Fish - Search for ghost shrimp

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Search for ghost shrimp

Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Fish
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions about fish.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82353
Printed Date: December 11 2024 at 2:05pm
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Topic: Search for ghost shrimp

Posted By: WaitForIt...
Subject: Search for ghost shrimp
Date Posted: April 06 2017 at 12:40pm

I recently acquired an angler and a fuzzy dwarf lion. Right now, they're only eating ghost shrimp, with the goal to get them onto frozen or more available food. As i've come to find out, ghost shrimp in the valley are relatively difficult to come by, with the only option being Reef On. The problem is, they only get shipments in once a week, so I end up putting 8-12 shrimp in the tank at a time in order to hold them over til the next week.
Does anyone know where i can find similar live food or how to fast-track the frozen aspect of their feeding?

thanks!

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It is possible that longing for something is actually better than having it. Satisfaction is the death of desire.

Replies:

Posted By: Shane H
Date Posted: April 11 2017 at 3:55pm

Regarding the angler:

Try feeding it from the stick frequently. I've found that multiple, shorter training periods per day are preferrable to a single, long session. At first, you will need to act like a prey fish. Be subtle, don't force it and even let the angler pursue a bit if it will.

Frequently, they may "strike" and fail at first. Taking food from a feeding stick is different than taking a live fish or shrimp. They may even swallow part of your feeding stick at first. But, as they learn they will recognize the food and get much better at taking it from the stick.

When it finally eats don't feed it again for a week or more. Less is more in this case.

Also, I've had good luck finding ghost shrimp at Petsmart. I've kept them in a mason jar with an air bubbler for weeks at a time. I feed the shrimp for several days before I feed them to the fish. Again, one or two ghost shrimp is plenty for an angler each week. You will want to ween it off of the FW shrimp sooner than later. But, job 1 is getting them to eat now.

Good luck. I'd love to see some pics!

Posted By: WaitForIt...
Date Posted: April 12 2017 at 10:17am

Great info Shane! Much appreciated. I intend to eventually move them to krill or something similar. What would you suggest is the next step in appropriate food source? Obviously, i want to keep the health of the fish in mind first and would prefer to get them off of fw shrimp sooner than later. But for now, i'm kind of stuck with the ghost shrimp thing.

thanks again!

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It is possible that longing for something is actually better than having it. Satisfaction is the death of desire.

Posted By: Shane H
Date Posted: April 12 2017 at 11:14am

What would you suggest is the next step in appropriate food source?

The simple answer is any ocean based protein you can get it to eat. I typically use silversides, shrimp (raw, whole shrimp (head, shell and all)), and baby octopus - you can find these at most Asian markets. Depending on the size of the fish, you may need to cut the fish/shrimp/octopus in half or into even smaller bits.

Most angler fish can and will eat foods as large as they are (or even larger). When you're feeding, it is important not to overfeed. When the fish becomes accustomed to taking food from the stick, they will eat almost every time you attempt it. But, if they get too much food they will not digest it quickly enough and it can literally rot in their stomach. As you can imagine, this is not a good thing.

For example, if the fish takes an entire silverside or baby octopus, you shouldn't feed again for at least a week and maybe even two. It will be tempting to feed too often. You'll want to show everyone who will watch how cool it is (I do!). But be disciplined and feed infrequently.

In this case a hungry fish is a healthy fish!

Posted By: WaitForIt...
Date Posted: April 12 2017 at 2:13pm

Does the same hold true for a dwarf lion? i am trying to get him off of ghost shrimp too, but want to make sure that he's getting enough time in between feedings.

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It is possible that longing for something is actually better than having it. Satisfaction is the death of desire.

Posted By: Shane H
Date Posted: April 12 2017 at 3:29pm

I don't know as much about lion fish, but I would think they could also be fed rather infrequently. Especially if each feeding is rather large.

Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: April 12 2017 at 10:16pm

Agree with Shane

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