Which shrimps are eating the plants?

[hoolagal]

I have a 15 gallon shrimp tank that initially had just red cherry shrimp. After about a year I added crystal reds, tiger shrimp (black and clear) and rudolph red nosed shrimp. Since the addition of the three other shrimp, I have very few plants left, just some java moss and some other moss (not sure what kind). I do not see the shrimps eating or even on the plants. I have googled and read up on the three different shrimp and none are described as plant eaters. I want the plant eaters gone :O) Anyone with any idea which type of shrimp is eating the plants?

[Ursus sapien]

none of the shrimp you named have chops capable of seriously damaging healthy plant tissue. Something else is doing in the plants; the shrimp are just cleaning up.

[hoolagal]

well i had two large amazon sword plants and the plants are not dying (sprouting new growth still) but every single leaf is chewed to the spine ... so it is one of the three shrimp i added as the plants thrived for a year until i added the three new shrimp ... water parameters are the same as more than a year ago ...

[Jamit]

I have rudolph shrimps, and thet do eat plants.
When your plants are short of nutrients/fert, it will start to melt ot burn (holes on leaf) , then all shrimps will clean.those leaves out in no time. Basically, shrimps are great cleaners.

[Ursus sapien]

I have rudolph shrimps, and thet do eat plants.
When your plants are short of nutrients/fert, it will start to melt ot burn (holes on leaf) , then all shrimps will clean.those leaves out in no time. Basically, shrimps are great cleaners.

that goes back to the 'healthy plant tissue' thing.

If you're still having a problem, remove the new shrimp and see how your plants respond.

[hoolagal]

that is it, the rudolph are gone :O) well not really, i will move them to a tank with plastic plants ... the plants before the new additions were very healthy ... the substrate is ada aqua soil with fertilizer weekly ... and not one plant died from the set up of the tank until the other shrimp were added ... another forum said the rudolph were the plant eaters too :O) thanks for the answers ...

[tang daddy]

Just an observation, but CRS also eat plants when hungry, they finished my downoi and started to eat the java fern... I have a bunch of floating plants like water lettuce and Asian water grass I see them go after that aswell, oh and Mini Pellia. I think if you have other veggies like spinach they will eat that first but once they are hungry they move on to other plants. My japonica shrimp are even worse on certain plants!!

[hoolagal]

oh oh, i never give them veggies !!! i can honestly say in 43 years of life, i have never bought spinach :O) would i just weigh down a leaf with a rock ??? how often should i feed them veggies ??? i feed them algae wafers, hikari shrimp food and shikari shrimp food (not sure if spelled correctly) ...

[tang daddy]

To feed the shrimp spinach is easy, I separate all the stems from a bunch of spinach. Then boil some water, once the water is boiling I grab the spinach and blanch them for 2-3 mins, you don't want to cook them fully but just enough for them to soften up. After this I put them on a piece of Saran wrap and freeze them. Once frozen they can be put into ziplock and stowed for months...

I alternate feeding spinach and shirakura everyday, the spinach when frozen will float but as it defrosts should sink or you can defrost it in the tank and shake it to get the air bubbles out and it will sink. I usually put some mineral rock on it to weigh it down if I can't wait for it to defrost.... Recently I haven't had time so I chuck the frozen spinach in the tank and they usually find it within 10mins

[hoolagal]

thanks for the info on how to prepare and freeze ... i am going to buy spinach for the first time in my life and feed my shrimp :O)