Kind of a dumb question I guess but I was just wondering. I know they eat algae and stuff but I just wondered if they ate snail poop too.... haha
Will Cherry Shrimp eat snail poop?
- Thread starter Sweetheart
- Start date
No they don't eat poop. Most fish and inverts don't eat excrement. Every now and then you may see shrimp picking up feces pieces to investigate whether they're edible, but they won't consume them.
No they are not detritivores, I may be wrong but I know of no freshwater detritivores unless you count some of the catfish species.
I see this type of question a lot. Will animal X eat poop?
Truth is...it depends. Most aquatic animals will investigate the excrement they encounter for undigested food particles, and consume if they find something. Detrivores are efficient at extracting waste from larger/predatory animals that have less efficient digestive tracks.
But what is often meant by the question is not if an animal CAN/WILL eat poop, but if it can live off of said 'food' source, and reduce the need for cleaning by the aquariast.
And the answer there is pretty well a resounding no. Especially for snail droppings--snails are pretty good at extracting 'food', so their waste isn't really likely to support another animal. Nutrition wise...poop = poop. So. Consider that a mammal can SURVIVE by eating it's own waste for a while. But it isn't great, and eventually will result in deficiencies. So don't slack, clean up after your pets.
Truth is...it depends. Most aquatic animals will investigate the excrement they encounter for undigested food particles, and consume if they find something. Detrivores are efficient at extracting waste from larger/predatory animals that have less efficient digestive tracks.
But what is often meant by the question is not if an animal CAN/WILL eat poop, but if it can live off of said 'food' source, and reduce the need for cleaning by the aquariast.
And the answer there is pretty well a resounding no. Especially for snail droppings--snails are pretty good at extracting 'food', so their waste isn't really likely to support another animal. Nutrition wise...poop = poop. So. Consider that a mammal can SURVIVE by eating it's own waste for a while. But it isn't great, and eventually will result in deficiencies. So don't slack, clean up after your pets.
digitalphrage
oh god how did this get here i am n
They won't eat snail poop (or any poop really) but I like the cherries because they seem to corral the detritus resting on the top of the sand substrate into relatively tight pockets. Might not sound exciting, but it's far easier to siphon out the waste from the tank when its resting in 2-3 big pockets rather than a thin layer scattered all across the bottom of the tank.