Ghost Shrimp

[PsiPro]

So I was around when the Ghost Shrimp Mortality thread came up and I just recently got my first batch of ghost shrimp in the mail the other day.

I ordered 48 of them (4 dozen) and now about 18 survive. In the mail proably about half of them died, but i'm cool with it because the supplier refunded the money for the dead... all $3 of it.

I bought them fairly cheap, about $7.40 for the 4 dozen but then a bundel for the shipping, either way the price was good for 48shrimp.

I had my plant QT set up (where i put the plants that are getting picked on too much), and the water is strait from the main community tank and is heated to around 77. There is a HOB filter which i turn down but can proably cycle the entire tanks water in 3min. Its only a 5gal tank.

There is a wad of java moss in the tank ad well as a tupperware container with sand and my QT plants, as well as a fertlizer tablet.

Anyhoo, the shrimp are droping like flys, everyday I find atleast two or three new ones dead. Typically i just leave the bodies in there for the rest of the day becasue they are eaten by the shrimp.

The age of the shrimp dosn't seem to matter much, the large and small ones die (btw some of the ones I got at 1-1.5" alredy).

First, anyone have any ideas as to how I can keep them alive?

I saw in the previous thread that they wanted to run some experiemnts on the shrimp to see if they do better in different conditions. My ultimate goal is to get a breeding population, so I'd be willing to do test of them either when this group all dies and I buy a new batch, or with the survivors of this group.

 

[mr86mister]

yeah they are very tough to keep all alive, plus they are short-lived anyways. Good luck on the breeding population, you can see the ones with eggs cuz they have the green balls underneath what i call their little "fanners" that help them swim. GOOD LUCK!!

 

[PsiPro]

Thanks i'm gonna need it.

Its fun to watch them, i'm feeding them crushed flake food and they turn orange when they eat it, its really cool to watch.

They seems to really like that, but not so much the pelet food.

 

[Tiffi]

Look under the Fish and Plant Profiles forum. there is a threat about Amano Shrimps in there, that might already give you some ideas what it could be that you are doing wrong.

You could then start eliminationg one after the other possibilities. If everything is fine and they still die, let me know.

The ideal water condition for ghost shrimp are:

pH 6-7.5, with very soft water you should add some trace elements every now and then to help them mold.

 

[Andos99]

Most people by them to be quickly feed to others.....just about everything big enough enjoys a ghost shrimp lunch.

 

[Lance M.]

Most people by them to be quickly feed to others.....just about everything big enough enjoys a ghost shrimp lunch.

Exactly what Andos says. Ghost shrimps main purpose is for feeding fish. That's most likely why they always die soon- they are never treated correctly or kept in ideal conditions. They are meant to be in the tank long enough to get their heads popped off by a fish

As you can tell though more and more people are now getting ghost shrimp to just keep as scavengers, so they may possibly be treated better and end up better by the suppliers.

I have two from a batch of ten that are going on nine months of life, along with five amanos, three vampire shrimp, and one wood shrimp. I add iodine.

 

[krap101]

well if the stores treated them better they'd probally be like 2-3$ each?

 

[PsiPro]

Proably... Sad what feeders have to put up with just to become somon's snack.

 

[Fubie]

Until my last batch I've had so so luck keeping them alive more than a month. I believe with my current herd feeding the tank brine shrimp twice weekly is helping the ghosties greatly. Well that and now I have more plant bottom cover and driftwood.

 

[Guest]

was your plant tank cycled? you said you kept plants in it from the main tank, but if there was no ammonia source to keep the bacterial colony alive, you may be having ammonia and nitrite spikes from the shrimp... have you checked the water?

 

[Fishingdood]

I have a 10 gallon tank and and 10 shimp in it ...all are still alive and growning nicely ....been over 6 months now ..I do not do any special ...they eat alge and food flakes..and do my normal water changes ..

 

[Lance M.]

High levels of ammonia and nitrite are an easy killer for any type of shrimp.