live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|brandon|
I bought some freshwater ghost shrimp from a pet store yesterday, put some in a freshwater holding tank, and the rest in a container to acclimate them to salt. That process seemed a success, And the octo. really enjoyed them. I've heard that freshwater parasites cannot survive in saltwater, which makes them sound like an ideal mainstay in my bimac's diet. Although I wonder, the shrimp being freshwater, do you think these provide necissary nutrients to the bimac? In addition the the shrimp, I will give him occasional squid and crab meat (plus I'm gonna try to work out a deal with my local sushi bar for a bit of fresh abalone, tuna, etc. ). For the shrimp, I've considered getting some of that liquid reef vitamin-trace element stuff and taking a couple of shrimp out and putting them in a high concentration of reef vitamin stuff in a cup for about 1 minute before feeding to bimac. I figure that's long enough for the nutrients to enter shrimp's blood stream. Does this sound like a good idea to you guys? Do you think there is any danger in it? Or do you think maybe I better not risk some sort of "vitamin overdose"?
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|jill|
Brandon,
I think that its a great idea to increase the nutrients in you shrimp, but keep in mind that nutrients will not diffuse through the exoskeleton. In our lab, we feed our shrimp either thinnly shaved frozen food (squid, fish..) or we use a frozen copepod called cyclop-eze. The manufactured product is a bit expensive, but you may be intereted. It is much easier to grate some frozen food.
Hope it helps.
Jill
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|louis_z|
If thats the case Jill then adding a liquid vitamin to a frozen mix might help. I know this may not translate but I did feed my Freshwater Discus on a homemade frozen mix based upon the recommendation of the Discus breeder Jack Wattley. I think any homemade mix may help and as for ingredients they can vary with whatever you choose. May be add some codliver oil, shrimp, nori, salmon, liquid vitamin etc. This would be a probably a cheaper way to enrich these shrimp although a little messy. I used a blender to grind up small and package in ziplock bags and keep frozen. I would do enough for several months and repeat. Now about those shrimp would they successfully spawn in saltwater or freshwater? Worth a try in observing some in both environments. Thanks Louis Z.
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|octomonkey|
Hi,
yeah, i used to make my own "special" mix of food for my freshwaters. Using stuff like beefheart, spinnache and bloodworm etc... I just CAN imagine the MESS this would make in an octopus tank though! Shame we couldnt feed the octopus this stuff directly...
As for feeding to river shrimps...might be easier to simply rotate foodstuffs... EG feed something different everytime the shrimp are fed. One of the best foods is deffinetly fish flake, it is packed with all the right vitamins etc for fish, so would be a good starting point.
maybe use fish meat as a better way to soak up vitamin dips?
But, if fresh food is given AND a variety is given, you shouldn't need to dose extra vitamins in the first place to an octopus. I do understand how difficult this can be tho. Its not always easy to get the right foods for them.
Ghost shrimp, depending on species, will spawn in freshwater. The larvae emerge larger than their saltwater cousins and have been reared in captivity on ocassion.
How much is a ghost shrimp anyway where you are? Is this not expensive?
C
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|brandon|
Ghost shrimp are cheap here(Memphis, TN). I can get 12 for 2 dollars. They range in size from 1/3 to 3/4 inch. About 25% of ramdomly picked shrimp are carrying eggs, although I haven't seen any babies yet.
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|louis_z|
That $2 will add up over time. I used to get 10 for a $1 way back. As for babies you might have to set up a different tank with a box breeder where the shrimp larvae drop away from the adults so they wont cannibalize the larvae. They probably will have to be fed rotifers initially or copepods as they go thru weeks of larval stages. And you would need live microalgae cultures or algal pastes to feed the rotifers and copepods. Money up front initially yet once started you would probably come out cheaper in the long run if you dont mind culturing (it doesnt take much time).
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|brandon|
after trying different foods in the past month, my octopus "crushinator" prefers scallop to anything else. I put them in the freezer, cut off a small piece and thaw it out, then feed to him directly.
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|schmunkel98|
You could also try raising freshwater Mollies in a 10 gallon as a potential food source. I'm going to give this a shot for my upcoming cuttlefish tank.
Mike
www.schmunkel.0catch.com
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|brandon|
Cool, you know, you can have a little salinity with those mollies, added gradualy. I think they can handle up to 1.020, maybe higher. That will lessen the shock when you put them in with the cuttle, could make watching him eat a little more exciting, if thet aren't in complete shock. Just curious, what gallon tank for cuttle, what species, and are you getting the cuttle form a website?
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|octomonkey|
Re- mollies.......
mollies can withstand full sea water (0.126) and some marine keepers even use them for maturing a marine tank. I used them for my cuttles before they got too big too.
C
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|tgrupert|
this is one of those great aquarium falicies. If you could find FW GS they would cost about two dollars each. SW GS can survive in fresh water for a whiule, and they can also survive in brackish water. Almost all GS are the SW variety even if they are living in FW. they mack a great SW food because they have been in a FW dip for a long time. You may be able to find them very cheap at bait shops. Also if you want to raise their young you will need plants for the eggs to be deposited on, allso try to get nasty green watr. you won't need filtration for the babies.
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|thisisart|
Although I do not have a Bimac, I do have a saltwater stonefish (named Charybdis - he is a monster!) that I feed with ghost Shrimp and common feeder guppies and goldfish. He has grown tired of the fish and seems to prefer the shrimp overall. I have set up a seperate tank for my feeders, which is a 30 gallon brackish and divided into two halves (one being larger than the other) with a very fine mesh from old hosiery. Quite often we will get either fish or shrimp that are preggers, and we keep them to one side of the hose until the eggs are laid or little fishy babies appear. Then the youngins stay on that side until they are big enough to join the rest of the crew. I have been able to preserve a high percentage of the babies that way, which saves on $ and trips to the fish store.
I bought some freshwater ghost shrimp from a pet store yesterday, put some in a freshwater holding tank, and the rest in a container to acclimate them to salt. That process seemed a success, And the octo. really enjoyed them. I've heard that freshwater parasites cannot survive in saltwater, which makes them sound like an ideal mainstay in my bimac's diet. Although I wonder, the shrimp being freshwater, do you think these provide necissary nutrients to the bimac? In addition the the shrimp, I will give him occasional squid and crab meat (plus I'm gonna try to work out a deal with my local sushi bar for a bit of fresh abalone, tuna, etc. ). For the shrimp, I've considered getting some of that liquid reef vitamin-trace element stuff and taking a couple of shrimp out and putting them in a high concentration of reef vitamin stuff in a cup for about 1 minute before feeding to bimac. I figure that's long enough for the nutrients to enter shrimp's blood stream. Does this sound like a good idea to you guys? Do you think there is any danger in it? Or do you think maybe I better not risk some sort of "vitamin overdose"?
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|jill|
Brandon,
I think that its a great idea to increase the nutrients in you shrimp, but keep in mind that nutrients will not diffuse through the exoskeleton. In our lab, we feed our shrimp either thinnly shaved frozen food (squid, fish..) or we use a frozen copepod called cyclop-eze. The manufactured product is a bit expensive, but you may be intereted. It is much easier to grate some frozen food.
Hope it helps.
Jill
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|louis_z|
If thats the case Jill then adding a liquid vitamin to a frozen mix might help. I know this may not translate but I did feed my Freshwater Discus on a homemade frozen mix based upon the recommendation of the Discus breeder Jack Wattley. I think any homemade mix may help and as for ingredients they can vary with whatever you choose. May be add some codliver oil, shrimp, nori, salmon, liquid vitamin etc. This would be a probably a cheaper way to enrich these shrimp although a little messy. I used a blender to grind up small and package in ziplock bags and keep frozen. I would do enough for several months and repeat. Now about those shrimp would they successfully spawn in saltwater or freshwater? Worth a try in observing some in both environments. Thanks Louis Z.
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|octomonkey|
Hi,
yeah, i used to make my own "special" mix of food for my freshwaters. Using stuff like beefheart, spinnache and bloodworm etc... I just CAN imagine the MESS this would make in an octopus tank though! Shame we couldnt feed the octopus this stuff directly...
As for feeding to river shrimps...might be easier to simply rotate foodstuffs... EG feed something different everytime the shrimp are fed. One of the best foods is deffinetly fish flake, it is packed with all the right vitamins etc for fish, so would be a good starting point.
maybe use fish meat as a better way to soak up vitamin dips?
But, if fresh food is given AND a variety is given, you shouldn't need to dose extra vitamins in the first place to an octopus. I do understand how difficult this can be tho. Its not always easy to get the right foods for them.
Ghost shrimp, depending on species, will spawn in freshwater. The larvae emerge larger than their saltwater cousins and have been reared in captivity on ocassion.
How much is a ghost shrimp anyway where you are? Is this not expensive?
C
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|brandon|
Ghost shrimp are cheap here(Memphis, TN). I can get 12 for 2 dollars. They range in size from 1/3 to 3/4 inch. About 25% of ramdomly picked shrimp are carrying eggs, although I haven't seen any babies yet.
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|louis_z|
That $2 will add up over time. I used to get 10 for a $1 way back. As for babies you might have to set up a different tank with a box breeder where the shrimp larvae drop away from the adults so they wont cannibalize the larvae. They probably will have to be fed rotifers initially or copepods as they go thru weeks of larval stages. And you would need live microalgae cultures or algal pastes to feed the rotifers and copepods. Money up front initially yet once started you would probably come out cheaper in the long run if you dont mind culturing (it doesnt take much time).
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|brandon|
after trying different foods in the past month, my octopus "crushinator" prefers scallop to anything else. I put them in the freezer, cut off a small piece and thaw it out, then feed to him directly.
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|schmunkel98|
You could also try raising freshwater Mollies in a 10 gallon as a potential food source. I'm going to give this a shot for my upcoming cuttlefish tank.
Mike
www.schmunkel.0catch.com
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|brandon|
Cool, you know, you can have a little salinity with those mollies, added gradualy. I think they can handle up to 1.020, maybe higher. That will lessen the shock when you put them in with the cuttle, could make watching him eat a little more exciting, if thet aren't in complete shock. Just curious, what gallon tank for cuttle, what species, and are you getting the cuttle form a website?
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|octomonkey|
Re- mollies.......
mollies can withstand full sea water (0.126) and some marine keepers even use them for maturing a marine tank. I used them for my cuttles before they got too big too.
C
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|tgrupert|
this is one of those great aquarium falicies. If you could find FW GS they would cost about two dollars each. SW GS can survive in fresh water for a whiule, and they can also survive in brackish water. Almost all GS are the SW variety even if they are living in FW. they mack a great SW food because they have been in a FW dip for a long time. You may be able to find them very cheap at bait shops. Also if you want to raise their young you will need plants for the eggs to be deposited on, allso try to get nasty green watr. you won't need filtration for the babies.
Re: live "ghost" shrimp as bimac food?|thisisart|
Although I do not have a Bimac, I do have a saltwater stonefish (named Charybdis - he is a monster!) that I feed with ghost Shrimp and common feeder guppies and goldfish. He has grown tired of the fish and seems to prefer the shrimp overall. I have set up a seperate tank for my feeders, which is a 30 gallon brackish and divided into two halves (one being larger than the other) with a very fine mesh from old hosiery. Quite often we will get either fish or shrimp that are preggers, and we keep them to one side of the hose until the eggs are laid or little fishy babies appear. Then the youngins stay on that side until they are big enough to join the rest of the crew. I have been able to preserve a high percentage of the babies that way, which saves on $ and trips to the fish store.
