[Raye]

Hi, I have a quick question.

On more than one occasion, I've caught some of my shrimp (cherry & malawa) eating baby ramshorn snails. I'm not upset about it, but I was wondering if that's and indication that I should bump up the amount of protein I'm feeding? Or is it just a case of the snails being slow and the shrimp being hungry?

 

[Fletch]

Hungry Shrimp

I haven't seen any of my shrimp (ghost only) eating snails, but I suspect that they are eating hydra! I have 5 of them in a 2g bowl, along with too many snails, and a lot of plants. There are absolutely NO hydra in that bowl. I have another identical bowl, with NO shrimp, and it seems to be a hydra metropolis. I feed the 5 shrimp a few tiny flakes only twice per week, and they are always ravenous. If my LFS gets more in stock, I will test this hypothesis by putting some in the bowl with Hydropolis City: "Attack of the Giant Shrimp", coming to a theatre near you. I am trying to have minimal food input in the shrimp bowl, because if I feed even a few extra flakes, I get and algae bloom. The shrimp and snails seem to be doing a good job of keeping things clean otherwise. I will keep an eye on the shrimp to see if they like escargot.

 

[wicca27]

my oebt would do the same thing they would eat the young snails. it might be their way of saying they want/need more protein.

 

[Raye]

I haven't seen any of my shrimp (ghost only) eating snails, but I suspect that they are eating hydra! I have 5 of them in a 2g bowl, along with too many snails, and a lot of plants. There are absolutely NO hydra in that bowl. I have another identical bowl, with NO shrimp, and it seems to be a hydra metropolis. I feed the 5 shrimp a few tiny flakes only twice per week, and they are always ravenous. If my LFS gets more in stock, I will test this hypothesis by putting some in the bowl with Hydropolis City: "Attack of the Giant Shrimp", coming to a theatre near you. I am trying to have minimal food input in the shrimp bowl, because if I feed even a few extra flakes, I get and algae bloom. The shrimp and snails seem to be doing a good job of keeping things clean otherwise. I will keep an eye on the shrimp to see if they like escargot.

i don't have hydra in this tank and i'm crossing my fingers that i never do. interesting theory though.

my oebt would do the same thing they would eat the young snails. it might be their way of saying they want/need more protein.

yeah, this is what i was thinking. i feed Hikari Crab Cuisine once a month because i read somewhere that i was supposed to/any more than that was bad, but i also feed Borneowild Frenzy once a week which I thought was half animal protein? do my shrimp need more than that? or do they just need a *better* source of protein?

 

[JeremyM]

I am trying to have minimal food input in the shrimp bowl, because if I feed even a few extra flakes, I get and algae bloom. The shrimp and snails seem to be doing a good job of keeping things clean otherwise. .

I would suspect that the snails may be doing more harm than good in this setup, especially in the quantity that you describe. I find that snails simply produce A LOT more waste for their biomass than a shrimp, or two dozen shrimp, ever could. I suggest you search for a shrimp that will eagerly devour your snails...