# whats the best food for shrimp?



## darkfury18 (Apr 1, 2006)

The green leaf you see is probably boiled spinach, but they will eat pretty much anything.


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## eklikewhoa (Aug 29, 2006)

I feed my RCS omega veggie wafers/NLS h20 and Omega shrimp pellets.


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## crazie.eddie (May 31, 2004)

I also feed my RCS Omega shrimp pellets, Omega algae discs. I also feed them Ra1n-'s shrimp biscuits, Frozen blood worms, hikari sinking carnivore pellets, blanched zuchini, frozen peas (skinned), Omega algae flakes, & Omega fish flakes.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

darkfury18 said:


> The green leaf you see is probably boiled spinach, but they will eat pretty much anything.


Let me correct you on that, Its most likely BLANCHED spinach... When you boil the spinach most of the good stuff is lost. Blanching the spinach keeps more good vitamins minerals and other things in it. I feed my shrimp veggies and rain-'s biscuits along with whatever flakes (NO COPPER) are around.

I'm in the process of making spinach flakes, results are pretty good so far. They just turn to mush too fast... But the shrimp still love it!

So If you want to try making your own food!

-Andrew


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## <Frawg> (Nov 26, 2006)

I'm doing some research - I only seem to see the Omega One Veggie Wafers in 3 lb containers?!? 

Questions - 1) does it need to be refrigerated? 2) Is it available in any smaller containers (I'm starting with two nano tanks!).

Thank you all,

Scott
Sanford, Maine


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## Brilliant (Apr 11, 2006)

I feed all of my shrimp Rain-'s Shrimp Biscuits

They all go nuts for it. Plecos enjoy it also.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

i toss in small amounts of raw spinach sometimes, crs gobble it up, dunno why you'd bother to cook it first?


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

blanching it makes it softer and its more ready to eat. Shrimps tend to leave harder stuff. And I guess blanched spinach leaches aroma more better.

If raw is working for you then I guess it might be fine.


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## toddnbecka (Sep 4, 2006)

> I'm doing some research - I only seem to see the Omega One Veggie Wafers in 3 lb containers?!?


You don't have to use wafers, I feed my shrimp spirulina-based veggie flakes. They're usually available in small containers, but I buy a 1-pound bag and store most of it in the freezer. I spend about as much for a 6-8 month supply as one or two small cans that way. I also have numerous fish that eat the veggie flakes regularly, not a nano tank or two with only shrimp to feed.


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

I find making your own is best. You have control as to what goes in it and it's pretty easy to make. Besides all those other foods people have mentioned, Hikari Crab Cuisine is great to feed shrimp with. They love that stuff, I know mine do.  

Also, Omega One Veggie rounds comes in smaller containers too. Check out Dr. Foster and Smith. I'd like to know where you found the Omega One Veggie Rounds in 3 lbs quantity? I'd love to get that amount!!


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## <Frawg> (Nov 26, 2006)

Omega Veggie Rounds 3 lb Bulk Economy Size - Aquar Food Algae and Spirulina at Arcata Pet Supplies


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## ~T~ (Dec 18, 2006)

Is the shrimp buscuit recipe about here somewhere?

Also is Hikiri "Crab Cuisine" any good?


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## Burks (May 21, 2006)

I just freeze my spinach and toss it in the tank raw. The freezing destroys some of the structural cells which makes the spinach easy to tear and eat. No need to boil, defrost, etc. Shrimp love it.

I also feed sweet potatoes, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, Hikari Algae Wafers, and Omega One Shrimp Pellets.

Will be ordering some algae wafers from Ken's Fish soon to try those out. They are pretty darn cheap.


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## T_om (Sep 2, 2004)

Different shrimp, different diets.

I feed all my breeding tanks of Cherry Shrimp with regular old Omega 1 Tropical Fish Flakes. They grow fast and color up nicely.

Tom


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## crazie.eddie (May 31, 2004)

Brilliant said:


> I feed all of my shrimp Rain-'s Shrimp Biscuits
> 
> They all go nuts for it. Plecos enjoy it also.


Oops. I forgot to include that in my previous post. I use Rain-s biscuits as well.


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

~T~ said:


> Is the shrimp buscuit recipe about here somewhere?
> 
> Also is Hikiri "Crab Cuisine" any good?



Yes. my shrimp love Hikari Crab Cuisine!  As far as shrimp buscuit recipes and such, there is a thread here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/s...-added.html?highlight=homemade+shrimp+cookies

It's a general recipe. You basically add what you want, or more like what your shrimp enjoy eating. I have found that using a dehydrator is better, but if you don't have one, just use your oven . Not hard to make at all.  

Thanks Frawg for the link!  Sure do save buying in bulk! Especially on that item.


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## ~T~ (Dec 18, 2006)

Thanks, i'll have a stab at making some buscuits.I'll also get a pack of crab cuisine as my girlfriend has informed me shes got me a land hermit crab as part of my valentines day gifts


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## 415w203 (Oct 31, 2006)

i seriously need to find something new. my crs are anorexic. 

blanched spinach, nope, crab cuisine, nope, algae waffers nope. got some hikari crs food on order. hopefully that will work. 

they seem to just like to pick at piece of crap all over the subsrtate than anything i put in.


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

I don't know what the best types of foods are but I do know that some of the homemade foods I have gotten from fellow hobbyist are my shrimps' favorites!


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## TAF CAF (Jan 12, 2006)

The important part is to keep an eye on foods that contain copper. Copper can be deadly to shrimp. Some fish foods and crab foods can contain copper... I see it almost always in Cichlid foods... (Maybe they need the copper for some reason?). With that in mind, I never use water from my cichlid tanks for my shrimp tanks (since copper may be built up in the water).

I use bags of chopped frozen spinach, and just grab a few leafs out of the freezer for a special treat for my shrimp and fish and plecos a couple times a month. But I just found out from Dave Schieltz that you should only feed spinach to plecos a couple times a month. They love it, but it has something in it that can give them kidney stones. Wild, huh?

My shrimpies like the biscuits I made, but mine either don't sink right away and look nice, or sink quickly and look like dried cat poo! So I think I will just stick with Rain's.

In any case, my shrimp also love fish flakes, shrimp pellets (little canibals), algae waffers, veggie rounds, and go nuts trying to catch micro-worms. I think it is best to have a varied diet, but mine like pretty much anything I put in there.

(I have cherries, crystals, amanos, and a couple ghost.)


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

macclellan said:


> i toss in small amounts of raw spinach sometimes, crs gobble it up, dunno why you'd bother to cook it first?


Well I cook it to kill anything nasty on it and clean it off. Also it breaks it down a little bit and makes it release its aroma into the water faster. And looks better:icon_roll 



TAF CAF said:


> T
> 
> I use bags of chopped frozen spinach, and just grab a few leafs out of the freezer for a special treat for my shrimp and fish and plecos a couple times a month. But I just found out from Dave Schieltz that you should only feed spinach to plecos a couple times a month. They love it, but it has something in it that can give them kidney stones. Wild, huh?


Thats excellent to know! I've been in the process of making spinach flakes and maybe I'll move to something else:eek5: !

-Andrew

Oh and thanks for the omega veggie rounds 1lb link, that could be nice to have if i stop making my own stuff!


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## TAF CAF (Jan 12, 2006)

I just made some bicuits... I put in about 10% spinach... the other main ingredients were organic pumpkin and garbanzo beans... and of course all kinds of good powdered ingredients (including soy flour, green bean flower, rice powder, etc......). The shrimp LOVE it, but have to fight the snails for a taste.

The only problem, is they mostly look like dried cat poo (maybe because of the pumpkin).

Do you dehydrate the spinach into flakes? Sounds really interesting for a bi-weekly treat. Do they sink or float?


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

TAF CAF said:


> Do you dehydrate the spinach into flakes? Sounds really interesting for a bi-weekly treat. Do they sink or float?


Yes I dehydrate them, They tend to float for a while and eventually sink... I would recomend weighing them down with a veggie clip or a weight. Snails and Shrimp go crazy for them once they get all saturated with water. Its really easy and convient too! Hopefully sooner or later I'll have them for sale. I have about 3 quarts I believe right now in the freezer keeping them nice and fresh. I need to split it all up and package them then they'll be in the swap n shop section. I feeze them because they tend to somehow get moisture in the bag and stuff so they get a bit "soggy" I guess you could say. The first batch I didn't really Dehydrate long enough so they're a bit soft.

So yeah they are really nice to have and they don't really smell once dried out so thats another plus (spinach STINKS!). I'm also probably going to try dehydrating some other things sooner or later... I have "winter break" coming up soon so I'll have some time then.

Cooking for shrimp is so fun.. Especially when you tell you friends what you're making:eek5: .

-Andrew


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## Bliasuk (Aug 12, 2010)

Over the years i have tried many different foods, Benibachi, EbitaBreed etc etc but about 9 months ago i was introduced to a food nicknamed 'Chromatics'. Its privately made by a breeder in the UK who was fed up with all the commercial brands adding a load of crap into foods to bulk it up, so he developed his own.

Its not the cheapest food, about $10 but all the ingredients are carefully sourced with a lot of thought gone into what the food should be doing. Its a complete food providing everything a shrimp needs, including proteins (not always found in foods).

Its only available privately so if anyone fancies trying some then send me a message and i'll forward on his contact details. He does have a Shrimp Store thats soon to open but the website is clearly still under development.


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## ch3fb0yrdee (Oct 2, 2008)

Bliasuk said:


> Over the years i have tried many different foods, Benibachi, EbitaBreed etc etc but about 9 months ago i was introduced to a food nicknamed 'Chromatics'. Its privately made by a breeder in the UK who was fed up with all the commercial brands adding a load of crap into foods to bulk it up, so he developed his own.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





This is a very outdated post (last response was 2007). I assume you'll be carrying this product or advertising as you're targeting a very old post. Try aiming at ShrimpSpot. It has a lot of vendors and products people are pushing there. 

Good luck! [emoji3]


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## DayOlder (Jul 12, 2014)

My Neos prefer Snowflake & Barley pellets.


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## Ebi-san (Jul 16, 2014)

Same here, my shrimps love them snowflakes.


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## Bliasuk (Aug 12, 2010)

No, actually :/

Just came across the thread via a google search.

The snow flake food is just skin from beans, they hold no nutritional value


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

Bliasuk said:


> No, actually :/
> 
> Just came across the thread via a google search.
> 
> The snow flake food is just skin from beans, they hold no nutritional value



yes its soy bean husks, nothing most of us already didnt know. but obviously you didnt finish your reseach. what happens is bacteria/biofilm/biofauna populate/grow on the husks and this is what the shrimp consume.

this is one of these best products you can use. not only does it provide an amazing surface for the shrimps favorite food but also doesnt pollute your water.
:thumbsup:


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