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Question: Can I feed my axie's cherry shrimp?

meerkat

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I was at the local aquarium and saw a lonely gold adult axie in a tank along with cherry shrimp. I said to the aquarium owner 1. please take the small gravel out of the tank and 2. that I didn't think he will be able to sell many cherry shrimp as the axolotl will probably eat them all. He replied that he had not fed the axolotl in weeks as it was eating all the shrimp and that he was not concerned about the diminishing shrimp population as they bread voraciously and he had plenty of stock.

This got me thinking...is the cherry shrimp a suitable food source for the axolotl even if it is expensive?

Cherry Shrimp (Paratya australiensis)

Does anyone have any experience in this area?

Thanks so much in advance for your advice.
 

meerkat

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Sorry, should have searched the other threads first. Apparently quite a few axolotl owners are keeping them together quite successfully. Going tomorrow to buy some :D
 

HappySkittles

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I would get some if

1. They weren't expensive (they aren't typically sold around here as a food item but a display animal)
2. I wasn't afraid my axies would eat them all in one go because I really think my greedy water pigs would hunt and eat them ALL up!
 

michael

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They are a little pricey but breed like crazy when established. I used to feed them to axolotls and ribbed newts. My largest colony of cherry shrimp was in a tank with subadult ribbed newts. One day the ribbed newts got a good taste for them and they were all gone in a weeks time.

I think I purchased about 40 on aquabid for 40.00 and wound up producing hundreds of them . It sounds like a good project for an empty tank.
 

blackdog

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The axies love them.

I dont put too many cherries in at a time because the buggers eat them all too fast!

Expensive food @ $3 or so each from the shop.

Mine are not breeding fast enough to keep a constant supply in with the axies (they are in with fish and i think the shrimplets get picked off by fast fish :) )

I put 6 or so in every so often and they are all gone within days.

I dont think they'd be a great staple, but they like tham as a treat!

Bren
 

Minniechild

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I got a whole lot off David on here, and they're still around five/six months later, and breeding even thought the water is down to 12c. The others are in with my guppy population, and i've seen one or two babies growing up without getting nommed, but to try and get more for my hungry babies (And because my mum LOVES shrimp!) I've also just established a breeder tank for them- tiny at 20X20X18cm, but so far looking VERRRY prettyful :D Hopefully it'll begin to cycle in the next few days (When I finally pick out a sacrificial guppy to go in!), and once its established, I'll go to move half of my shrimp in to begin breeding them up! Must say that the adults LOVE chasing them around, and they make such a fabulous cleaning crew :D
 

meerkat

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I found 5 at the pet shop for $3.95 each, have plonked them in the tank this morning and now am finding it hard to find them. Maybe they were eaten already? I am liking your idea of setting up a breeding tank to get them well established and then filter them in as needed. Just another thought, the freshly hatched cherry shrimp - would they make suitable food for hatchling axies?

If anyone is willing to part with some of their cherry shrimp I am happy to pay for them and collect in Sydney.

Cheers
 
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