Ghost Shrimp Attacking New Snails

[krysiarose]

I have two ghost shrimps, one large (about as large as a neon tetra) and one small. My aquarium has algae, so the pet store sold me a gold shell snail and a chocolate shell snail (the snails are bigger than the ghost shrimp, about half the size of a golf ball).

The shrimp are picking on the snails; getting in the snail's "face" and making the snail twitch and move...I'm afraid that the ghost shrimp are going to eat my snails. The pet store knew I had ghost shrimp (I told them all my species before buying) and they said everyone should be compatible.

Should I take the snails out/back? I don't want the snails to be stressed and die, as they are already doing a great job getting the algae off of the aquarium walls.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Sounds like you have mystery snails, which are not the best algae eaters... they barely touch the stuff IME. Ghost shrimp have been known to pick at snails, some even cleaning out pond snail populations. I'd pick which ever one you want to keep, and get rid of the other if you're having issues with them. While the snails might be cleaning some algae now, they won't do a great job. A mag float does much better, and would be fine with the shrimp.

 

[siva]

Are you positive they are ghost shrimp and now red claw macros? Red claws are sometimes sold as ghost shrimp, but are much more violent. Look up pics of both to be sure.

If they are truly ghost shrimp, I wonder if they aren't just extra hungry. Maybe they need supplemented with an algae wafer or shrimp pellet.