Best food for rcs.

[barbarossa4122]

Hi,

I have about 50 to 70 rcs and I would like to find the best food for them. So far I found Azoo Max Growth at $12.99/33gr bag. Do you folks have any suggestions ?

 

[Biollante]

Everything!

Hi,

Cherry Red Shrimp eat anything and everything!

The are principally algae eaters, so food for algae eaters is good, the vegetarian flake foods work well but so do regular flake food, especially those with high vegetable content.

Blanched or par-boiled vegetables are great, zucchini, spinach, romaine and so forth.

Bloodworm as a treat.

They really will eat just about anything...

They do best when allowed to graze for a couple of hours.

Biollante

 

[barbarossa4122]

Hi,

Cherry Red Shrimp eat anything and everything!

The are principally algae eaters, so food for algae eaters is good, the vegetarian flake foods work well but so do regular flake food, especially those with high vegetable content.

Blanched or par-boiled vegetables are great, zucchini, spinach, romaine and so forth.

Bloodworm as a treat.

They really will eat just about anything...

They do best when allowed to graze for a couple of hours.

Biollante

Thanks Bio. It looks like I don't have to feed them that expensive food all the time.

 

[pepetj]

I feed mine mostly with Spirulina 20. They reproduce like rabbits. I see no need to feed them special food.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

 

[barbarossa4122]

I feed mine mostly with Spirulina 20. They reproduce like rabbits. I see no need to feed them special food.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

I guess. My wife agrees with you........no need for "special" foods. Thanks Pepetj

 

[Tug]

It's all good.

Hi all,
I hope everyone was able to enjoy their Thanksgiving Day. I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said. Everything I've fed to my Cichlids, e.g. flake food, frozen blood worms, etc. I have seen RCS eat too. They also like the Spirulina and Brine shrimp sticks from AES, http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/629/Spirulina-Sticks-1-lb. Both of those products are very good if you have other bottom feeders to feed. Cherry Red Shrimp really are great little survivors and should not require a lot of pampering.

 

[over_stocked]

LIke your fish, variety is key. Zucchini slices, deshelled peas, etc are the best supplements to quality algae pellets and such.

 

[barbarossa4122]

Thanks guys. Now, I've heard that Ottos will die after they finished eating the diatoms in the tank. Is this true ? If it's not true should I feed them algae wafers ? I have about 20 Ottos in two tanks.

 

[Ekrindul]

Ottos will eat algae wafers if there aren't any large competitors to scare them away. Since algae wafers generally contain some meat, most fish will snack on them and drive the ottos away. Veggies work well--zucchini, romaine lettuce, brussel sprouts. I prefer the romaine lettuce and sprouts as they are less messy. Since I have both SAEs and ottos, I cut the sprouts up and put pieces in different spots in the tank, otherwise the SAE will be stingy with it.

 

[barbarossa4122]

Ottos will eat algae wafers if there aren't any large competitors to scare them away. Since algae wafers generally contain some meat, most fish will snack on them and drive the ottos away. Veggies work well--zucchini, romaine lettuce, brussel sprouts. I prefer the romaine lettuce and sprouts as they are less messy. Since I have both SAEs and ottos, I cut the sprouts up and put pieces in different spots in the tank, otherwise the SAE will be stingy with it.

Hi Ekrindul,

I have fancy goldies in the tanks with the Ottos but, my wife found a couple of spots where she can put the zucchini and the algae wafers for the Ottos. Lol, darn goldies they know the food is there but, they can't get to it. Fun to watch.
I'll get some romaine lettuce and sprouts tomorrow.

 

[Tug]

Otos love lima beans

Hi barbarossa,
I have to admit, I want to try and raise goldies at some point but I have no experience in feeding them. I did not know they were bottom feeders or for that mater that Otos could share the same tank. It does make sense to keep the goldfish away from your Oto's food, good idea. You can also feed the Otos at night to keep the competition away. My Otos feed at night mostly.

Personally, I find zucchini is too much work. It floats and I always end up having to remove it the next day or so. I worry it will pollute the fish tank if left in too long. What I find to be much easier then zucchini are frozen lima beans. If you thaw some frozen lima beans and remove the outer skin, they will be gone the next day. My Otos have gone for almost two years on nothing but spirulina sticks and lima beans thrown into the tank just before lights out.

 

[Tug]

Along with the aforementioned zucchini, brussel sprouts and lima beans, many common fruits and vegetables make excellent supplemental foods. Bean sprouts, yellow squash, peas, carrots, green beans, pumpkin, turnip greens, kale, spinach, romaine, oranges, apples, grapes and bananas, can all be fed to fish. A little experimentation is in order to find out what a particular fish will and won't eat. Like I said, Otos love lima beans.

 

[barbarossa4122]

Thanks Tug.
My wife fed them last night and she watched them every 10 minutes or so with a flashlight and they were eating lettuce and Hikary algae wafers she "strategically" placed in the tanks. Lol, the goldies were sleeping in a corner and did not have a clue the feast was on.
Goldies are trouble especially in a planted tank but, mine are behaving lately. I feed mine Mazury gel food mixed with Gerber veggies and blood worms as a treat 2 times/week. But, they'll eat anything, like pigs and always hungry looking for food. Btw, I thought they were going to eat the Ottos but, they didn't.

 

[barbarossa4122]

Hi,

My rcs colony is getting bigger and bigger. My wife counted about 112 this morning which means I have about 150 in a 10g moderate to heavy planted tank. I know rcs bio load is not that big of a problem but, really, how many can I have without getting into trouble. The other fauna in this tank is 4 harlequins, 3 neon tetras and one yellow glo fish(had 2 but one managed to jumped out of the tank somehow.........strange, we found it on the carpet.).

 

[Biollante]

Or Why You Should Never Pay More Than 59 Cents For Shrimp...

Hi,

My rcs colony is getting bigger and bigger. My wife counted about 112 this morning which means I have about 150 in a 10g moderate to heavy planted tank. I know rcs bio load is not that big of a problem but, really, how many can I have without getting into trouble. The other fauna in this tank is 4 harlequins, 3 neon tetras and one yellow glo fish(had 2 but one managed to jumped out of the tank somehow.........strange, we found it on the carpet.).

Hi,

If you weren't such a brat I would tell you that from a bio-load point of view, most shrimp, certainly RCS, are self-limiting, they are the first to feel (show) the effects of poor water quality, lack of food, big scary fish and so on... Rather like snails they adjust their numbers to conditions.

With a little effort you can keep amazing numbers...

Too bad you are such a brat or I would tell you this stuff.

Biollante

 

[barbarossa4122]

Hi,

If you weren't such a brat I would tell you that from a bio-load point of view, most shrimp, certainly RCS, are self-limiting, they are the first to feel (show) the effects of poor water quality, lack of food, big scary fish and so on... Rather like snails they adjust their numbers to conditions.

With a little effort you can keep amazing numbers...

Too bad you are such a brat or I would tell you this stuff.

Biollante

Am I a brat ? (spoiled child syndrome) Anyway, I think the water quality is good right now since my wife changes 70% of the water once a week (her tank) and I am running an xp2 on this tank. Filter gets cleaned every 2 months. Lol, I told her to feed the goldies with the "extra" rcs but I know she will not be able to do it. Oh well, we will see what happens 3 months from now.

 

[Biollante]

Just Think... You Might Be Able To Afford To Have A Drunk Driver Run Into You!

Hi,

No you are not a brat, well that I know of, my bad...

It doesn't hurt to harvest a third or half the shrimp once in a while... Sell them, feed them to something, trade for other shrimp so your lines don't get too inbred.:gw

Of course with RCS people pay outrageous amounts of money for ridiculously inbred Bumblebee shrimp.

I have seen people pay US$1.50, 3.00 and one lady, Tom Barr had a big fight with, paid US$30.00 for an inbred Bumblebee shrimp, someone must have seen her coming from a long way off.:gw

If you, or your better half were to pick out particularly robust and colorful examples and set them up in alternate containers, continue the process and maybe you can get someone to pay you US$3.00 for one of those 59 cent shrimp.

Sell a $3.00 shrimp to someone with more money than brains once a week and you can pay for your fertz and maybe a little fish food.

Sell 704 of your 59 cent shrimp, for 59 cents and you can afford to pay your Mayor so you can be in an auto accident! Well as long as you aren't injured! And of course you don't pay taxes on the money!

Biollante

 

[barbarossa4122]

Hi,

No you are not a brat, well that I know of, my bad...

It doesn't hurt to harvest a third or half the shrimp once in a while... Sell them, feed them to something, trade for other shrimp so your lines don't get too inbred.:gw

Of course with RCS people pay outrageous amounts of money for ridiculously inbred Bumblebee shrimp.

I have seen people pay US$1.50, 3.00 and one lady, Tom Barr had a big fight with, paid US$30.00 for an inbred Bumblebee shrimp, someone must have seen her coming from a long way off.:gw

If you, or your better half were to pick out particularly robust and colorful examples and set them up in alternate containers, continue the process and maybe you can get someone to pay you US$3.00 for one of those 59 cent shrimp.

Sell a $3.00 shrimp to someone with more money than brains once a week and you can pay for your fertz and maybe a little fish food.

Sell 704 of your 59 cent shrimp, for 59 cents and you can afford to pay your Mayor so you can be in an auto accident! Well as long as you aren't injured! And of course you don't pay taxes on the money!

Biollante

Lol! Lol! Lol! That's why I like you Bio.
My "mayor' well, he............
Knowing me, I'll most likely give away the extra rcs as raok. Lol, I can't even sell the extra DTPA I have (18.00/lb shipped).

Oh, almost forgot, the mayor is busy shoveling the snow this morning. Big blizzard here, the whole city is at a stand still.