Food: Flakes Vs Brine Shrimp

[unknowntbeast]

Ok...So I have my zebra danio tank and it's been a few months. But after awhile using flakes, a lot of the uneaten food just gets stuck somewhere in the gravel. But if I where to feed them brine shrimp instead, would they eat it all? And since the shrimp are alive and can live up to a year, it's less likely they will just fall to the bottom and rot. So is it a good idea to switch foods? And how much should I give a school of 8? I also read the brine can grow to about 1 cm long, would this be too big for them? Should I get baby brine?

 

[Truck]

Ok...So I have my zebra danio tank and it's been a few months. But after awhile using flakes, a lot of the uneaten food just gets stuck somewhere in the gravel. But if I where to feed them brine shrimp instead, would they eat it all? And since the shrimp are alive and can live up to a year, it's less likely they will just fall to the bottom and rot. So is it a good idea to switch foods? And how much should I give a school of 8? I also read the brine can grow to about 1 cm long, would this be too big for them? Should I get baby brine?

theyll live up to a year in salt water but not fresh, hence the name 'brine' shrimp, theyll more than likely die of osmotic shock in a freshwater tank

 

[unknowntbeast]

So is it worth feeding it to them? Are they're any freshwater alternatives?

 

[waterdrop]

Brine shrimp are a "treat," like feeding candy or potato chips to kids, something to do occasionally (even once a week) but probably not a good idea as a main food. In the perfect fishkeeper world you'd rotate between various other live foods but lacking all that effort, a good high quality flake mix would probably make a better main food, with whatever live or frozen variations you could provide some of the time. There are some food guidelines buried on TFF somewhere in one of those "guide" sections near the Welcome forum I believe.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[drobbyb]

I'd have to agree with waterdrop. Brine shrimp are very low in nutritional value, hence some fishkeepers gut loading them with spirulina powder. This makes them a little more nutritious, but still not something you want to feed every day.

Have you tried another brand of flakes? Sometimes fish will like some brands better than others, in the same manner as us humans. Also you can try a garlic additive to see if they accept them better.

How much are you feding? Are they eating any of the flakes at all?

 

[alchemist]

To add to the above - when I first got fish - the flake I got they didn't seem to like very much.

Then I moved to a different flake mix and you could see that they liked some of it - but left behind any pink flakes.

Eventually I found a brand that they really liked - what a difference - they would go crazy at feeding time. Along with weekly treats like brine shrimp which they always love.

My platties also go crazy for the tablets my bottom feeders like - so that can be problematic - once the platties find them no-one else gets a chance!

 

[Tolak]

One advantage to brine shrimp that is often missed is the roughage it provides. While brine shrimp don't have a real high percentage of protein or fat, they do serve a worthwhile purpose.

 

[unknowntbeast]

Well they do eat the food that I give them and ocasionally will eat the stuff that has fallen to the bottom, but there is still some that gets uneaten an breaks down down there. I am just looking for an alternative food source.

 

[dthoffsett]

Several companies make what they call crisps, they're flakes that don't fall apart in the water as fast. You can also try small pellets, when I kept danios that's what I fed and they loved them. If they are eating well and you still have a lot of flakes falling to the bottom you may be overfeeding them.

 

[waterdrop]

One advantage to brine shrimp that is often missed is the roughage it provides. While brine shrimp don't have a real high percentage of protein or fat, they do serve a worthwhile purpose.

Tokak, can you advise us as to the thinking that would go through your head to decide how often and how much to work in brine shrimp feedings if our baseline was flake food? (...and perhaps which other feeding options would be major in your thinking? How bad is it for beginners to be totally on flake food?)