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nasturtium leaves

ineke

By ineke
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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Has anyone tried nasturtium flowers and leaves for shrimp. The flowers are safe for use in salads for us. I have heaps growing in my garden so wondered if they were shrimp safe?

the leaves are spicy , the older the leaf the spicier they are. I will collect some and try them on a few shrimp and see what happens. I will try flowers and leaves- fresh, boiled and will dry some and let you all know as these seem to grow profusely almost anywhere.

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BlueBolts Shrimp Guru

BlueBolts

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Had to google what nasturtium were :-) not sure whether they're sappy ? and it's effects etc... looking forward to your findings. :-)

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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So far I have put some leaves and flowers just picked and rinsed the shrimp looked at it but haven't touched it. Then I boiled some for 3 minutes and have that in another tank with shrimp that always eat leaves, they are on it at the moment but just seem to be checking it out. The leaves have been in the tanks for just under 2 hours. Will look again in a couple of hours and hope they are still OK.

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ninja Shrimp Master

ninja

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It will be fine Ineke, you just got me thinking about day lilies, I might still have some in my jungle. They are very edible too. Don't grow nasturtiums anymore.

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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I only have them in one small area but if the shrimp like them I will dry them for later use. I would think they are safe because we can eat them not that I have ever tried them

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ninja Shrimp Master

ninja

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I used to eat them and decorate fruit salad and also pavlova with the flowers. Ran out of sunlit areas in my garden cause the trees shaded them out! The minis look great on top of pav's?

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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I will have to try one and see if I like them. The shrimp are now snacking on the leaves both fresh and boiled, not madly rushing it but definitely some on there. Will dry some leaves and see if they like that too. Will be a nice little extra to feed them.

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Baccus Shrimp Master

Baccus

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I would have thought that nastursium leaves and flowers would be fine for shrimp, but might be a bit peppery for their taste. But your question also got me to thinking of other plants that many people might grow in their yards or in pots which might also be shrimp safe foods. Things like chilli leaves and or fruit, my finches demolish every chilli plant I put in their aviary. Roses I would think would also be shrimp safe, both the leaves and the petals.

Day Lilies I would think are well and truly shrimp safe, at work we couldn't keep day lilies alive in certain garden beds because the cockaroaches kept eating them down to their rhyzomes.

Strawberry leaves I would also expect to be shrimp safe and full of nutrients.

Basil leaves and Parsley might also be goers, but depending on the oil content in basil it might need blanching or drying first.

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Thanks Bacuus I will try some rosé leaves and flowers and maybe a geranium flower too. Not sure about the geranium leaves as they are a furry. I haven't tried cabbage yet either but they might like that too. I guess if a food is safe for us it should be OK for shrimp -- whether they will eat it is another thing.

Haven't been in the shrimp room yet to check out if they actually ate the nasturtium yet.

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Conclusion

While nasturtium leaves are safe for shrimp - 24 hours in tank no casualties- I don't believe they are a food worth feeding. Although the shrimp are on the leaves little if any has been eaten. It may suit them better when left to breakdown so will leave them in for a few more days but they are not showing a lot of interest

Addit- have just been checking the tank again and in the tank with the boiled leaves the shrimp are eating them. There are little veins all over the leaf with no green left on them so perhaps they just weren't soft enough.

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Baccus Shrimp Master

Baccus

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I would probably steer clear of geraniums for shrimp, just because they can have a lot of oils, also a plant commonly sold as mozzie repellent is actually a type of geranium. I would also avoid tomato and pototo leaves because they are in the deadly night shade family - solinacea.

Hibiscus petals might also be worth a try, igunas love them and grass hoppers find hibiscus plants and flowers particularly tasty.

I would think that celery would be ok for shrimp, and I know my shrimp often help themselves to the carrot that I put in to feed the BN's and trap snails.

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ninja Shrimp Master

ninja

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I always feed parsley, they like it!

Home grown parsley, spinach and kale is all I feed apart from IAL which I buy. I don't trust supermarkets.

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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I might go and buy a few punnets of them and just put them in a pot together. I buy spinach but getting more worried about what they use on them so home grown is best

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ninja Shrimp Master

ninja

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Yep I asked for a big pot with those three in it for a present. I keep it in the atrium where it know nobody is going to spray anything.

Gunna start a new pot in a couple of months so I don't run out and keep rotating them. The flat parsley doesn't take over, doesn't grow much either lol?

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Thats a great idea for a present. My grand children like to make things so they could easily plant out a pot with a mix of punnets.

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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The shrimp are now really enjoying the mushy nasturtium leaves so it looks like my conclussion was very wrong:redface-new: -they like them boiled and very soft. I now have a big bag of them drying in the sun:D

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2OFUS Shrimp Master

2OFUS

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I Dry my leaves by putting them in a sandwhich and then I put them in the car on a hot day

1 whole day and they are dry

but I'm also very inpatient :)

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ineke Shrimp Guru

ineke

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Yes that's what I'm doing except they are in a pillow case in the car. Apparantly they dry well in the oven w too. I prefer the car because it gets mighty hot in there and will hopefully kill any bugs I may have missed:D

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