Fresh foods for shrimp?

[ShrimpDuck]

Ive seen a few people mention that they feed zucchini, spinach etc and I'm just wondering if these need prep before feeding? I'm feeding a few different boss aquaria foods, and I know they're packed with greens. Should I be feeding fresh foods too, or is it unneccessary?

Im keeping a variety of cherries and rili's.

Thanks!

[ineke]

Fresh greens and leaves are excellent food sources for shrimp. They love most vegetables. The best preparation is just quick blanching - I put mine in the microwave boil for a couple of minutes and then put into cold water. You need to be VERY sure that no pesticides have been used on the foods. Even some washed salad leaves and spinach sold in supermarkets have caused problems with a few members colonies. It's best if you grow your own. It's very easy to grow kale, spinach, lettuce in small pots and just pick a few leaves for the shrimp. At least that way you know they are safe. There are some good threads about the different fresh foods we feed under the nutrition headings - sorry I can't show the link it never works on my iPad but the search engine will bring it up. There is a list of the beneficial calcium available in the different foods too. Don't forget leaves are a great food source too. Most leaves are safe just but again read the threads . My shrimp love mulberry leaves the best and will leave everything else until the mulberry leaf is gone. They also love nasturtium leaves so I grow that too.

[yeswaitnosorry]

I have been feeding (used) green tea leaves. It seems to be to their liking, also my yabbies give it a claws-up also.