[Newman]

I know this sounds like a stupid statement since a shrimp tank's success if defined by how well it can actually grow and maintain its own biofilm, but what if I wanted to just feed my shrimp some additional stuff every once in a while?

Can i take a piece of ceramic filter media from a different tank (say a fishtank's filter) and put it in my shrimp tank? will there be some stuff growing on that ceramic pellet for the shrimp to eat? also would it be safe? (my fishtank has different parameters. its a high pH environment whereas my shrimp tank is acidic. i hope it doesn't matter)

Is this a viable way to help my shrimp's diet even a tiny bit?

if there are other methods that do not involve upsetting my aquasoil substrate(this is fatal to sensitive shrimp) let me know!
Thanks for any help.

 

[Sake]

Why not use blanched veggies and commercial shrimp foods? One idea I've heard of for nerite snails is putting a few rocks in a water filled container and sitting it on the window sill to grow some algae. Don't see why this wouldn't work with shrimp also.

 

[rodcuda]

Indian almond leaves are a good bet, they grow biofilm and the shrimp actually eat then as they break down. They do not hurt water quality, but actually help by releasing tannins.

 

[Newman]

those methods are nice.
However I am too afraid to use blanched veggies ever since i fed vegetables to my PFR colony half a year ago and i constantly found random deaths every day or two once i started to feed. I suspect pesticides or something similar =/

I have been putting almond leaves in my shrimp tank as i usually put almond leaves in all my tanks haha. herbivores and shrimp always love to eat them.

And I also feed my shrimp a whole variety of commercial foods.
Was wondering if i could do the ceramic media thing. and then swap the pellets every fed days?

 

[Sake]

Sorry this question is above my pay grade, but I'll be tuning in now, you've got me curious.

 

[Newman]

i noticed a few other shrimp keepers on this site were doing what seems like what i described above with their ceramic media. it got me curious. especially since some shrimps' babies prefer biofilm over everything else!

 

[Sake]

I think what you may be talking about is supplement stones? Something like this....http://www.eliteinverts.com/borneowild-mineral/

 

[Newman]

nah, not the stuff like ebiken shou. although those might serve the same function. they can grow biofilm, as can the mineral stones. But i was asking about just plain old ceramic media from HOB filters and such. can i take a pellet from my 40gal community tank's filter and put it in my shrimp tank without any problems?

These are all really nice ideas people. I am going to start listing them in the first post!
lets see if we can think of more stuff.

 

[sayurasem]

I think the best way to grow bio film is anything that has a high surface area. Such as mosses. looks great too!

 

[jnaz]

I suspect that the sponges I have over my intakes have some pretty tasty stuff on them because the shrimp are always picking at them. I squeeze out a little bit into the tank every once in a while and let the shrimp pick at all of the little pieces of gunk once it settles.

 

[fermentedhiker]

As long as your not worried about transferring something unwanted from one tank to another I don't see any harm in it. Whether or not there is enough biofilm on a few ceramic rings to truly be considered a dietary supplement is another question.

Thinking about the above post about sponges...... I use fluval edge prefilter sponges on all my hobs. The shrimp tanks sponges are doubtless much cleaner than my fish tank ones. Swapping the sponges from a tank where nothing grazes on them would likely supply a high volume of things for them to graze.

just a thought.

 

[hedge_fund]

Shrimp do not only feed on biofilm so you should supplement other foods. Think about a wild shrimp living in the streams..it will essentially eat whatever is found on the bottom such as dead fish, dead shrimp, biofilm from leaves etc.

If you want to promote the growth of biofilm then throw in an almond leaf and add a few supplements that are designed to feed the bacterial growth. You can get Ebiken EI or BorneoWild Bebi, both will maintain a healthy tank. You can get these products from the sponsors here so it can't get any easier.

 

[randyl]

Biofilm is everywhere (go look up its definition), it covers all surfaces on everything in a matured tank. I double putting in a piece of something will do much, a sponge filter is a better way.

 

[Newman]

so its better to place a prefilter on my fishtank's HOB intake and let that grow biofilm instead? then put it into the shrimp tank as feed, then repeat? but that prefilter would get sooooo dirty! i wouldnt even want to put such dirt into my shrimp tank...

 

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

Just buy a simple bottle of BW Grow. It's expensive but will last you forever.

 

[somewhatshocked]

You don't have to supplement extra biofilm. It grows on every surface in your tank. More than you'll ever need.

Some people do put chunks of ceramic media in their tank to create more bacterial surface area, though. That's likely what you see.

Some also toss in ceramic rings when they shut down or clean filters. Shrimp pick them clean.

 

[ren]

You don't have to supplement extra biofilm. It grows on every surface in your tank. More than you'll ever need.

Some people do put chunks of ceramic media in their tank to create more bacterial surface area, though. That's likely what you see.

Some also toss in ceramic rings when they shut down or clean filters. Shrimp pick them clean.

I have media laying around in all my tanks just so the shrimp can pick at something.

During the crazy hurricane when my power went out. I took out all my filter media and put it on a wide bowl in each tank respectively. It was pretty much duel purpose the shrimp can eat and the bacteria on the pellets stay alive.

 

[Newman]

so it doesnt matter, and i shouldnt bother with it?

 

[ren]

No I doesn't matter how long has your tank been running for? Eventually the biofilm will start to grow heavily on the sides of your tank. I put the ceramic pellets in the tank for the hell of it.

 

[Newman]

No I doesn't matter how long has your tank been running for?

5 months and a week.