Biofilm - THE Greatest Shrimp Food That No One Is Talking About! 👀

In my opinion, Biofilm is the most underrated and under-discussed shrimp food in the Red Cherry Shrimp keeping hobby.
=============================
Best Book for Neocaridina Shrimp
=============================
The Neocaridina Shrimp Handbook is 97 pages packed with information about how to keep, feed and breed Neocaridina Shrimp (including the ever-popular Red Cherry Shrimp).
The book also includes chapters on setting up an aquarium, filtering, heating, and lighting, and how to successfully cycle the tank, creating an ideal environment for the shrimp to thrive.
The Neocaridina Shrimp Handbook is now available in digital form and as a physical book!
For a digital copy 👇🏻
neocaridina-shrimp-handbook.com
For a physical copy 👇🏻
amzn.to/3KOzcQb
=============================
Help Support the Channel
=============================
If you found value in this video and you wanted to support my channel, why not buy me a coffee ☕
Even a donation of $5 helps cover the ever-growing monthly costs of running the channel, and the money will be put to work making even more educational and entertaining videos
Donate here 👉🏻 www.buymeacoffee.com/FishKeep...
=============================
Join us on Discord
=============================
I run a small Discord server dedicated to fish and shrimp keepers who wish to learn more about fish and shrimp keeping and generally nerd out about the hobby:
Join today - / discord
=============================
Products I Use
=============================
Foods:
➤ Repashy Soilent Green - amzn.to/3TVMY7I
➤ Repashy Community Plus - amzn.to/3JmkbUZ
➤ Tetra Color Crisps - amzn.to/3Ugzy7D
➤ Fluval Bug Bites - amzn.to/3VVgEVc
Aquarium:
➤ Aquatop High Clarity Glass Cube Aquarium - amzn.to/3xMhJo2
Lights:
➤ NICREW SlimLED Aquarium Light - amzn.to/3Q0wv0H
Heater:
➤ Fluval E 50w - amzn.to/4aZZt91
Air Pump:
➤ Eheim 3704010 Air Pump 400 - amzn.to/3Joqzeg
Substrate:
➤ Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum - amzn.to/3Ui8wNg
➤ Seachem Flourite Black Clay Gravel - amzn.to/3Qa2fkb
➤ Tropica Plant Growth Aquarium Soil - amzn.to/3vJIoBC
Other:
➤ Catappa Indian Almond Leaves - amzn.to/4aS7y0d
=============================
High-Quality Shrimp
=============================
For high-quality Neocaridina and Caridina Shrimp across the USA and Canada, check out The Shrimp Farm - fishkeepinganswers.com/58re
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Important:
Any information provided in this video is for entertainment purposes only and is just based on my own experiences and should not be considered advice.
This description may contain affiliate links. FishKeepingAnswers.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
The Neocaridna Shrimp Handbook is written by the owner of the FishKeepingAnswers KZbin channel.

[@AndrewFishman]

Biofilm is awesome food. I often allow it to build up quite a bit without cleaning the tanks. Fry love to graze on it, algae eating fish and all sorts of other aquatic animals love the biofilm . Good video.

[@DEXTER-TV-series]

Good video and without any background drums 🥁 and other sounds it is much more calm tranquil and enjoyable. 👈💚👍

[@jonbuckley]

It’s worth noting that over stocked tanks the shrimp will eat all the biofilm. You will have to supplement with Bacter AE. I keep cholla wood and Katapa leaves in cycling tanks and typically the shrimp go crazy when you swap them out.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

That’s a great point. Thank you 🙏🏻

[@pillsnpiegaming]

Dont think I will have this problem until I get my breeder shrimp XD currently have a community 15 gal I set up , its like my first tank the shrimp in there are someones culls which i bought to learn how to keep them and are multiple colored so not going to sell them, the 10 I got are now about 50 and they seem to enjoy the vibra bites and koi pellets that the ottos and white clouds dont eat. but every 3rd day i do drop in half a large algae waffer for them and the ottos, algae waffers are also nice as a powder food if you crush them same with plant protien based koi pellet.

[@Lhogchristmas]

Another excellent video with important information!!!

[@ShrimpleLife]

Thanks for all the great information. I'm new to the hobby and you've taught me a lot.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Hey, glad to have helped. Welcome to Team Shrimp Keeping 🚩

[@ShrimpleLife]

@@FishKeepingAnswers my girlfriend decided on a whim one day she wanted a beta fish, and after 5 minutes in the per store I knew I'd be making a dedicated shrimp tank. I don't have a while lot of questions, as your videos really are informative. I guess if I could think of a single questing it would be, if I'm using a 5 gallon (18 or 19 liters) at what point will there be too many shrimp? Will they stop breeding if there is not enough space? The purpose of this future tank is just for fun and relaxation. I'm excited to try my hand at a nice aquascape, the tank will have real plants and a mix of drift wood, and stone. So there will be ample space, and hiding spots.

[@Aulizz875]

Just discover ur channel when i was in the hospital. You gain a solid follower. Thank you for your research 🎉

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Hey. Thanks for joining the team! Hope all is well. Richard. 🫶🏻

[@all3n465]

a video on how to grow biofilm would be much appreciated !

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Leave it with me 👍🏻

[@all3n465]

@@FishKeepingAnswers thanks mate, couldnt find many videos on this topic and im sure a video from you would help a lot of us

[@jhonlikethese6705]

Fantastic video thank you

[@thehairywoodsman5644]

Marks Shrimp Tanks did a video about this some time ago, he suggested grinding fish flake food into a powder and sprinkling just a bit in the tank daily, the shrimp will eat it, but more importantly it will get on every surface feeding the biofilm.

[@SifiFan]

I'm new and when I started my tank, I feed the tank...😊 purposely wanted growth on all surfaces. Worked out.. had over feeding issues but that was expected. As I dialed the food back the tank settled in.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Glad you got it dialed in. It’s lovely when a tank is in harmony 🫶🏻

[@mikekayanderson408]

Hi Richard😊 Thanks for another good video. Hopefully I have this magical biofilm in my tank!!! Seeing more babies now - so obviously more of the eggs hatching. But found 4 more of those nasty dragonfly larvae swimming around😡😡😡 scooped them out and killed them! Keeping an eye out for any more. Also spotted one of the shrimp the other day heavy with eggs swimming around the tank shedding her eggs that were very white and they just seemed to land on the bottom and not move - no sign of a baby - do you think they were unfertilised??? K

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Hi. Hope you’re keeping well. If she shed the eggs and there is no sign of movement, they are probably dead. Probably because they weren’t fertilised. It’s hard to say 😕

[@udaydas6291]

How many time can i use bacter ae? 1 have 150- 200 shrimps.

[@podchicane571]

Thanks for this video! I am new to aquariums and was worried because I noticed that white slime that I now know to be biofilm. I thought it was algae that was developing and that I was about to lose my aquarium. It really means I'm ready to move on to the next step: adding my shrimps. I have a filter so the white slime phase has been contained. I added the filter when I noticed the white biofilm growing on the decaying bits of leaves I put in there for my snails. So what this suggests me is that I need to get my shrimps so they can get their feast going.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Sounds like you might be ready to go. Would love to hear how you get on 🤞🏻

[@podchicane571]

@@FishKeepingAnswers I'll have to test for ammoniacal nitrogen first, but yes, I think I'm getting there! I don't wanna rush anything, though, so if you have some quick tips on water parameters I'd love it. I use ozonated water in my tank (and dilute it with my regular tank water to keep the same micro organisms in) with aqua soil and I add mineral supplement when needed. The tank has been running for a little over a month with snails introduced at the beginning of week 2. I am new to this and can't afford much mistakes right now, which is why I'm taking a lot of time to introduce species) so your content really helps me. Thanks for everything!

[@podchicane571]

Oh and also, my aqua scape is very bad because I planted stuff after filling the tank... The water is clear, but what I had in mind is not how it turned out lol. I enjoy it, but if there are any easy ways to fix it without too much of a trouble, I'd love to know!

[@hebasedd]

I know that i have commented on this last week. My shrimp still avoid any food i throw in. They just look for biofilm, all day long. I am still amazed and frustrated by this at the same time. I see them pooping all the time tho, that keeps me sane 😂.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

As along as you see them, they must be finding plenty to eat. You clearly have the balance just right 🤜🏻

[@DEXTER-TV-series]

I think the flow of water makes the film thicker. and the chance increases that some algae will stick to this film and begin to grow.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

👍🏻

[@pillsnpiegaming]

Also surface agitation isn't exactly why the oxygen exchange happens but it kinda is but its hard to explain, but what is important is making sure the water cycles from top to bottom or bottom to top meaning there is flow moving the oxygen depleted water from the bottom of the tank to the top of the tank where it can exchange more gases with the surface. an airstone does this by creating lift around itself thanks to the bubbles and are also why sponge filters are probably the best filters alongside maton filters due to them creating guaranteed flow at the lower areas of a tank. too much top flow and surface agitation can cause algae to bloom. thats the thing with fish/shrimp keeping our tanks and tubs are large experiments and we learn many things by trying different things.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

The real problem is, the more complicated you make an explanation on a KZbin video, the fewer people listen and take in what you’re saying. In my experience, running an airstone (or sponge filter) leads to a greater concentration of oxygen in the water. As always, I appreciate the comments and feedback 👍🏻

[@pillsnpiegaming]

@@FishKeepingAnswers yeah i totally understand, i just recently learnt how the oxygen cycles works myself hence me mentioning it.

[@TheSoupDealer]

Thankfully for me my heavily planted 20 gallon tank is covered in biofilm and I see algae beginning to grow.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

😎

[@wcdeich4]

Somehow I always get that thick white jelly biofilm so bad the plants die, the filters clog, it smells, I can't complete the nitrogen cycle & I've given up on trying to setup fish tanks multiple times :(

[@kivancic4051]

What about biofilm in a tin like Bacter AE? My shimps go crazy for it. I have also witnessed it grow thin layers of biofilm in my seccond tank with no shrimps in it

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Baxter AE is good, but can be expensive 😐

[@NguyenQuang08]

I have a lot of biofilm build up on the water surface, I have to clear up manually because I think it migh be harder to exchange gas.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Yeah, it can stick the gas exchange taking place. I would add an airstone 👍🏻

[@_invertico_]

I always talk about biofilm because it's too good! I always add some brewer yeast ti my tanks and tubs just for biofilm and algae! Biofilm is also many times sold dried but yeast is good enough for me.

[@DEXTER-TV-series]

Can you make video to show it (the biofilm and the algae) ?

[@_invertico_]

@@DEXTER-TV-series Sure 😃

[@paulm0573]

Just keen to know if you or anyone else has had issues with scuds in shrimp tanks?

[@doifhg]

I've been wondering if they eat copepods too? I don't have any problem with them but there was suddenly an explosion in their population in the tank

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Shrimp are opportunistic feeders, however they typically feed on dead/decaying food rather than catching and killing live foods 👍🏻

[@DeGarisJ]

How soon would biofilm start to form in a fresh tank?

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Usually within a few weeks. I would say 4 to 6 weeks in my experience 👍🏻

[@DeGarisJ]

Ah, ok. So in a shrimp tank, use an external source of food first.

[@Wijnfles]

bacter AE - thank me later

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

🫶🏻

[@judaspriestchild]

Its hilarious how people spend 100s of dollars on shrimp pellets when they will literally eat anything.

[@FishKeepingAnswers]

Yep 😂

[@HeferCat]

Canned carrots and green beans 😅 spinach 😂 all the biofilm on my branches 😅