Are shrimps a good source of food for fishes?

[godprint]

which shrimps are the cheapest to get??

i'm sorry, but are they good source of food for fishes in the existing tank?

thanks!

[marle]

Malayan are the cheapest.

Depends on what type of fish you keep and the size of your shrimps.

[godprint]

thanks!

i'm thinking if discus would eat them...

i understand the shrimps have certain spikes @ the head which can harm the fish... is it true??

[ShadyFish]

thanks!

i'm thinking if discus would eat them...

Discus? you must be kidding! your shrimps will be be in heaven sooner

[godprint]

okok. will take note.

but are there any side-effects if the discus do eat those shrimps?

[Quixotic]

Ian,

There are no actually restrictions on you to start new threads. I have split out your discussions from the previous thread as the dsicsssion is drifting away from the topic, and this would facilitate better discussion on its own.

Cheers.

[illumnae]

i released a bag of 100 malayan shrimps into my discus planted tank when i first set it up 4 months ago. within a week, i could only spot maybe 10-20 left...by last month, only 2 were left and now, i have none.

i base this on observations made during water change, as it seems that the shrimp love to come out during water change...i might have more hiding, but having less and less come out during the water change does indicate a lower population. there were also no shrimps/shrimplets in the filter as i've maintained it twice since releasing the shrimp in

[godprint]

Ian,

There are no actually restrictions on you to start new threads. I have split out your discussions from the previous thread as the dsicsssion is drifting away from the topic, and this would facilitate better discussion on its own.

Cheers.

thanks! Quixotic.

hee. so you got any advice for shrimps as food for fish?

i released a bag of 100 malayan shrimps into my discus planted tank when i first set it up 4 months ago. within a week, i could only spot maybe 10-20 left...by last month, only 2 were left and now, i have none.

i base this on observations made during water change, as it seems that the shrimp love to come out during water change...i might have more hiding, but having less and less come out during the water change does indicate a lower population. there were also no shrimps/shrimplets in the filter as i've maintained it twice since releasing the shrimp in

. period.

do you think your discus liked them?
how much do they generally cost? is it very cheap?

[benny]

Have you considered brine shrimps to feed your discus instead?

Cheers,

[godprint]

haha i'm doing that...though they are frozen...

now i'm thinking, malayan shrimps and fairy shrimps?

are those malayan shrimps selling for like 2$ for 1 big pack or something?

[globalcookie]

Shrimps are an expensive food source for discus. I think discus are killing them rather than having the shrimps for food (but of course once the shrimps are dead, the discus are eating it too.

I used to feed frozen brines too, but it's so smelly. Besides, my discus doesn't seems to like frozen brines, thus now i'm more into blood worms. Live brines are too expensive to feed (tried $3 worth of brines over 2 meals).

[godprint]

i'm just wondering if it's good source of nutrition.

by putting live malayan shrimps, even though they get eaten up fast... maybe a week or so, but it's worth it,

i'm thinking, (it's a constant supply of food), you don't have to be at home the whole day feeding up to 5 times a week.

makes sense? please advice

[Quixotic]

Please kindly refrain from using SMS lingo and shorforms, like 'u', 'e', 'cos' and so on for the benefit of our members. Some of them may not be using English as the first language, so it can be confusing and difficult to read. Many thanks.

Back to topic, I have little doubt that discus are more than capable of swallowing the shrimps. Remember that shrimps go through moulting, and they are most soft and vunerable at that stage.

I believe some aquarists are also breeding cherry shrimps as a source of food for their fishes. So yes, it can be viable. Don't forget, crustaceans (including shrimps) are also part of the diet of many fishes in the wild.

However, you will still need to feed them other food, because restricting their diets to just a certain type will deprive them of certain nutrition. They are generally omnivores and need a variety of food.