Bamboo shrimp

[FishyLady]

I want to keep a few of these in with my Red Cherry shrimp. I have done quite a lot of research but am just wondering what type of filter would be best to use. I plan on having an internal one with an output flow for the bamboo shrimp to filter feed from, but am wondering what filter media would be best to filter out any uneaten microscopic food. I was going to feed them on freeze dried rotifers, Hikari First Bites, Kent Micro-vert and Biomax Micro enzyme.
I am also unsure of the quantity to feed - how do you now when a shrimp has eaten enough? any help would be really appreciated.
The tank will be a 10 gallon and I would like to get 4 bamboo shrimp.

Val

[Bully]

It's next-to-impossible to determine how much food is required for a filter shrimp. Some keepers of Atyopsis moluccensis choose to target feed their shrimp by grinding up fish food and placing it in the flow. This method is not without its problems in a 10 gallon tank as it's difficult to control pollution levels in such a small volume of water. My own two Atyopsis moluccensis are not target fed but, they are in a larger mature tank that is heavily fed so they are constantly filtering something out of the column. They do appreciate a good flow, before I removed my Koralia 2 (2500lph) the shrimp would spend 95% of their time perched less than 3 inches from the output, they are built for fast-flowing water Now they spend much of their time hanging upside down on the floating plants as that's where the highest levels of flow occur. They will seek out the current so it is good practice to ensure you have perches in the tank that will place the shrimp in the direct current. Also, be sure to have more perches than shrimp, despite their lack of weaponry they will bicker and constantly push for the prime spots.

I'm not sure that relying on the filter to remove uneaten food in the water column is a good idea, any such food would be better served in the water column than it would being trapped in the filter, where it will decompose and add to tank pollution. As a treat you can supplement their diet with baby brine shrimp. My own abhor bloodworm though, both live and frozen.

[ScottMI]

I have kept mine for oh jeesh now 3 years or so they must have been in my big tank and they filter food that I feed to my other fish. They catch particles of flake food or shrimp pellet particles that get into the water column. Not really that hard a shrimp to keep. They shed their skin every so often and thats about it. They are really neat shrimp.

I even had mine have a clutch of eggs on a couple of them before but since its straight flesh water and I believe they need salt for the eggs to hatch and thrive, I got no babies out of it but was still neat to see.