There are tons of options on the market when it comes to trying to keep your aquarium shrimp happy and healthy. With varying nutritional content, additives, and prices, choosing the best food for shrimp can be quite the challenge.
In this article...
Article Summary
- Some shrimp species are omnivores and can eat a variety of foods, including algae, meat, and vegetables.
- Using a shrimp feeding dish can help optimize feeding frequency based on the tank’s biofilm and algae levels.
- Considering the nutritional content, cost, and added benefits is essential when selecting shrimp food.
- Works as both shrimp food and fish food
- Comes with a large amount for many days worth of feeding
- Rich in spirulina and vitamin C
- Formulated specifically as freshwater shrimp food
- Contains advanced yeast extract for extra digestive health
- Includes multivitamins and minerals for red cherry shrimp
- High in amino acids, vitamins and minerals
- Supports not only the feeding shrimp but the microorganisms in your tank
- High quality herbal product
With all of these choices there are a few that stand above the rest, which is why I’ve created the following list of reviews.
Whether you’re starting a new shrimp aquarium, or simply looking for new food ideas the reviews in this article are sure to have something your aquatic friends will enjoy.
The Best From The Reviews
One of the most popular options on the market! This shrimp food contains the algae and vegetable matter that red cherry shrimp love, along with a balance of vitamins, minerals, and spirulina.
Top Pick: Hikari Tropical Algae Wafers
An excellent option for red cherry shrimp, as well as plecos, tangs, and cichlid species. This versatile food is a great way to feed your shrimp a varied diet while also providing an option for the other fish in your tank.
As an added bonus, this option is resistant to falling apart, reducing the amount of decaying plant matter in your tank after feeding.
The highest value for the lowest dollar on our list! This shrimp food is specifically formulated for them, and helps facilitate both shell growth and digestive health.
Best Value: Fluval Shrimp Granules
Fluval Shrimp Granules are a great choice for the value-conscious shrimp keeper. This option has been created with cherry shrimp health in mind, and contains an advanced yeast extract for improved nutrient absorption and disease resistance.
Shirakura Ebi Dama Shrimp Food
Shirakura Shrimp Food is an herbal supplement designed with optimum shrimp health in mind. This food is designed with the health of your overall tank in mind.
Editor’s Choice: Shirakura Ebi Dama Shrimp Food
Designed to feed not only your cherry shrimp but the bacteria and microorganisms that keep your tank healthy, Shirakura shrimp food contains a mix of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. This food is meant to help foster an overall community of healthy life in your tank.
On To The Reviews…
One of the most popular options on the market! This shrimp food contains the algae and vegetable matter that red cherry shrimp love, along with a balance of vitamins, minerals, and spirulina.
Top Pick: Hikari Tropical Algae Wafers
An excellent option for red cherry shrimp, as well as plecos, tangs, and cichlid species. This versatile food is a great way to feed your shrimp a varied diet while also providing an option for the other fish in your tank.
As an added bonus, this option is resistant to falling apart, reducing the amount of decaying plant matter in your tank after feeding.
Nutritionally Balanced
Includes a variety of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids typically in meaty foods while being derived from fish, plants, and algae. While many shrimp foods are unsuitable for the fish in your tank, this option can work for many species including cichlids and plecos.
Also includes stabilized vitamin C to help build immunity and reduce stress in your shrimp.
Wafer Design
One of the brilliant design pieces that allow this food extra utility is the formation of the algae wafer.
Unlike many options of shrimp or fish meal, the Hikari algae wafer is constructed to not fall apart and dissolve easily. This means that after feeding, uneaten food is much easier to remove from the tank and won’t affect water cleanliness.
Copper Sulfate
This shrimp food may contain copper sulfate, which can be potentially harmful to your cherry or brine shrimp. Also the vegetables in this particular brand may not agree with carnivorous species such as betta fish.
Specs
- 8.8oz of food per container
Pros
- Works as both shrimp food and fish food
- Comes with large amounts for many days worth of feeding
- Rich in spirulina and vitamin C
Cons
- May contain copper sulfates
The highest value for the lowest dollar on our list! This shrimp food is specifically formulated for them, and helps facilitate both shell growth and digestive health.
Best Value: Fluval Shrimp Granules
Fluval Shrimp Granules are a great choice for the value-conscious shrimp keeper. This option has been created with cherry shrimp health in mind, and contains an advanced yeast extract for improved nutrient absorption and disease resistance.
Nutritional Value
This option contains not only the normal nutrients, iodine, and proteins needed for a well balanced diet, but a few extras meant to help extend their ability to fight illness.
The active yeast extract in Fluval shrimp granules can help your ornamental shrimp absorb nutrients better, meaning that they get more out of the food that they eat.
Affordability
This option for feeding cherry shrimp comes in at a small portion of the cost of the others on the list. Of all of the shrimp foods your shrimp eat, this one may just save you the most out of your aquarium hobby.
Not to mention that it still contains the essential vitamins and minerals such as calcium needed in a shrimp’s diet.
Sinking
This food source may not sink immediately, unlike other commercial foods for shrimp. This can lead to potential problems with poor water quality as the essential nutrients in the food that isn’t eaten begin to break down.
Specs
- 1.2oz of food per container
Pros
- Formulated specifically as freshwater shrimp food
- Contains advanced yeast extract for extra digestive health
- Includes multivitamins and minerals for red cherry shrimp
Cons
- Doesn’t sink as quickly as other foods on the list
Shirakura Ebi Dama Shrimp Food
Shirakura Shrimp Food is an herbal supplement designed with optimum shrimp health in mind. This food is designed with the health of your overall tank in mind.
Editor’s Choice: Shirakura Ebi Dama Shrimp Food
Designed to feed not only your cherry shrimp but the bacteria and microorganisms that keep your tank healthy, Shirakura food contains a mix of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. This food is meant to help foster an overall community of healthy life in your tank.
Full Tank Health Support
This food for red cherry shrimp, brine shrimp, and others is created with the health of your whole tank in mind. This food not only serves to foster healthy baby shrimp or young shrimp but the other microorganisms in your tank as well.
In a new tank, this food will help establish your tank’s beneficial bacteria population, allowing for the more rapid breakdown of harmful chemicals and wastes.
Firm Texture
The design of the Shirakura food is such that it will have a hard time breaking down rapidly in your tank. This is important because rotting food over time can cause poor water quality, cloudiness, and even dead shrimp if left untreated for a long enough period of time.
Cost
Being our editor’s choice of premium pick, Shirakura food is slightly more expensive than other options. That being said, when feeding shrimp in general a little goes quite a long way.
Specs
- 2.82oz of food per container
Pros
- High in amino acids, vitamins and minerals
- Supports not only the feeding shrimp but the microorganisms in your tank
- High quality herbal product
Cons
- More expensive than other freshwater shrimp foods on our list
This stick-shaped food option works especially well because it is designed to sink directly to the bottom, where it can be easily found and eaten by your freshwater shrimp.
Shrimp King Complete Sticks
The Shrimp King complete sticks provide maximum nutritional value, fiber, and vitamins needed for your freshwater shrimp to grow and thrive. The stick shape ensures that this food will head straight to the bottom, allowing your dwarf shrimp to find them easily in your tank.
Balanced Nutritional Content
Contains a proper balance of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to facilitate both baby shrimp growth and adult shrimp health.
This food contains fiber from plant barks and leaves in order to support healthy digestion for most shrimp, along with yeast to support their immune system and carotenoids for shrimp coloration.
Optimal Shape
The stick shape of this food enables it to quickly sink to the bottom of the tank, where most shrimp will have an easy time of finding and eating it.
This ensures that the most food possible will actually make it to your shrimp, rather than spending time floating around on the surface where it can rot and damage your water quality leading to dead fish or shrimp.
High Nutritional Content
Due to the high nutritional content of this option (not to mention most of the previous food choices on our list today) leaving these in your tank for too long may cause dangerous nitrate spikes in your water.
The problem with this is that it can shock the systems of your cold water shrimp and fish, leading to disease and infection.
Specs
- 1.59 ounces of food per container
Pros
- Stick shaped for maximum sinking ability
- Balance of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals
- Composed of 100% natural ingredients
Cons
- May cause nitrite spikes if left in the tank for too long
Hikari Tropical Shrimp Cuisine
Hikari Shrimp Cuisine is designed with shrimp in mind. This option supports color development and retention in your red cherry shrimp, so that they can remain vibrant and beautiful over time.
Hikari Tropical Shrimp Cuisine
Hikari Shrimp Cuisine is designed with shrimp in mind. This option supports color development and retention in your red cherry shrimp, so that they can remain vibrant and beautiful over time.
Supports Vibrant Color in Your Shrimp
Hikari Shrimp Cuisine contains spirulina, seaweed, and astaxanthin, which all support the natural coloration of your freshwater shrimp
The spirulina and seaweed add to the development of the color, while the unique use of astaxanthin allows that color to remain bright and vibrant for longer periods of time.
Nutritional Value
Along with supporting the color of your shrimp, this food is formulated with their long term health in mind. Herbivorous freshwater shrimp are sure to love having this option to eat, with its vegetable-based composition.
Cost
This is one of the most expensive and best shrimp food options on the list, with a premium price to show for it. All of those important color-enhancing nutrients come at a price, which can be more than worth it when trying to simulate a natural diet for your red cherry shrimp and other shrimp.
Specs
- .35oz of food per container
Pros
- Contains color enhancers and retention nutrients
- Rich in protein and other key nutrients
Cons
- Expensive compared to the other options on the list
Sera Shrimps food is designed with natural materials to help keep your shrimp healthy, colorful, and active without the use of harmful chemical additives.
Sera Shrimps Nature
For those concerned about the quality of the foods their shrimps eat, Sera Shrimps Nature is a great option. This variety comes complete with the nutritional content of the other foods on this list, along with some extra natural ingredients.
Naturally Derived
This option avoids the artificial dyes, extracts, and additives of some other foods in favor of natural ingredients. Spirulina and alder cones are two that allow for natural coloration and retention in your shrimp without the worry of tiny particles of chemicals that can get into other forms of feed.
Designed to Sink
The shape and composition of the Sera foods means that as soon as you start feeding, it sinks to the bottom and stays together for some time before dissolving. This will help with protecting the water quality in your tank, as dissolved foods can rapidly change the water into cloudy murk otherwise.
Things To Keep in Mind
Some shrimp species may not prefer this variety, but as always it’s best to try out different foods for your shrimp to see what they like best. Also not meant for other species such as betta fish.
Specs
- 1.9oz of food per container
Pros
- Supports coloration without the use of harmful dyes or additives
- Natural ingredients
- Ideal shape for sinking and remaining intact
Cons
- May not be to the taste of all shrimp varieties
What Is The Best Food For Shrimp?
The best food options for shrimp to eat are those with a balance of nutrients, vitamins, and amino acids that will help them grow and remain healthy for years to come.
Commercial foods with preservatives or harmful chemicals advertised as color-enhancing or growth inducing may not be quite as amazing as advertised, and can even harm your shrimp, especially pregnant shrimps, should they eat them.
TIP
A good rule of thumb is to consult with your local veterinarian, shrimp breeders, or pet store that you purchased your shrimp from when trying to decide what your little invertebrate clean up crew should eat.
What Type Of Food Do Shrimp Eat?
In the wild, your shrimp is definitely not going to find something like a chunk of red meat or blanched vegetables, but in the home we can always add a bit of variety into what our shrimp eat.
Algae
Some species of shrimp are bottom feeders, and will eat the algae that grows on your tank and decorations, along with the leaf litter that may gather around it. This not only provides them with extra nutrition, but can help to keep your tank clean and fresh looking in the long run.
Meat
Most shrimp are considered detritivores, meaning that these freshwater shrimp eat the remains of anything in the water. This goes for meat as well, and as long as it isn’t something too rich or fatty for them to digest and is in a manageable size, they will happily eat pieces of meat or fish.
Vegetables
As with fish, there are some veggies that do work and some that do not for shrimp to eat.
…stick with soft vegetables, rather than fibrous ones…
A good rule of thumb for homemade shrimp food is to stick with soft vegetables, rather than fibrous ones, and to use a cooking process such as blanching with boiling water with things like peas or spinach to make them more easily digestible.
What Vegetables Can You Feed Shrimp?
Blanched vegetables such as zucchini, squash, and broccoli work especially well. Cutting these into small pieces will make them more manageable and keep them from breaking down as parts go uneaten, and I recommend removing anything that they don’t eat or leftovers within a half hour after feeding.
Can You Feed Shrimp Fish Food?
Shrimp will gladly make short work of any uneaten fish food in the tank. They are opportunistic feeders and will attempt to eat just about anything that they can get their mandibles on.
Shrimp Food vs Fish Food
There are some differences in the formulation of the best food for shrimp. While shrimp can eat fish food, it may not contain ingredients that will help their shells grow properly such as alfalfa, or help with the development and retention like spirulina.
What Do Red Cherry Shrimp Eat?
Red cherry shrimp are omnivores and will enjoy eating algae wafers, pellets or sticks, along with the plant matter and biofilm naturally in your tank. If you’re looking for a pre-formulated shrimp food look no further than the choices in today’s article!
How Often Should You Feed Shrimp?
If you have a relatively new tank without much biofilm or algae for your shrimp to eat, you may need to feed every day. It’s fine to drop shrimp food onto the substrate, but some shrimp keepers prefer to use a shrimp feeding dish.
As your tank becomes more established and the microorganism community begins to flourish, you may be able to spread things out towards every two to three days, as your shrimp will be able to graze in between feedings.
You can also add Catappa leaves (Indian Almond Leaves) which contain beneficial chemicals that contribute to the well-being of freshwater shrimp. As the leaves break down, they become coated with a biofilm that shrimp eat.
Check out the video below for more information and tips about feeding shrimps.
Conclusion
I hope that you’ve enjoyed these reviews of different varieties of food that your red cherry and other shrimp are sure to love to eat.
There are a few key differences when it comes to factors like nutritional value, cost, and added benefits to the tank that can make certain options stand out compared to others on today’s list.
If you still haven’t decided, here are a few of my top choices.
- Works as both shrimp food and fish food
- Comes with a large amount for many days worth of feeding
- Rich in spirulina and vitamin C
- Formulated specifically as freshwater shrimp food
- Contains advanced yeast extract for extra digestive health
- Includes multivitamins and minerals for red cherry shrimp
- High in amino acids, vitamins and minerals
- Supports not only the feeding shrimp but the microorganisms in your tank
- High quality herbal product
Top Pick
An excellent option for red cherry shrimp, as well as snails, plecos, tangs, and cichlid species. This versatile food is a great way to feed your shrimp a varied diet while also providing an option for the fish in your tank.
As an added bonus, this option is resistant to falling apart, reducing the amount of decaying plant matter in your tank after feeding.
Best Value
Fluval Shrimp Granules are a great choice for value-conscious shrimp keepers. This option has been created with cherry shrimp health in mind, and contains an advanced yeast extract for improved nutrient absorption and disease resistance.
Editor’s Choice
Designed to feed not only your cherry shrimp but the bacteria and microorganisms that keep your tank healthy, Shirakura shrimp food contains a mix of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. This food is meant to help foster an overall community of healthy life in your shrimp tanks.
Thanks for Reading!
I hope you’ve found this article helpful in choosing between the best foods built for you and your shrimp.
As always feel free to share this article with any other fish fanatics you know, and I wish you the best of luck on your continued aquarium adventures.
