This is a subject that seems simple enough, but when keeping Freshwater Dwarf Shrimp it becomes a rather large issue especially for those new to keeping these animals. In nature the main food for Freshwater Shrimp is bio film along with whatever else happens to fall into the water within reach that is edible thus they will eat most types of fish foods etc. as well as vegetables cooked until soft. I am guessing most reading this already know this though so I will move on.

With water quality being of the utmost importance when keeping freshwater shrimp in the home aquarium having rotting food in the tank at any time is not good and could actually cause a small ammonia spike or other water issues resulting in a slow die off of your shrimp, but when you check the water it seems fine, this is due to the evidence often being gone when you check or not readable with our test kits. Even very small doses of ammonia or Nitrites can kill many hours or days later depending on the extent of damage to the shrimps organs. Believe it or not this unfortunately is one of the most common mistakes and one most of us will make at one time or another in shrimp keeping.

Population naturally plays a large part in this how much you feed, but the symptoms of over feeding are always the same. You feed your shrimp a small amount and it’s gone in ten minutes to a half hour so you feel they could use just a bit more and again they gobble it up. This goes on for several days and all seems fine then you see a dead shrimp. You remove it and check the water and it seems fine… You feed that day and for some reason your shrimp do not seem to care about your offering and only one or two show any excitement about the food at all. Now you also notice that your shrimp are not picking around on the substrate like normal and are just sort of sitting around.

Your shrimp are very likely overfed…

It is natural to feel the urge to give just a little more food to be sure they are getting enough, but shrimp unlike most fish we keep feed mostly on bio film that grows on everything in a well matured tank and in reality the more mature and well established your tank the less you need to feed. In a newly cycled and not yet matured tank you have what amounts to a desert to a shrimp and they will actually need a little more added food to make up for it until the tank has matured, but again take care not to give to much. It is always best to wait at least 30 days or more before adding shrimp to a new tank for their overall health.

I have overfed my shrimp and payed the price by losing shrimp and that is why I take the time to share such information hoping perhaps some reading this will not do the same. Trust me when I say I speak from experience and the worst part for me was I had trouble believing at first that this could actually be the issue and lost more shrimp before it sunk in. Now though I have been keeping shrimp long enough to recognize the pattern as well as symptoms.

I once had Bee Shrimp about a year ago in one of my tanks drag food into the moss and leave it in one tank making me think the food was eaten so I was given them just a little more… If you are at this point in the article you know the rest sadly.

In closing I will add that in my tanks when the shrimp are happy and healthy with the water clean they are always picking around on the substrate and seldom sit still long with the exception of berried females at times. When food is offered sparingly they literally stampede to get their share. Heck I even skip a day now and then and in a well matured tank that is not over populated this is good for them in my opinion and they have plenty to eat. In most shrimp seeing the intestinal tract is not a problem and if it is full to the tail most of the time trust me they are not lacking is available food.

So resist the urge to throw in just one more pellet of food and enjoy your shrimp!

As always I welcome all feedback and questions.