# feeder shrimp...



## frozenbarb (Dec 16, 2006)

lol i dont see how it would offend but 

those feeder shrimps are ghost shrimps

1$ for a dozen or so

very cheap, even though non of my lfs has


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## yoink (Apr 21, 2005)

I would give cherries a shot. They reproduce quicker than any other shrimp that I know of. I wouldn't want to feed anything with the feeders I see at my LFS.


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Frozenbarb: You never know LOL I have seen some people get pretty angry about theses sorts of subjects

My lfs has ghost shrimp for around 30 cents but they say they need bracksh water, another lie?

And around how much do cherries run?


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## yoink (Apr 21, 2005)

I have had ghost shrimp in freshwater for over a year, still going strong. Cherries go from 1-3 dollars each, but you will have a breeding colony from a dozen in a few months.


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## frozenbarb (Dec 16, 2006)

lol so ghost are gonna die anyways, you could keep them in freshwater for couple day


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## AxolotlFarmer (Nov 29, 2006)

as for the pest store usually most do not know what they have when it comes to shrimps or amphibians. Ok so "feeder" shrimp in the USA belong to the genus Palaemonetes. It all depends who their dealer is to which specie they get. The most common in the Chicagoland/NW Indiana I have come across is Palaemonetes paludosus, which lives in freshwater. There are other North American "ghost shrimp" belonging to the genus Palaemonetes such as on the east coast, florida who are brackish or young need brackish water.

I have sucessfull raised Palaemonetes paludosus in an aquaria and raised young from larvae to adulthood. I have also noticed sometimes store selling "ghost shrimp" and "feeder shrimp" to be a mixture of Palaemonetes, Caridina, and Macrobrachium. Like I said, it all depends on who the stores supplier is.

as for Palaemonetes paludosus, they usually have little red bands on the aentenae and feeler arms.

I hope the helped answer a bit.

Yes it is ok to feed your cichlids live shrimps, especially if you raised them yourself. If you plan to harvest your own shrimp, you will be more sucessful with Neocaridina than with Palaemonetes for neocaridina produce mini versions of adults rather than delicate larva than Palaemonetes. Also, Palaemonetes adults have been known to eat their planktonic young.


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## Haeun (Mar 9, 2007)

Those feeder ghost shrimps can very dangerous, I say. Feeder livestock aren't taken care of entirely too well. I've seen some with tapeworms in them, and yeck, I wouldn't want that to get into my fish.

And I think with ghost shrimp, they require brackish water for the young to successful grow?

Anyways, like someone suggested, if you have a breeding colony of a RCS, I would say they may make better feeders. Which would basically be what AxolotlFarmer. Better RCS than ghost.


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

Here's the catch: Once you start to keep RCS, you may not want to feed them to your fish. So then you'll be stuck with tons of cherries, like the rest of us. LOL 

No really, they breed like roaches and would be your best bet (as others have already stated). At least then, you have control as to what your fish are eating and won't have to worry about "cooties" that may infect your fish. 

Looks like your fish will be enjoying "lobsters" for dinner then, eh?  :icon_eek: :tongue: LOL


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Thanks for they help everyone! 

So it's a no go on the ghost shrimp. I don't want to have to buy salt or anything, and im looking for an easy breeder with out the complication of figuring out the species.

My main problem with RCS is money LOL
Those things are expensive. But I do want the best for my fish so I may have to splurge on a few of em. Arn't there different grades of them or something? Could anyone point me to the cheapest ones? LOL
And would RCS be O.K in a 10 gallon with no special conditions?


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Set up a 10g tank and get some moss and a few rocks. Buy about 15-20 cherry shrimp, which should cost you ~$20-25. They have no special requirements besides stable conditions and drop an algae wafer in there every few days, or you get get more gourmet foods like some people. Within a few months, you'll have a hundred or more. I've had mine for ~ 2 months (stared with ~20) and I have at least 50 now.


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## uncskainch (Feb 22, 2005)

Post a message saying you're looking to buy cherry shrimp on the swap-and-shop here -- someone may have some for sale inexpensively, or may be willing to trade you for plants or equipment.

In my experience, they multiple very quickly and without being particularly picky. Keep the tank clean, don't use any foods or medicines that contain copper, use a filter that won't suck up the babies (like a sponge filter, or put a sponge over the intake of your regular filter), and read up on red cherry shrimp in the Planted Tank forums and I think you'll have everything you need for a breeding colony of feeder shrimp before long.


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Done and Done!

Thanks everyone for all the help!!!


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## Suzie Q (Jan 8, 2007)

Just an FYI...I have raised 4 GS babies in my RCS tank...freshwater.

Here is a picture:









Maybe I was just lucky.


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## AxolotlFarmer (Nov 29, 2006)

You dont have to buy salts to breed most ghost shrimp sold at the pet store. Like I said before its more likely they sell the freshwater variety in the USA. But, the young need a lot of microfoods and are more difficult to raise than the necaridina/caridina shrimps. You can find some in the swap and shop sometimes going for a dollar each. If you get a dozen, You will have many soon. I took a single female once and had her a ten gallon to give birth. There are about 30-40 sub adults in there now. Just to give you an idea... A whole lot easier and faster than raising freshwater ghost shrimps. Goodluck, I am sure you can find a good deal here!

suzie, you are luck for the fact some grew to shrimp, if it was brackish shrimp, you would not have that juvinile there. Congratulations! These are not the easiest to raise(unless you have some sort of pond-farm thing) Just be wary when they become adults, they may pick on some of the baby cherries. They are not that agressive, but sometimes they may pick on somebody. They wont hurt an adult, they will only eat another shrimp if it is on its way to the death bed.


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Which would my fish benefit the most from nutritionally?
I already have posted a thread saying I wanted RCS anyway...


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## Suzie Q (Jan 8, 2007)

AxolotlFarmer said:


> suzie, you are luck for the fact some grew to shrimp, if it was brackish shrimp, you would not have that juvinile there. Congratulations! These are not the easiest to raise(unless you have some sort of pond-farm thing) Just be wary when they become adults, they may pick on some of the baby cherries. They are not that agressive, but sometimes they may pick on somebody. They wont hurt an adult, they will only eat another shrimp if it is on its way to the death bed.


I am moving the GS to my communtiy tank in a few more weeks when they are a bit bigger. I know they will eat the cherries. I just wanted to see if I could raise them. I don't plan on breeding them. I want RCS and later CRS.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Rodney, It may be easier to just get or make your own high quality food for your fish. Live food isn't always the best option.

Just something to look into:icon_wink 

-Andrew


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

I never thought of making my own food hmm... well thats a whole new thread.

I have come across a seller and was wondering if 1 cm was big enough to ship, or would it be better to buy more mature shrimp?


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## Mr.ThomasWalls (Feb 11, 2007)

rodney... I will send you 10 shrimp if you pay shipping $5 My R.A.O.K. for the day


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Cool! ...pm sent


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## frozenbarb (Dec 16, 2006)

roud: 

Nice offer


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## bulrush (May 7, 2007)

A 3 inch full-grown ghost shrimp might be too big for some cichlids. So I would go with red cherry shrimp, max size 1 inch. I breed RCS and I have way too many. I have 3 10g tanks full of RCS. 

Get a 10g tank with java moss and a sponge filter and you're all set. I can hold 80-100 RCS per 10g tank with weekly 50% water changes.


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