[Jammie]

I'm planning on getting some bamboo shimp, i have been ready up about them and it says they are filter feaders, my question is will by uv kill off the bugs they will need to eat?

 

[HolyAngel]

I believe so but not absolutely positive.

 

[eser21]

yep, bad combo

 

[RandomMan]

They'll eat little bits of uneating fish food that float through the water during feeding. They can also pick up food from the ground.

At worst, a couple times a week feed them some powdered spirulina via a syringe or eye dropper.

 

[Jammie]

Ill just have to turn the UV off i guess?

 

[james0816]

Another good thing to do with them...they love this...at least mine do.

Since they hang out under the flow of the filter....lift the filter media up and down a few times like you are rinsing it out. This will help "flush" the goodies from the filter box into the tank and right into their fans.

 

[wetworks]

Another good thing to do with them...they love this...at least mine do.

Since they hang out under the flow of the filter....lift the filter media up and down a few times like you are rinsing it out. This will help "flush" the goodies from the filter box into the tank and right into their fans.

This is a great suggestion. +1

Regarding the UV, it only kills the micro-organisms but does not actually remove them from the water. I think that the shrimp would be able to filter the dead organisms from the water just as easily as it does the live ones, so I don't think it will have a negative impact. I would still add crushed fish food to the water to supplement whatever is in your tank though, to be on the safe side.

 

[mordalphus]

It kills microorganisms. Therefore less will be propogated, leading to a lost source of food

 

[wetworks]

It kills microorganisms. Therefore less will be propogated, leading to a lost source of food

That makes sense. I think that the benefits of the UV sterilizer outweigh the inconvenience of having to feed the shrimps. A possible workaround would be to run the UV sterilizer while you have a problem and supplement feeding the shrimps while you do so, then once the problem is gone simply turn it off.

 

[garfieldnfish]

I don't have a UV filter on my tank so I don't know if that would make much difference but my bamboo shrimp eat fish food anyway they beat my galaxy rasboras to the food. They filter all day long but once food hits the tank they are among the fish getting their share and I had my 2 for 8 years.