feeding question

[archon]

Alright i got my percs and i didnt have any brine shrimp so i fed em pellet. they didnt really look too happy about the pellet and it took em a few days to eat it. so i bought some brine shrimp eggs and hatched them. they are extremely small... but i feed them to the percs anyways. my question is are they really getting enough food from such a small thing or do they prefer bigger brine shrimp? right now i feed the brine shrimp then i feed them a little pellet so they dont starve. also if you raise your own brine shrimp and have any suggestions please tell. thanks!

 

[thomas712]

I would suggest a good flake food, frozen mysis shrimp or other fare for carnivors. They can be picky sometimes so you'll have to experiment.
I do not recommend pellet foods, I feel that they may choke on them. Fine for cleanup crews though.
Fresh hatched brine would be good as well, but stay away from frozen or even freeze dried as it really isn't very nutritious. Hatched them before but didn't like the mess so I haven't done it in a long time.
Thomas

 

[thomas712]

Originally posted by archon
so even though the freshly hatched brine shrimp are extremely small they get something out of it?
Of course they do, fresh hatched is great, after that they are not very good though. Its like feeding them cyclops-eeze really tiny decopod copopods.
Thomas

 

[debnflo]

Brine shrimp tend to be a lot lacking in the total nutritional package so it is best to mix them with other forms of food. You can also put 1/2lb raw shrimp and 1/4lb squid in the food processor with a squirt of fish multivitamins then freeze it in a ball. Just grate it into tank water to serve.
It is nice to have a little variety in the diet that way they don't get bored and neither do you...

 

[archon]

so even though the freshly hatched brine shrimp are extremely small they get something out of it?