How much Baby Brine Shrimp Should I Feed??

[FragMan07]

I just bought that Baby Brine Shrimp in a small glass jar from the Dr. Foster's and Smith website. I dabbed the smallest part of a spoon i could find in there and fed it to my tank.

I think much more shrimp than I anticipated was on the tip of that spoon. The 2 clowns were having a 5 minute nonstop eatfest which scared the heck outta me that I fed them too much. They seem healthy now but I'm not chancing overfeeding them again.

Anyone have any ideas how much to feed to the tank? Or at least how to deliver it in the smallest amount possible? The instructions on the package were vague to say the least.

[Sk8r]

Each fish needs to fill its mouth once a day. That's a pretty good rule of thumb. If the food is very high protein, maybe less, but brine shrimp, to my understanding, aren't as nutritious as Cyclopeeze.

Fish, unlike horses, process rapidly: in an abundance of food, they just poo faster, up to satiation.

Unhappily what IS at risk is your water chemistry, if too much goes to waste and overloads your infant sandbed. This is why you want LOTs of bristleworms, to break stuff down before it becomes nastiness and robs your water of oxygen while loading it with nitrate.

Get water tests for: nitrate/ammonia, and for alkalinity, ph, salinity, and temperature. Record these on a sheet of paper every time you test, and note how your tank is responding to feeding.

If you do get an ammonia reading, do a 10% water change and run carbon in the water stream [a ladies nylon can serve as a bag] for the next few days. THen take it out [carbon can start dumping stuff bACk if overcharged]. If your alkalinity strays from 8.3-to9.3 range, consider buffer. Using the piece of paper means you can spot a trend before you get into the danger zone. It's a good lifelong habit. I keep my records in a little book I ask my tanksitter to keep filling out also, and that gives us both a picture of recent events.

[FragMan07]

any ideas on how to feed a minimal amount to the tank??? I thought the tip of the spoon was small enough, I was wrong.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Can you link to the product? I'm having trouble grasping how a tiny dab on the tip of a spoon would be so much. Maybe try a toothpick?

Brine shrimp, on their own, are like popcorn. All filler and no substance - it's not really something you want to be feeding your fish, unless they are fortified.

[reeftanker04]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10515815#post10515815 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FragMan07
any ideas on how to feed a minimal amount to the tank??? I thought the tip of the spoon was small enough, I was wrong.

I usually pour a small amount of brine shrimp into a small cup filled with RO water, then you can dump the whole cup in there. A good rule of thumb is to always under-feed, you can always add more later.

:bum:

[reeftanker04]

ps... Why can't the Mets beat the Braves??? LOL.

[FragMan07]

Fantastic Question Reeftanker.........so pour in a cup of water first?


To the naked eye, how much is too much in the cup???

[mapleredta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10516177#post10516177 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reeftanker04
ps... Why can't the Mets beat the Braves??? LOL. dem GA boys are on fire.:uzi:

[reeftanker04]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10516328#post10516328 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FragMan07
Fantastic Question Reeftanker.........so pour in a cup of water first?


To the naked eye, how much is too much in the cup???

Fill the cup halfway with RO, then put in a dozen or so shrimp into the cup. Dump the cup and you're done!


Peter: Have they ever shown him doing somebody in and then feeding on him?
Brian: You're asking if they've ever done a Sesame Street in which the Count kills somebody and then sucks their blood for sustenance.
Peter: Yeah.
Brian: No, they've never done that.

[FragMan07]

LOL, great line!