Is red cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davii) safe for live feeding?

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

So, I have been interested in predatory fish, specially eels, and Im wondering if Necaridina davii, a species of freshwater shrimp, would be a good idea to feed my predatory fish, or it will give thiaminase to my predatory fish.

Of course, before I give it to my predatory fish, the shrimp will be gut loaded to be more nutritious for my moray eel

 

[Conovan]

looks like there is a thread about it here. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/feeding-cherry-shrimp-to-saltwater-fish.322665/

 

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

Thanks for clearing my doubts

 

[ichthyogeek]

Safe in the short term? Yeah. Would I use it as a long term staple? No. I've fed them to a toby puffer before, and it went bananas as long as I only fed one or two at a time in its quarantine tank. Otherwise, they darted into the rockwork and died somewhere in there.

I don't think cherry shrimp are rich in thiaminase like carps and minnows do, but I think there's something about the difference between freshwater and saltwater feeder organisms like protein or lipid construction that prevents freshwater feeders from being an overall good choice long term. IF they're the only thing available and your eel won't eat anything but live yet, they'll work though.

 

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

So, is better other alternative, rigth? This happens as well with ghost shrimp?

 

[ichthyogeek]

So, is better other alternative, rigth? This happens as well with ghost shrimp?

Can you clarify what you're asking?

 

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

That if other freshwater shrimp are better than cherry shrimp and if it also happens with ghost shrimp.
And also if there is an alternative freshwater shrimp that isn't as harmful

 

[ichthyogeek]

Ok, so if I understand this right, the questions are: "Are there any freshwater shrimp that are better than cherry shrimp when it comes to feeding them live", "Is the nutrient disparity between freshwater and saltwater feeder organisms also found in ghost shrimp," and "Are there any non-harmful freshwater shrimp"

In this case:
Freshwater ornamental shrimp are hard to find in the hobby that aren't the obligate Neocaridinas, Caridinas, and Atyopsis. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any shrimp that are "better" than cherry shrimp for live feeding, that aren't already saltwater/brackish shrimp. That being said, to answer your third question, I don't know of any non-harmful freshwater shrimp.

I'm unsure if there's a nutrient disparity in the ghost shrimp. People seem to have been successful feeding them long term to their predator fish, but with the stipulation that the fish get more aggressive due to needing to prey on live feeder organisms. The Palaemonidae family is fairly vast, and so you can buy saltwater, brackish, and freshwater ghost shrimp. I recommend getting the saltwater variant.

 

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

Thanks dude, really helpful for me

 

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

Also, do you know a saltawter or brackish species of ghost shrimp that easily breeds?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Also, do you know a saltawter or brackish species of ghost shrimp that easily breeds?

Seems like most of the feeder shrimp have the same life cycle - they breed, the eggs hatch, the larvae subsist off of something in the water column (phytoplankton?), then metamorphose into juveniles. You could probably have a 10-20 gallon setup with cheap lighting, seed it with phytoplankton and feeder shrimp, feed heavily, and use a sponge filter. Depending on what you get, you might have to feed BBS to get the larvae to metamorphose into juveniles. Could be worth it, could also not be worth it...

 

[Conovan]

Guide to Mysis Shrimp | Beginners Education | The Algae Lab - AlgaeBarn

Mysis shrimp are false shrimp, which are bigger than brine shrimp and are healthier when it comes to frozen food. They can also live in your refugium.

www.algaebarn.com

.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Guide to Mysis Shrimp | Beginners Education | The Algae Lab - AlgaeBarn

Mysis shrimp are false shrimp, which are bigger than brine shrimp and are healthier when it comes to frozen food. They can also live in your refugium.

www.algaebarn.com

.

Except mysis shrimp aren't palaemonid shrimp. We're talking about "ghost shrimp" here....

 

[Conovan]

Except mysis shrimp aren't palaemonid shrimp. We're talking about "ghost shrimp" here....

Sounded like Picasso just wanted to find something they could raise to feed. Just trying to be helpful. Well more sounded like they were trying to find something to do with thier surplus to start with. I used to feed my Cherry's to my Cichlid when my planted tanks started overcrowding.

 

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

So, in a online store I found Urocaridella shrimp and separated as male and female, these shrimp breed or they don't breed? If they breed, how easily they breed?

How the setup of these shrimp needs to be?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Hmmm....those look like Thor and Ancylomenes shrimp. For breeding Thor, you’d need to make a kreisel and feed baby brine shrimp for them. I imagine it’s the same for the Urocaridella, unless somebody’s successfully bred them differently....

 

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

Ok, I will research about it and see how they breed them, just in case

 

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

So, after some research, I have discovered that peppermint shrimp and similar shrimp are the best option for breeding saltwater shrimp, since they breed quite easily, the issue is to take care of the larvae, any experiences taking care of them? How much peppermint shrimp I should buy to get started? How often I feed them?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Depends on how many you plan on raising to adulthood. A good beginner's guide is April Kirkendoll's How to Raise and Train Your Peppermint Shrimp. That will get you off on the right footing. It's slightly out of date, but there aren't that many discrepancies between what it was when it was published vs what the norm is now. Keep in mind that you'd need to heavily farm them in order to get a decent enough output of shrimp to feed to your eel. I'd suggest two pairs (4 shrimp total), and hope that you can get one to molt each week....

This does pique my curiosity though...why are you super interested in breeding shrimp as feeders for your eel(s)? What eels are you planning on keeping? The majority can be trained onto eating frozen foods from a stick....

 

[Picasso the Triggerfish]

Well, Im planning to keep Echidna polyzona, and since I have read out there that they have feeding difficulties in this forum (aka: is more picky than other eels), I want to make sure the eel doesn't starve to death