8 ghost shrimp... now 3 :-(

[kwandrsn]

We bought some feeder ghost shrimp for $2 for 10... They can't count and only gave us 8 but no big deal.

In the past couple of months they keep dying. I find them laying in the gravel and pink.

We have 3 left now but one isn't clear anymore it is kinda white/grey and had been like this for a couple of weeks.

Could it be cause they were feeder and probably not best of health?

Parameters
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10-20
Temp 77

community tank never see fish attacking them. Weekly water changes

20 gallon planted

Thanks for your input in advance my wife wants to try getting more but I am wondering if we should ya know

 

[bud29]

My guess is that they are intolerant of your tank temperature. IME 78F is the upper end of their limit. they may turn pink and literally cook to death, which is what I'm guessing happened to yours. The funny thing with ghost shrimp that I've found is that some batches will tolerate a given temp and others won't. Your temp is by no means insanely high, so I would try some more. It sounds like you just got a finicky batch.

 

[kwandrsn]

Possibly when they go molt they get too hot?

 

[kwandrsn]

Are red shrimp our fire shimp any better? I personally would like those at least I could see them

 

[bud29]

I have had good success keeping fire red shrimp at a constant temperature of 78F.

 

[kwandrsn]

I have had good success keeping fire red shrimp at a constant temperature of 78F.

I may look into them next then how many would work in a 20 gallon planted tank?

 

[bud29]

I may look into them next then how many would work in a 20 gallon planted tank?

I'd say get no more than 40. Some ghost shrimp can become territorial so you don't really want to overcrowd.

 

[kwandrsn]

I'd say get no more than 40. Some ghost shrimp can become territorial so you don't really want to overcrowd.

Wait 40? I was adding about cherry shrimp but 40 ghost shrimp in a 20 gallon?

 

[bud29]

Wait 40? I was adding about cherry shrimp but 40 ghost shrimp in a 20 gallon?

Yup, 1-2 shrimp per gallon And with dwarf shrimp like fire reds you can have 10 shrimp per gallon. Sounds like alot but it's true However, if you get more ghost shrimp, I wouldn't get the fire reds. Some ghost shrimp are carnivorous and will eat the fire reds.

 

[kwandrsn]

I've only got 3 ghost left. I should add that the tank is overstocked also.

7 male guppies
5 neon tetras
3 albino corys
2 albino bristle nosed plecos
3 ghost shrimp

That's why I do plenty of water changes

so the three ghosts will eat other shrimp? Maybe that's part of the problem?

What is difference in fire red and red cherry shrimp?

I don't really want to get more ghost shrimp unless I can't find another kind

 

[bud29]

I've only got 3 ghost left. I should add that the tank is overstocked also.

7 male guppies
5 neon tetras
3 albino corys
2 albino bristle nosed plecos
3 ghost shrimp

That's why I do plenty of water changes

so the three ghosts will eat other shrimp? Maybe that's part of the problem?

What is difference in fire red and red cherry shrimp?

I don't really want to get more ghost shrimp unless I can't find another kind

I really don't think overstocking or aggression caused the deaths - it sounds quite a bit like these were just super finicky about temperature.

Fire reds are just higher grade red cherry shrimp.

 

[kwandrsn]

Ok thanks

 

[Autumnsky]

RCS - color differences

There are color variations. Best to start with the more common Cherries, less inbreeding, than more darkly red colored shrimp (and more cost).

Generally the ones you can get from hobbyists for about $1.00 each are pretty nice and so much fun to watch breed and raise.

But if you have the Tetras and Guppies, the shrimp's lives will be in possible danger. If they are scared, they will hide and then the reason you have them, to see them, will maybe not work.

Any way for the color. There are many names, for different colored shrimp, they really are just Cherry Shrimp, Neocaridina heteropoda, Taiwan, Fire Red, Super Red, Sakura, Painted Fire Red - Darkest most hybridized/interbred, most sensitive, to pH, temp and water quality issues/changes.

In a regular RCS, the inside of the body is where the reddish comes from, so they are mostly a pink to pink orange type color and have clear and or pink legs.

Then as the quality of the shrimp goes up the body color intensifies, and eventually the shell color increases until even the legs of the RCS are solid red, as in Painted Fire Red Shrimp. Usually in the highest grades you cannot see the saddle or babies of the berried female due to the shell being so dark.

Then, also there are some bronze/brown "Chocolate" shrimp and also blue which can be grey, grey blue, to brighter blue. Tan ones and clear ones too.

For that matter there are white, yellow and orange.

Females will be more dark than the males, usually.

Oh and as for the ghost shrimp, have you ever used a med which has copper in it, sometimes the copper left in a tank can cause problems.

 

[kwandrsn]

Thanks that was very informative. I'm just a little leery of buying more when I couldn't even keep the ones I had ya know. I still can't believe 40 shrimp in a 20 gallon stocked with fish. I read ghost shrimp get 2"

 

[Autumnsky]

Ghost shrimp/Grass Shrimp are of many kinds/places as previously mentioned, some have stripes some get very big some stay smaller. Some need brakish water to reproduce and some reproduce in FW??? There is such a wide area of places in the world where these things come from and so many different "names".

I easily had 120 shrimp in my 16G, sold off a ton now, waiting a new stock of dark red ones, lol. Five White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Amano shrimp, and a handful of mystery snails and Ramshorns.

I would recommend a couple of Japonica Amano /algae eating Shrimp. They are big and get along with the community fish pretty well. If a couple seem to do well and you like them, try maybe 5-6 total (you could do around 10 if you really wanted to, but 6 would be good).

They are super funny to watch, and love Hikari sinking omnivore wafers and little bits of algae wafers too but are meat eating scavengers! So don't let the Algae eating shrimp name fool you!

 

[kwandrsn]

That's cool I will look for Amano shrimp and buy a few