no nitrates. add more food or ferts?

[CT_]

I'v got a 7g shrimp tank that's got a pretty low population right now.  I'm not feeding very much so my nitrates are 0 and i think my plants are suffering.  I am using easy green but it doesn't have a lot of nitrate.  I've read you shouldn't over feed shrimp but I'm not sure if its because of excess nitrates or other reasons. 

 

So what do you guys think.  feed more? or supplement with some nitrate?

[SimmonsSnailsNScales]

I think the excess food thing is out of fear of fouling the water. However, your plants would probably make use of the extra waste products in the water. I think you would have to feed a very large amount consistently for a long time to impact water parameters. Especially in a planted tank. 

I would personally just feed what seems to make your shrimp happy and keep stepping up the fertilizer little by little until your plants are happy too.

[anitstuk]

Agreed

[JoeQ]

Nitrates make plants happy, extra food will also make your shrimp happy who will repay you by making more free shrimps! Imo it would be mean to feed the plants by adding ferts while starving the shrimp. Just don't over feed to the point of fowling the water. 

[Guppysnail]

Fouling the water, as well as excess microfauna accumulation with no predators is the reason overfeeding shrimp becomes of concern. There is a large difference though between not feeding much and overfeeding. Shrimp enjoy protein and need a fair amount. Often had by consuming dead microfauna and bacteria. Many folk feed shrimp the way they would feed a small school of tetra each day. 
I like these shrimp king things I just bought a variety pack vs the buying each flavor I used to because it last a good length of time. That way food stays centralized so easy clean keeping microfauna in check and I sprinkle fry or powder food in tiny amounts once a week for the babies to have food where they hatch. The king pellets y can also easily see when more need added, I use a food dish to further eliminate tank accumulation.  That being said feed the shrimp for plant nitrates. When the shrimp stop using all the food then bump up the fertz is my suggestion.  My shrimp also adore veggies. If I see some deficiency in plants I try to tackle it first by feeding veggies high in whatever nutrients my plants need.  

[TeeJay]

I have had shrimp in my 10 shrimp sanctuary for 3 weeks now. My tank was seasoned for 2 months before adding the shrimp. I have 15 shrimp right now. Like @Guppysnail said the sticks are good. And keeping a food dish is perfect for keeping food in one spot to manage uneaten food.  I have 4 Java fern dwarf sagittaria and plenty of floating hornwort. 

My nitrates stay at 10-15 consistently with dosing 1ml easy green a week and .5ml potassium for the ferns. I also like to use glass gartens bacter ae powder to help supplement the micro fauna that the shrimp love so much. Also adding a mystery snail is a bonus to help cleanup any extra left over food  

You can also try and break up your fert dosing into smaller amounts more times a week. Some plants like smaller more frequent doses. But I don't think you would overfeed to much unless your just feeding multiple times a day at large quantities.