Ghost Shrimp Uncommon???

[sugarloves]

I decided that I wanted a few ghost shrimp for my aquarium today but when I checked out the first fish store in town, the workers there had never heard of ghost shrimp, nor had ever carried any shrimp ever. So then I went to the second LFS, and the lady there hadnt heard of them either. When I asked the manager, he said he had ordered them once, put them in an aquarium and could never find them again to net them. He told me he would NEVER order them again. 8O I live on the west coast of Canada, is it uncommon for local fish stores to not carry ghost shrimp? Would my only bet be ordering them off the enternet, or would larger chain pet stores on Vancouver Island probably have them?

 

[grimlock3000]

Where I live (in Maine, US), it is not even legal for a pet store to sell a freshwater shrimp.

The manager you talked to likely put them in a tank not suitable for shrimp and they got out and spread to other tanks

 

[lyquidphyre]

Wal-mart (as much as I hate them) has ghost shrimp and since its a big chain like that im sure they carry them in all their stores. Not sure if there are Wal-marts in Canada but if there is go to the fish section and squat down and look real close and maybe you will find some.

 

[cheezysquirrelz]

But Wal-mart ppl are fish murderers! My friend and I went there once and put sticky notes on all the tanks that said not to buy them if they want healthy fish. In Georgia, ghost shrimp are in every store and used as feeders.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Yah, i hate wal-mart just as much as the next person but if you are absolutely desperate to buy ghost shrimp that would be my suggestion.

Haha good job with the sticky notes!

 

[oscarbreeder]

All the lfs in my area and even Wal-Mart carry Ghost Shrimp.
I have several in my 55 community tank.
They are so cool.

 

[Bioworldmaker]

he said he had ordered them once, put them in an aquarium and could never find them again to net them.

Ghost shrimps are sometimes called "Glass shrimps" and they are really translucent, so if they were in a tank with light colored substrate (like sand) yeah, it would be really difficult to find them if there were only a few in the tank...

 

[madasafish]

Ghost Shrimp are everywhere. You really should be able to find them. It's too bad that your LFSs don't seem to carry them. Either ask them to special order them, or call around all other stores and ask if they do sell them... I find calling around saves a lot of time and effort!

 

[newaridiar]

Maybe there are wildlife regulations about them in your area too, and that's why none of the stores have them/have heard of them. Around where I live, only one of the LFS regularly stock them, but they are very inexpensive, $0.10-$0.25

I wouldn't get them online unless you are getting something else from the same site, I couldn't imagine paying $30 shipping charges for Ghost Shrimp!
Good luck with the seach

 

[TankGirl]

Generally ghost shrimp are kept in bare-bottom tanks with no decorations or structures of any kind, as they are used as feeders for the most part. That way there is no problem netting them or having them disappear or get eaten by the fish in the store. Keep looking, but I suppose it is possible there are areas where they are unavailable. You can mail order them, as well - they ship very well.

 

[Cherry Barb]

I've seen Glass Shrimp several times at local stores. If you MUST get them from a place you don't like (you know that place with the sticky notes) just QT them until you're sure they're healthy.

 

[cdawson]

I decided that I wanted a few ghost shrimp for my aquarium today but when I checked out the first fish store in town, the workers there had never heard of ghost shrimp, nor had ever carried any shrimp ever. So then I went to the second LFS, and the lady there hadnt heard of them either. When I asked the manager, he said he had ordered them once, put them in an aquarium and could never find them again to net them. He told me he would NEVER order them again. 8O I live on the west coast of Canada, is it uncommon for local fish stores to not carry ghost shrimp? Would my only bet be ordering them off the enternet, or would larger chain pet stores on Vancouver Island probably have them?

No you're right, over here they're pretty rare. I only see them about once every 5-6 months. When I do actually see them there's only about 4 left in the tank and the store is selling them for 5 bucks a piece...more than an AMANO SHRIMP! Petsmart in delta used to sell them for 89 cents a piece and then all of a sudden they just stopped getting them in.
Your best bet would definately be over the net, but finding a place to ship livestock to canada is the hardest part. All the major distributors only ship livestock to the states.

 

[swanandmokashi]

its carried in almost every other store here in Atlanta ..I have one ,and love it. Keeps the tank clean too
I guess we are just lucky ??!?

 

[cdawson]

They're native to kentucky aren't they? or at least all over the southern states. They seem to be in heavy circulation in the eastern and southern states.

 

[Blackpearl]

Maybe it's just not their 'season'? The LFS around here used to have lots of them, but lately they;re not available. The only store that carries them now in Saskatoon is Petland, and the last time I was there, there are only 10 of them left, 2 dollars each. The shrimps were placed in the same tank as feeder guppys.

 

[Lance M.]

I don't know if any of my info will help. As other people previously mentioned ghost shrimp can be found in fish stores almost everywhere, but everyone who has replied to you lives in the U.S.A. so it would proably be better to get a reply from someone in Canada. Down here in the South you can basically go to almost any pond or body of water with a large skimmer, get the bottom and pull it up and catch tons of ghost shrimp, since they are native to warmer climates. And by the way ghost shrimp are NOT a freshwater shrimp. They are mostly brackish toward saltwater but occasionally/mostly move in between fresh and brackish waters. They are very cool to watch and are great scavengers in groups. However, it's extremely hard to breed them, unless you have a lot of money for specialized equipment since pretty much any filtration will suck in the fry and kill them. Since they are almost inpossible to breed, pretty much all of them are wild caught and shipped around. Good luck finding them in Canada.

 

[tsaraber]

We found some ghost shrimp at pet supplies plus and they were only 25 cents... But they are few and far between. Our regular fish store doesn't even cary them.

 

[Lance M.]

There could also be laws for Canada restricting regular shipments, thus causing the price for them to be so high. For example, I know there is a law for California that forbides the sales of biologically engineered ( man-made) animals in such. Like they can't have the new glow-in-the-dark fish, which is really cool. Ghost shrimp are usually 20 cents each here.

 

[Talon242]

Around town my lfs sells them for 89 cents, while right across the street at petsmart they are 30 cents so for the ghost shrimp thats where I go.

 

[vinnymac]

Ghost Shrimp are really common around me. I buy them all the time and they vary in price...usually $0.10 to $0.25 each.