & tannic acids which help with the health & immune system of all aquatic animals. It is also a natural water conditioner

Name - Mullberry Laeves

Type of Shrimp fed - All

Breakdown Time - Excellent, can be left in the tank indefinitely

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent, once the leaf breaks down enough they all love it

Rating - 5/5

Comment - I would have to say that Mullberry leaves are also one of the best food for shrimp, it doesn't foul the tank like with IAL, but it doesn't have all the beneficial compounds like IAL does

Name - Bee Pollen

Price - Small jar of about 200g for $8-$10 from healthfood stores

Type of Shrimp fed - All but mainly shrimplets

Breakdown Time - Breaks down very quickly into a powder which is awesome for shrimplets

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent, all shrimp of all ages love it

Rating - 5/5

Comment - Great source of protein for shrimplets

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Contributions by Gravychic

Name - Sweet Potato

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Steamed

Breakdown Time - excellent

Shrimp Acceptance - excellent, steam till its nice and soft and they go crazy

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - All the shrimp love it

Comment - Cheap and easy

Name - Broccoli

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Steamed or blanched

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - excellent

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - Full of vitamins and minerals, feed it to family all the time so just throw a piece in for the shrimp too

Comment - Usually takes a day or so for it to really get the shrimps attention, once it gets mushy they go nuts, don't chuck the leaves they love them!

Name - Kale

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw, steamed or blanched

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - excellent

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - Like broccoli full of nutrients

Comment - Raw takes longer to break down obviously, steam it till its soft and they'll eat it straight away

Name - Egg yolk

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Boiled

Breakdown Time - excellent

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Pros/Cons - Might foul the water if not consumed!

Comment - Feed in small amounts to make sure its eaten, my shrimp love a little yolk every now and then

Name - Tomato

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 3/5

Pros/Cons - Something a bit different, they seem to enjoy it

Comment - Take off the skin, does not break down! Also if you don't want tomato sprouts in the tank remove the seeds too!

Name - Supergreens powder (Spirulina, Barley grass, Chlorella, Alfalfa)

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Mix with a little water to form a ball then drop into a feeding dish

Breakdown Time - don't know, doesn't last long enough to break down

Shrimp Acceptance - excellent

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - Full of nutrients, easy to eat, shrimplets love it

Comment - The shrimp love it, can be dispersed around tank for babies too

Name - Bok Choy

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw or blanched

Breakdown Time - average

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Pros/Cons - Don't seem to like the stems, love the greens tho

Comment - Easy and cheap, raw takes a couple days to break down for them to enjoy

Name - Parsley

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw

Breakdown Time - average

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Pros/Cons - Takes a couple days then they are all over it

Comment - Variety is the spice of life, they enjoy it

Name - Cantaloupe

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw

Breakdown Time - excellent

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Pros/Cons - Easy to prepare, just throw it in

Comment - The cherries really love it, CRS/CBS not so much

Name - Dried split green peas

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - None, just throw some in

Breakdown Time - poor

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - Takes a long time to get soft, but easy to feed and doesn't spoil, i keep a jar with the fishfood, would probably make good holiday food.

Comment - Takes at least 2 days for shrimp to be able to get into it, but after they soften and start breaking down all the shrimp love it, esp after 4 or so days

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Contributions by Northboy

Name - Ice cream bean leaves

Price - Free if you can find a tree, mostly in QLD

Type of Shrimp fed - All Natives love it

Breakdown Time - Breaks down very quickly like IAL

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 5/5

Comment - seams to get a good Bio growth on it

Name - Mango leaf

Price - Free

Type of Shrimp fed - All

Breakdown Time - Slow about 4 weeks to start but dose not affect the water

Shrimp Acceptance - slow, I use it if I am going away

Rating - 3/5

Comment - an easily accessible food supplement.

Name - Water Mellon

Price - seasonal

Type of Shrimp fed - All

Breakdown Time - small pieces don't get time to break down shrimp love it

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent, all shrimp of all ages love it

Rating - 5/5

Comment - it is a good extra treat to give them, not sure on its value, but all shrimp swarm it

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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Name - Banana

Price - ??? $2.49 a kilo lol

Type of Shrimp fed - CBS, yellow and blue cherries, DRNS

Breakdown Time - Poor

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 4/5

Comment - My shrimps love banana! They're all over in within seconds. Except for the blues, they're not really into much though... It goes mushy pretty quick though so only leave it in for an hour or so.

Name - Spinach

Price - ??

Type of Shrimp fed - CBS, red, yellow and blue cherries, DRNS

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 5/5

Comment - Although they don't attach it as instantly as they do the banana, i often find the spinach is all gone if i leave it in overnight... so they must love it!

Name - Banana

Price - ??? $2.49 a kilo lol

Type of Shrimp fed - CBS, yellow, red and blue cherries, DRNS

Breakdown Time - Poor

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 4/5

Comment - My shrimps love banana! They're all over in within seconds. Except for the blues, they're not really into much though... It goes mushy pretty quick though so only leave it in for an hour or so.

Name - Cucumber

Price - $2

Type of Shrimp fed - CBS, yellow, red and blue cherries, DRNS

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Comment - Easy to feed, my shrimps seem to enjoy it!

Name - Red capsicum

Price - ?

Type of Shrimp fed - CBS, yellow, red and blue cherries, DRNS

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - Poor

Rating - 2/5

Comment - I didn't see them eating the capsicum, i don't think they liked it much!

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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Name - Indian Almond Laeves

Price - Depending on source, anywhere from free to $2 per leaf

Type of Shrimp fed - All

Breakdown Time - Excellent, can be left in the tank indefinitely

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent, once the leaf breaks down enough they all love it

Rating - 10/5

Comment - I would have to say that when mixed with a varied diet it is the best food for shrimp, it doesn't foul the tank, it actually gives of beneficial enzymes & tannic acids which help with the health & immune system of all aquatic animals. It is also a natural water conditioner :encouragement:

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Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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Name - Mullberry Laeves

Price - Free

Type of Shrimp fed - All

Breakdown Time - Excellent, can be left in the tank indefinitely

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent, once the leaf breaks down enough they all love it

Rating - 5/5

Comment - I would have to say that Mullberry leaves are also one of the best food for shrimp, it doesn't foul the tank like with IAL, but it doesn't have all the beneficial compounds like IAL does :encouragement:

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Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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Name - Bee Pollen

Price - Small jar of about 200g for $8-$10 from healthfood stores

Type of Shrimp fed - All but mainly shrimplets

Breakdown Time - Breaks down very quickly into a powder which is awesome for shrimplets

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent, all shrimp of all ages love it

Rating - 5/5

Comment - Great source of protein for shrimplets :encouragement:

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Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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Here are a few different things that haven't already been listed that I feed to the shrimps, I throw them a bit of whatever I'm feeding the human family so they get a good variety

Name - Sweet Potato

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Steamed

Breakdown Time - excellent

Shrimp Acceptance - excellent, steam till its nice and soft and they go crazy

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - All the shrimp love it

Comment - Cheap and easy

Name - Broccoli

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Steamed or blanched

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - excellent

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - Full of vitamins and minerals, feed it to family all the time so just throw a piece in for the shrimp too

Comment - Usually takes a day or so for it to really get the shrimps attention, once it gets mushy they go nuts, don't chuck the leaves they love them!

Name - Kale

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw, steamed or blanched

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - excellent

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - Like broccoli full of nutrients

Comment - Raw takes longer to break down obviously, steam it till its soft and they'll eat it straight away

Name - Egg yolk

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Boiled

Breakdown Time - excellent

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Pros/Cons - Might foul the water if not consumed!

Comment - Feed in small amounts to make sure its eaten, my shrimp love a little yolk every now and then

Name - Tomato

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw

Breakdown Time - Good

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 3/5

Pros/Cons - Something a bit different, they seem to enjoy it

Comment - Take off the skin, does not break down! Also if you don't want tomato sprouts in the tank remove the seeds too!

Name - Supergreens powder (Spirulina, Barley grass, Chlorella, Alfalfa)

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Mix with a little water to form a ball then drop into a feeding dish

Breakdown Time - don't know, doesn't last long enough to break down

Shrimp Acceptance - excellent

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - Full of nutrients, easy to eat, shrimplets love it

Comment - The shrimp love it, can be dispersed around tank for babies too

Name - Bok Choy

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw or blanched

Breakdown Time - average

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Pros/Cons - Don't seem to like the stems, love the greens tho

Comment - Easy and cheap, raw takes a couple days to break down for them to enjoy

Name - Parsley

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw

Breakdown Time - average

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Pros/Cons - Takes a couple days then they are all over it

Comment - Variety is the spice of life, they enjoy it ?

Name - Cantaloupe

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - Raw

Breakdown Time - excellent

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Pros/Cons - Easy to prepare, just throw it in

Comment - The cherries really love it, CRS/CBS not so much

Name - Dried split green peas

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS, CBS, Cherries

Preparation - None, just throw some in

Breakdown Time - poor

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - Takes a long time to get soft, but easy to feed and doesn't spoil, i keep a jar with the fishfood, would probably make good holiday food.

Comment - Takes at least 2 days for shrimp to be able to get into it, but after they soften and start breaking down all the shrimp love it, esp after 4 or so days

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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Here is a couple I use

Name - Ice cream bean leaves

Price - Free if you can find a tree, mostly in QLD

Type of Shrimp fed - All Natives love it

Breakdown Time - Breaks down very quickly like IAL

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 5/5

Comment - seams to get a good Bio growth on it

Name - Mango leaf

Price - Free

Type of Shrimp fed - All

Breakdown Time - Slow about 4 weeks to start but dose not affect the water

Shrimp Acceptance - slow, I use it if I am going away

Rating - 3/5

Comment - an easily accessible food supplement.

Name - Water Mellon

Price - seasonal

Type of Shrimp fed - All

Breakdown Time - small pieces don't get time to break down shrimp love it

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent, all shrimp of all ages love it

Rating - 5/5

Comment - it is a good extra treat to give them, not sure on its value, but all shrimp swarm it

Bob

 

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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  • 10 months later...

If anyone wants to add some natural shrimp food reviews would be good. please use the template though for readers to gain the most information possible.

Name -

Type of Shrimp fed -

Price -

Preparation-

Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent)

Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent)

Rating -

Pros/Cons -

Comment -

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i did try feed red grapes to my shrimp. i do cut it out the skin and they love it. not sure is bad for them? anyone ever try?

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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  • 1 month later...

Name - Frozen Peas
Type of Shrimp fed - Red Cherry
Price - Cheep per pea
Preparation- Take the skin off
Breakdown Time - Average (two to three days)
Shrimp Acceptance - Good
Rating - 3/5
Pros/Cons - The peas tend to start to break down after a few days if they arent eaten before
Comment -

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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  • 8 months later...
Name - Oatmeal
Type of Shrimp fed - RCS
Price - Cheap
Preparation- Nothing
Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Good
Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Excellent
Rating - 5/5
Pros - Sinks well, no preparation needed. Seems to be my shrimps' favourite food, actually. Long shelf life because it is dry.
Cons - When put into water and when shrimps eat it, there is some oat "powder" floating around. Does not cloud the water but maybe if you are worried about overall cleanliness, oat breaks down quite a bit. 
Comment - Easiest food ever. Commonly available and can be bought for cheap in supermarkets. No preparation required, sinks by itself. Holds it shape but does break down a little bit. Shrimps love it, it is soft and seems easy for them to eat. Also contains beta-glucan which enhances their immune system.
 
Name - Banana
Type of Shrimp fed - RCS
Price - Cheap
Preparation- Weigh it down as it floats
Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Poor
Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Average
Rating - 3/5
Pros - No need to blanch
Cons - It floats, need to weigh it down. I do this by sticking a needle through it since it is too small to be sunk using a stone or a fork. Breaks down fast so might make a mess. Soft and mushy, making it difficult to handle.
Comment - Use the soft part inside, I tried the stringy parts on the peel and shrimps do not want it. The shrimps prefer oatmeal over banana but they will still eat it. Banana is famous as a good source of potassium but I do not know what is the function of potassium for shrimps.

 

Name - Spinach
Type of Shrimp fed - RCS
Price - Cheap
Preparation- Rinse well, blanch in microwave for a few minutes
Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Excellent
Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Excellent
Rating - 5/5
Pros - Holds its shape, soft therefore easy for the shrimps to eat
Cons - If you do not find organic ones, pray that the possible pesticides were removed during preparation.
Comment - They like it. Big surface area so a lot of shrimps can eat it at once and they do not have to fight over it. Floats even after I blanch it so I sink it down with a stone. Preparation is easy too, just put in a glass of water and microwave it for three minutes. Rich in iron but just don't expect your shrimps to turn into Popeye. Frozen spinach is also available.
 
Name - Frozen green pea
Type of Shrimp fed - RCS
Price - Cheap
Preparation- Microwave in a glass of water for a few minutes until soft
Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Excellent
Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Good
Rating - 5/5
Pros - Holds its shape, lasts long. Sinks by itself after blanched. Frozen so it has long shelf life and the process during freezing it and packaging prevents it from being contaminated as well.
Cons - If not blanched long enough, green pea stays hard and difficult for shrimps to eat. They will not eat it if it is still tough.
Comment - Take just one pea, microwave it. The shell will break, discard the shell and just use the soft pea inside. Easy preparation, shrimps like to eat it and it lasts for 2 days (!!!) before they finish it. Makes a good holiday food if you will be gone since they will take their time to eat it. Often used for bloating in fish so perhaps it might help the shrimps as well since it is rich in fiber. Plenty of vitamins as well, especially Vitamin K.
 
Name - Various leaves (Dry Riparian Leaves from Aquagreen)
Type of Shrimp fed - RCS
Price - $5 per 60g
Preparation- Rinse and boil prior to use
Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Excellent
Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Average
Rating - 3/5
Pros/Cons - Makes a good leaf litter. Cheap compared to IAL.
Store unused leaves in a dry, airtight container. Takes a few weeks before the shrimps would graze on it, probably the time for it to build up some biofilm. If you layer a lot of it, it makes a good hiding place for shrimps as well. Boil and just leave it in the tank and the shrimps will graze on it after some time. Basically put and forget about it. There is tannins as well, but small amount and probably none left by the time you finish boiling it. You could use the boiled water after you cool it down if you would like but I am unsure if the tannins have the same effect as IAL. Intensity of the tannin colour is very light too so you would need a huge amount to make a blackwater extract if you want to. After boiled, there is negligible pH change as well unlike IAL which changes pH considerably. Lasts for a long time.
 
Name - Indian Almond Leaf
Type of Shrimp fed - RCS
Price - $5 for 10 leaves, pricing varies
Preparation- Depends on quality of leaves, I just put it into the tank as it is because it looks clean
Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Excellent
Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Excellent
Rating - 5/5
Pros/Cons - Very popular. Tannin will stain water if used in big amount. I cut mine into half so it does not affect it very much. Lasts for long. Tannins have many positive effects. Watch pH as it will lower your pH.
Comment - Store in dry, airtight container. Tannins from IAL have been said to be prevent diseases. Floats for a while then sinks after a day or two. Makes a good hiding and grazing spot as biofilm will build up on it. Shrimps immediately grazes on it after it sinks. Will last for a long time. Do not use activated carbon or it will negate the effect of the tannin unless you are using it intentionally because you do not like blackwater effect. But if used in small amount it will not stain your water.
 
Name - Broccoli
Type of Shrimp fed - RCS
Price - Cheap
Preparation- Rinse and microwave for a few minutes in a cup of water until soft
Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Good
Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Excellent
Rating - 4/5
Pros - Sinks after microwaved, high in Vit C
Cons - The shrimps prefer to eat the broccoli head. As they pick on it, there are little green particles dispersed around. Quite messy. The stalk holds its shape though, and is also edible. Can be left for days as it is big  (takes long to consume) and does not disintegrate.
Comment - Considering the mess (and the fact that I dislike to eat broccoli), I probably will not feed this often to my shrimps but it is good for variety.
 
Name - Lettuce
Type of Shrimp fed - RCS
Price - Cheap
Preparation- Rinse and microwave for a few minutes in a cup of water to blanch it
Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Good
Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) Good
Rating - 4/5
Pros - Holds its shape. Large surface area. Soft.
Cons - I could not find organic lettuce but surely it must be sold somewhere? Did not have any problems with non-organic vegetables so far though. 
Comment - Sink it down with a stone as it floats. The shrimps prefer the broccoli but good for variety, might as well feed it to the shrimps if you have it available as some variety. I used iceberg lettuce. I wonder if other types of lettuce will affect shrimp acceptance. Good source of Vit A and potassium.

 

I will post more as I try more food! Imo natural food is more economical than commercial food and provides variety for your shrimps!

Edit:

- Added more food

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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  • 1 month later...

Name - Bamboo Leaves

Type of Shrimp fed - RCS, CRS, CBS and Taiwan bee

Price - Cheap, and can be purchased as substrate for terrarium

Preparation- I boil them and dry them or put them in right after I have boiled them.

Breakdown Time - Average

Shrimp Acceptance - Good

Rating - 4/5

Pros - does not change color on the water. 

Cons - Not all off it gets eaten or breaksdown. 

Comment - I love to use them, as the shrimps seems to love them, and they are easy to giv. 

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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Name - Mulberry leaves

Type of Shrimp fed - CRS and chameleons

Breakdown Time - Quickly

Shrimp Acceptance - Excellent

Rating - 5/5

Comment - My chameleons love these leaves. They are straight onto them once they go into the tank and are chewing through them at a rate of 3-4 leaves per week. My CRS are less fussed and chew on them at around the same rate as IAL. I picked the leaves green straight from the tree and have them in a plastic bag in my cupboard where they are slowly turning brown. I just drop them straight into the tank, no boiling, ect. Either way - yellow, green or brown - my chameleons love them.

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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  • HOF Member

To add to the mulberry leaves my shrimp prefer them over anything else offered. The Cherries especially love them but my crystals and Tibees like them too. I blanch mine then freeze them or dry them outside in a pillowcase . The fresh blanched leaves break down best and nothing is left except the veins of the leaf.

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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Wow lots of new ones! will update later todAY or tomorrow flat out atm

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  • 1 year later...
On 3/24/2014 at 10:06 AM, OzShrimp said:

 

Name - cherry quava leaf

Type of Shrimp fed - cherries, zebras and glass  natives.

Price -usually found free

Preparation- pick dry brown

Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) stays stablemate in the tank for a long time without fouling water.

Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) very high attention from all shrimp.

Rating - 5/5

Pros/Cons - takes a little longer then most leaves to break down, forms a nice healthy bio layer.

Comment - nice stable leaf for the long term.

 

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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I wonder if I should create a section in the articles for natural food reviews. Can have a main topic with pic and then people can put their individual review and star ratings in. Like we do with product reviews.

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  • 2 years later...

Thanks for sharing free feeding to shrimp. I don't know why my tank dirty to early when I am feeding to my shrimp. I read this article on google about to feeding shrimp and they listed some amazing free foods.https://www.hunterhunts.com/what-do-cherry-shrimp-eat/ . 

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3 hours ago, Rinku said:

I read this article on google about to feeding shrimp and they listed some amazing free foods

You will find this forum has all those foods listed as well as a lot more. 

There are a few mistakes, like some spelling mistakes. Then a comment about people like to keep ghost shrimp and brine shrimp in the same sentence. Eh, spelling mistake can be forgiven. Technically, yes, some might like to keep brine shrimp, although it's not really the type of "shrimp" we keep for fun. And it's a salt water creature, so certainly not going in the same tank as ghost shrimps or cherries.

But what really makes hunterhunts.com loose absolutely all credibility is this paragraph in their article on Red Cherry Shrimps ....

"When these little shrimp are in the ocean they tend to feed plankton, algae, small fishes, plants on the bottom of the ocean and other dead water animals. In the ocean, there is plenty of food available for this draft shrimp."

Uh, hello?! They don't live in the ocean.

 I stopped reading after that.

I suggest you find another website to visit as well. Far too many mistakes in that website, and it will mislead you into doing something wrong, maybe, maybe not, but why risk it.

 

Edited by jayc
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okay thanks for sharing such an amazing information jayc.

 

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where do people buy this Mullberry Laeves, are they feed dry or fresh like off the plants, IAL are they only ones I can get, and seems to be a reliable source in Hong Kong at USD 5 for 10 pieces, I did buy some IAL from china through Taobao cheap, when I received them, I just threw them away, some of the leaves were wet and mixed with dry one's.

I seen them on amazon, but don't know the quality.

Edited by kms
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1 hour ago, kms said:

where do people buy this Mullberry Laeves,

We grow the Mulberry tree in our back yard.

Or we find a tree, and pick off some leaves. I have not seen them being sold online like IAL.

The leaves can be fed fresh or dried. Either way is fine, but fresh leaves blanched quickly in boiling water has more nutrients. So most people prefer feeding fresh.

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Name - walnut and cherry leaves

Type of Shrimp fed - softwater caridinas to sulawesi

Price - free, grows on trees ?

Preparation- air dried for storing in boxes then left for 30 sec in boiling water to kill parasites before adding

Breakdown Time - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) excellent

Shrimp Acceptance - (terrible, poor, average, Good, excellent) excellent

Rating - 5 *

Pros/Cons - only pros

Comment - Have been a staple food in my tanks for years, pretty similar to dry mulberry leaves but last longer.

Edited by sdlTBfanUK
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  • 2 years later...
  • HOF Member

This is the article I was looking for so just bumping it up for new people to see ?

  • Like 2
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    • beanbag
      Update to say that after a few gravel vacs, front wall scrub, moss / floating plant trim, that the condition seems to have improved.  My current theory is that it is due to waste / debris management, where "stuff" like that brown mulm accumulates in the substrate and behind the HMF filters.  Maybe some tanks can somehow deal with it, but mine can't.  Also another experienced shrimper suggested that maybe those "shell bugs" don't just live on the shrimps but also in this debris.  Maybe this is the reason some tanks fail due to "old tank syndrome" where all they need is a good gravel vac? Also, I am guessing that plant trim helps too because now more of the nutrients and light go into growing algae instead of more plants? Well anyway for this tank I will try weekly water change and monthly gravel vac / plant trim.  For my next tank, I'm thinking of something like an under-gravel system where this mulm can fall down and I vac it out.
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Good to have an update and good to hear you are getting shrimplets, so hopefully your colony will continue and you may not get to the point where you have to cull some to stop over population. These type of shrimp only live 12 - 18 months so the adult deaths may be natural? If you have the time I would do weekly 25% water changes, adding the new water via a drip system and do some vacuuming clean of the substrate each week, even if only a different bit each week! See if that helps in a few months and if it does then stick with that regime? It should help reduce any build-ups that may be occuring!
    • beanbag
      Hello again, much belated update: The tank still has "cycles" of 1-2 month "good streaks" where everybody seems to be doing well, and then a bad streak where the short antenna problem shows up again, and a shrimp dies once every few days.  I am not sure what causes things to go bad, but usually over the course of a few days I will start to see more shrimp quietly standing on the HMF filter, and so I know something is wrong.  Since I am not "doing anything" besides the regular 1-2 week water changes, I just assume that something bad is building up.  Here's a list of things that I've tried that are supposed to be "can't hurt" but didn't prevent the problem either: Dose every other day with Shrimp Fit (very small dose, and the shrimp seem to like it) Sotching Oxydator Seachem Purigen to keep the nitrates lower Keeping the pH below 5.5 with peat Things that I don't do often, so could possibly "reset" the tank back to a good streak, are gravel vac and plant trim, so maybe time to try those again. One other problem I used to have was that sometimes a shrimp would suddenly stop eating with a full or partially full digestive tract that doesn't clear out, and then the shrimp will die within a few days.  I suspected it was one of the foods in my rotation - Shrimp Nature Infection, which contains a bunch of herbal plant things.  I've had this in my food rotation for a few years now and generally didn't seem to cause problems, but I removed it from the rotation anyway.  I don't have a lot of adult Golden Bees at this point so I can't really tell if it worked or not. Overall the tank is not too bad - during the good streaks occasionally a shrimp will get berried and hatch babies with a 33-50% survival rate.  So while there are fewer adults now, there are also a bunch of babies roaming around.  I guess this tank will stagger on, but I really do need to take the time to start up a new tank.  (or figure out the problem)
    • jayc
      If that is the offspring, then the parents are unlikely to be PRL. I tend to agree with you. There are very few PRLs in Australia. And any that claim to be needs to show proof. PRL genes have to start as PRL. CRS that breed true after x generations doesn't turn it into a PRL. Neither can a Taiwan bee shrimp turn into a PRL despite how ever many generations. I've never seen a PRL with that sort of red colour. I have on Red Wines and Red Shadows - Taiwan bee shrimps. So somewhere down the line one of your shrimp might have been mixed with Taiwan bees and is no longer PRL. It just tanks one shrimp to mess up the genes of a whole colony. 
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Sorry, missed this one somehow! The PRL look fantastic and the odd ones look part PRL and part Red wine/Red shadow in the colour. They are still very beautiful but ideally should be seperated to help keep the PRL clean if you can do that.  Nice clear photos!
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