Spring/Summer veggies for shrimps and snails

[CrashBandit05]

Hey y'all! Now that most of us are getting warmer weather, it has me thinking about what types of veggies/fruits to feed my shrimps and snails. 

Has anyone tried watermelon rinds, strawberry leaves, summer squash or other seasonal produce and had success? 

Here's my 9gal currently! Hoping to have tons of RCS soon!

Edited May 3, 2023 by CrashBandit05

[FLFishChik]

While I have no experience with shrimp myself, but I do have snails. I have seen where others have given their shrimp cucumber and zucchini. Watermelon rind is very similar to cucumber so I imagine that will work.  I imagine if you blanched the strawberry leaves (or any veggie) that it would be edible to shrimp. Whether they like it or not is another story, lol

i gave my bladder and Ramshorn snails a small piece of wilted romaine last night to see how they would do. It took about a half day, but they were all over it by this afternoon. I’ll probably try other veggies and fruits going forward to see which ones they like and which ones I can skip

Edited May 4, 2023 by FLFishChik

[CrashBandit05]

@FLFishChik thanks for the info! I've used cucumber before, looking forward to trying watermelon and other fruit/veggies. Maybe I'll use this topic as a way of testing stuff that the inverts like and don't like.

[JettsPapa]

I've fed sweet peppers, spinach, peeled broccoli stem, and zucchini (all boiled just long enough so they'll sink) to my shrimp.

Edited May 4, 2023 by JettsPapa

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

My shrimp love spinach and zucchini.  My mystery snails like cabbage, zucchini, carrots, green beans, sweet potato, broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower, the list goes on... if you click Snello2 in the signature line below, it shows a photo of a bunch of the veggies I feed them.  I did find out that spinach is not the best for snails because it inhibits their calcium uptake.

[Lennie]

I basically feed my shrimp only commercial foods and no veggies. I feed my snails lots of veggies but everytime it gives me anxiety.

Maybe you guys have heard of Dirty Dozen. Basically veggies and fruits that are subject the pesticide the most and whatever you do, you basically cannot clean it. And these are meant to kill bugs and such. So, what are snails and shrimp in this scenario. Oopsie daisy.

Sadly, the most of the veggies we can offer to shrimp and snails are always in the dirty dozen list. Which means they are super exposed to pesticides. I feel like every feeding is a risk at this point. Also the term organic is not really up to good amount of inspections in general.

Strawberries, Kale, Collard greens, Spinach, mustard greens, green beans and bell peppers are all in the dirty dozen list of 2023. 

Winter squash, broccoli, lettuce, cucumber, summer squash, snap peas and cauliflower also cannot make it to clean 15 list. So they are also in a spot which is very questionable.

Carrots, sweet potatoes, and frozen sweet peas seem like the only safe options it seems.

Here is a list for people who want to check in detail:

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/full-list.php 

[CrashBandit05]

@Lennie thanks for the information, definitely going to check out that list! 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 5/4/2023 at 6:59 AM, CrashBandit05 said:

looking forward to trying watermelon and other fruit/veggies.

I noticed the reddit people's shrimp go nuts over watermelon.  I have never fed it, myself.

subreddit name: r/shrimptank

Here are some of the shrimp lollies that are sold by HarryShrimpStore (etsy). This can give you an idea of what foods are OK for shrimp.

Moringa
Spinach
Algae
Walnut
Artemia
Bee Pollen
Spirulina
Pumpkin
Nettle
Mulberry
Paprika
Cinnamon
Beetroot
Cucumber

[CrashBandit05]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea thanks for that etsy link! I never seen those shrimp lollies before, will definitely check them out! They look like incense sticks lol

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 5/5/2023 at 5:08 PM, CrashBandit05 said:

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea thanks for that etsy link! I never seen those shrimp lollies before, will definitely check them out! They look like incense sticks lol

It is possible to make them as well if you roll them around in Repashy paste. My shrimps clean the stick spotless. 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[CrashBandit05]

I cut up some watermelon tonight and peeled the outer most skin off. The shrimps were on it in minutes!