What to feed shrimp, and why it is easy to overfeed them

In a tank with moss and plants, shrimp find food on their own almost all the time: they pick at algae film, biofilm and leftovers. So the main mistake is not hunger but overfeeding. Excess food rots, spoils the water, and shrimp start dying. First, how much to feed, then what.

How much to feed

The rule is simple: as much as the shrimp eat in 1–2 hours. For a group of 10–20 Neocaridina that is a piece of food the size of a pea, or one tablet for several days. Adult shrimp in an established tank are fine with feeding once every 1–2 days, and one fasting day a week is useful. Anything left after a couple of hours is best removed.

If the shrimp don't rush to the food, it doesn't mean they are ill. Most likely they are simply full.

The base of the diet

A dedicated shrimp food: tablets, granules or paste. It sinks, doesn't cloud the water and contains what they need for moulting: calcium and minerals. We sell a paste food for shrimp and snails and spirulina tablets: a tablet lies on the bottom, the shrimp gather around it, and you see at once whether everyone is eating.

Plant food

Shrimp happily eat blanched vegetables: courgette, spinach, nettle, dandelion leaves (not from the roadside). Leave a piece for a few hours and remove it. Another good option is dry oak, beech or Indian almond leaves: they break down slowly and grow a biofilm that shrimp graze on all the time.

Protein

Once a week you can give a little protein food, for example microworms. This is especially useful for berried females and growing young. Give bloodworms and other large foods carefully and in small amounts: leftovers spoil the water quickly.

Baby shrimp

You don't need to feed baby shrimp separately. They eat the same as the adults, plus the biofilm on the moss. If you want to help, a powder food or a crushed tablet will do, but only a very little.

Going on holiday

Shrimp in an established tank with plants easily survive a week to a week and a half without feeding. Automatic feeders and "holiday" food blocks do more harm than good in a shrimp tank: they spoil the water as they dissolve. Better to feed as usual before you leave and ask that nobody adds anything.