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Invert/ filter feeders Planted Tank

Tom72

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25 Mar 2021
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Leeds
Does anyone have experience of a planted invert tank. I have always liked the idea of a tank with fresh water filter feeders. I have seen on occasion freshwater mussels and clams for sale as well as bamboo shrimp. I am interested in the requirements for keeping these and how to feed them. There really isn’t much info around so maybe the members on here can fill in the details.
 
By all accounts mussels and clams aren’t the easiest thing to keep alive in a fresh water aquarium, however I’ve never given it a go myself so I’m not talking from experience. I believe the main issue is giving them enough food.

Dennerle sell this food for fan shrimp which I’m sure would also be good for other filter folders like the molluscs Shrimp King Atyopsis - Fan Shrimp Food - Pro Shrimp UK

Cheers

Conor
 
I've not explored filter feeders in the freshwater world but have lots of experience with their marine counterparts (mainly through hitchhikers). It is a different environment but it's fairly similar in the fact that you would need very strong filtration to cope with the massive amounts of food you'd need to feed (plus the food would need to be in the specific particle size the animals need) almost constantly. Invariably this is not possible in a normal type aquarium but sceptically, these animals are cheap to harvest and sell for a decent amount so are still traded (specifically bivalves who's live cycle might mean you don't want them anyway).
Can it be done? possibly but not without dedication to their care.

Bamboo and vampire shrimp are apparently fairly easy so they would be something you could definitely try. Micro crabs are another invert but they tend to be cryptic but a community of snails and shrimps add interstellar to an invert planted tank.
 
I’ve currently got 2 bamboo shrimp, have had them about 6 weeks and they’re doing well so far. They need a high flow and once they’ve found the ideal position they’ll stay there. My male even moulted in that position. I don’t target fed them and haven’t seen them scavenging on the substrate so presume they’re getting enough food. They are really lovely to watch and are my favourites in the tank.
 
I’ve currently got 2 bamboo shrimp, have had them about 6 weeks and they’re doing well so far. They need a high flow and once they’ve found the ideal position they’ll stay there. My male even moulted in that position. I don’t target fed them and haven’t seen them scavenging on the substrate so presume they’re getting enough food. They are really lovely to watch and are my favourites in the tank.
Hi.
Do you have crystal clear water and use filter floss? I saw someone recommended not using floss but that kind of goes against keeping your water clean to help prevent algae I thought.
Glad your shrimp are doing well! I’ve been turning the filter off lobbing some shrimp baby food in and churning it up with a power head for half an hour a day. I’ve then been stressing that I’m polluting the tank and still don’t know if the shrimp got any food. 🙄 It sounds like hopefully I can relax a bit and let them get on with it.
Cheers
 
I don’t use filter floss, just 2 types of aquarium sponge in the filter along with the bio balls that came with it. Water is completely clear, although I do have numerous cherry shrimp and 4 amanos in the tank as well so food doesn’t tend to last long!
I think if you can see them fanning and eating, and they’re not looking for food off the bottom, then they should be fine.
 
I read a lot that bamboos foraging not fanning means tgey’re hungry. It might be true, it might just be a different form of feeding. Mine do fan more now than they did but have always appeared well fed judging by the black line of the gut you can see in certain lights. Anyway, I top mine up with baby shrimp food from a turkey baster.
 

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Hi Tom.
I'm in the same position having just bought some Bamboo and Armoured shrimp at the weekend. Here's a good link to some advice on the Planted Tank forum.
That is good info, in particular that bamboos seem to forage substrate until settled in a new tank, rings true. See one of the later posts also has a bivalve keeper’s feeding regime
 
I spoke to the LFS the other day and they just feed them Crab Cuisine, which goes against everything I’ve read but apparently they love it. I might remove the filter floss for a bit anyway and see whether it brings on more algae.
 
I spoke to the LFS the other day and they just feed them Crab Cuisine, which goes against everything I’ve read but apparently they love it. I might remove the filter floss for a bit anyway and see whether it brings on more algae.
I don’t think they are very fussy, in nature they’d catch and eat a lot of varied food I suppose.

I have soft water and some(maybe all) have learned to seek out the cuttle bone pieces and brush the surface with their fans!
 
I have two armoured shrimp and the fan or eat food the fish don't. I tried some frozen cubes the other day, called omega mix I think with blood work in. The shrimp went mad for it, charged the fish out of the way!
 
I have 3 large Bamboo shrimp. And they sit along the bogwood in the flow from the outflow. And they catch whatever food the fish are having in the flow and eat that. I also put a small amount of food just above the ouflow, so that they get a bit extra.
I only see them moving from that spot occasionally.
 
Well I bought 2 bamboo shrimp but one died before I got it home. The remaining one comes out at night, so I pretty much never see it. When I went back to the shop I stupidly bought 2 armoured shrimp on a whim, as they’d run out of bamboo’s. I’ve literally seen glimpses of them about 3 or 4 times in 2 months. 🙄😂 I have a full width spray bar so not a decent flow for them to sit in front of. They just hide day and night. I did have the option to return them but they were too damn fast to catch amongst all the plants and rocks. Either way they’re in the tank and all I can really do food wise is chuck in some Crab Cuisine in the hope they get it before the other critters. Id get more bamboos in the hope that they got braver but don’t want to risk even more big shrimps going into hiding. The bamboo shrimp looked healthy last night though after about 3 months in the tank.
 
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