Feeding live shrimp??

[nataliextodd]

My shrimp have taken over my fish tank and I want to feed some off. Is it okay to feed shrimp to a T? Please don’t be rude. I’m still learning

 

[Wolfram1]

be more specific. are they salt water shrimp, fresh water shrimp, etc. etc. species? how are you keeping them...., what spiders do you want to feed them too.....

personally i have no idea, but i wouldn't try saltwater shrimp, just in case

 

[Neonblizzard]

Well... Just based on the fact they'd never encounter them in the wild i don't think I'd risk it

 

[viper69]

My shrimp have taken over my fish tank and I want to feed some off. Is it okay to feed shrimp to a T? Please don’t be rude. I’m still learning

No They would not encounter these in nature

 

[Wolfram1]

not quite true, or at least debateable, i am sure some spider has encountered freshwater shrimp in a dried riverbed

 

[Edan bandoot]

Depends how you keep your tank, but I wouldn't.

 

[Westicles]

I'd not do it either, just to be on the safe side

 

[cold blood]

If they are ghost shrimp, they would probably get gobbled down.

I've fed gobies to ts before...no way they would encounter a bottom dwelling species of fish in the wild, but that doesn't matter to the ts.

 

[nataliextodd]

Thank you all for the advice!

 

[YungRasputin]

Depends how you keep your tank, but I wouldn't.

^this, cross-contamination between enclosures is something to consider here i feel

I’m also curious as to the specifics of the feeding - will it be presented to the T out of the water? in the water? how deep would the water be? what is the water parameters of the aquarium? etc

there are T’s and true spiders which have exhibited fishing behavior (Hysterocrates gigas, Argyroneta aquatica, Dolomedes genus, etc) but a lot of these have special adaptations to facilitate fishing behavior and it seems restricted to the surface of the water

i also don’t think whether or not T’s would encounter them in the wild is irrelevant insomuch as fish, shrimp, etc also have concentrations of mercury, iodine, etc in their system

 

[Neonblizzard]

fish, shrimp, etc also have concentrations of mercury, iodine, etc in their system

This was part of my thoughts that this kind of thing probably isn't present in the insects they encounter normally

 

[Wolfram1]

Many Insects get fish flakes etc as additional source of protein or dried dog food aka meat.

Spiders can deal with all that as long as no harmful levels of those metals/elements are present and i wouldn't recommend feeding anything but insects as their regular diet but can they eat fish, crustaceans, birds, mammals, yes they can.

if it was a type of saltwater shrimp/fish i would be worried that there might be more salt in them than the spider can safely handle but even those organisms have ways to get rid of the extra salt they take up as it is not conductive to life in large quantities.


i also wont starve my roach colony before feeding them off meaning the spiders regularly get to eat some half digested vegetables, and whatever else i give my roaches with no problem at all

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

there are T’s and true spiders which have exhibited fishing behavior (Hysterocrates gigas, Argyroneta aquatica, Dolomedes genus, etc) but a lot of these have special adaptations to facilitate fishing behavior and it seems restricted to the surface of the water

Kind of like the communal tarantula thing, there has never been a documented occurrence of Hysterocrates gigas actually fishing in nature. At least to my knowledge anyway. Any and all occurrences of a Hysterocrates species having any kind of relationship with water in captivity should be viewed as special to captivity.

 

[YungRasputin]

Kind of like the communal tarantula thing, there has never been a documented occurrence of Hysterocrates gigas actually fishing in nature. At least to my knowledge anyway. Any and all occurrences of a Hysterocrates species having any kind of relationship with water in captivity should be viewed as special to captivity.

agreed - i listed it primarily because this has been an ongoing claim - the true spiders are definitively (semi)aquatic tho

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

agreed - i listed it primarily because this has been an ongoing claim - the true spiders are definitively (semi)aquatic tho

But why repeat false information? Hysterocrates gigas does not have any special adaptations, physical or behavioral, for exploiting an aquatic habitat like Dolomedes. Seeing a tarantula fish in captivity is just an example of their opportunism nothing more.

Like seeing that well known footage of an Avicularia species swimming in a river would be an example of predator/ danger avoidence; not that they actually enjoy going for a swim.

 

[YungRasputin]

But why repeat false information?

fair point - i’m not sure - i wasn’t sure how true the claim was tbh

 

[viper69]

an Avicularia species swimming in a river

my Avics have Phelps genes, they lap with the best of them!

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I think you probably could without it necessarily harming the tarantula, but it's probably not the best diet for the spider since shrimp aren't something it would eat in the wild.

 

[Crazyarachnoguy]

My O.violaceopes always dove into her water.
I think your t will be fine.

 

[Sarkhan42]

I know of at least one scientific noting of an Amblypygid feeding on freshwater shrimp- not a T, but an arachnid predator nonetheless. As long as your tank is clean and you aren't using any treatments, seems like an excellent and not wasteful way to cull excess. I'm not saying they will "hunt" them, but I don't see any reason they wouldn't be acceptable feeders, given how generalist Ts are.