Shrimp Dinner / Shrimp Snacks

Compared with fish and other aquarium inhabitants, the diet of ornamental shrimps is quite different, especially regarding nutrient intake and digestion.

In nature, shrimps eat all day long. They are almost all the time busy grazing on the biofilm formed by bacteria and tender algae with their bristled claws. In the course of feeding, they wander around the aquarium, constantly taking up a great number of nutrients and fibres. Their digestive tract is perfectly adapted to this way of feeding. The food the shrimp has eaten is incessantly transported through the intestine by wavelike movements of the bowel muscle. In the intestine, most of the food is broken down. Shrimps are not able to store large amounts of food in their cardiac and pyloric stomachs, thus it is crucial for them to keep eating almost constantly.

If shrimp do not find sufficient food to eat their digestive system runs empty very soon, and nutrient intake and digestion, which are so vital for them, are reduced to an insufficient level or even cease entirely. It is easy to see when the intestine along their back line is empty, given that your shirmps are at least somewhat transparent in that area. As a contrast to this, please see the picture on the right. Here the food-filled intestine (in the abdomen) of the shrimp is clearly visible.

Does it make sense to feed sparingly or just from time to time?

Feeding from time to time only or feeding too sparingly is not recommendable for the reasons given above. These feeding methods can soon lead to deficiencies, especially when the shrimps have already eaten all of the natural biofilms on the surfaces in the tank.

Soft food tabs or pellets are usually eaten very quickly, and thus the shrimps take up a huge amount of food in a very short time. However, the majority of this food is not broken down properly as their digestive system is not adapted to this kind of massive feeding. Their body cannot utilize such a large amount of nutrients, at least not at the pace the food passes through the shrimp's intestine. In the worst case, the shrimps do not find enough to eat (or nothing at all anymore) in their tank, which leaves them hungry until the next time they are fed. This can, in turn, lead to elevated stress levels, which makes them more susceptible to noxious germs and bacterial infections.

Which feeding method is good for shrimps?

The appropriate nutrition for shrimps provides them with something to eat not only during feeding time, but practically always. It is important for them to find something to nibble on everywhere in the tank.

Our Shrimp Dinner - Food Line feeding concept provides your shrimps with everything they need. They'll find something to feed on everywhere in their tank, which corresponds exactly with their natural feeding requirements.