ghost/glass shrimp details please

[DragonChild]

Greetings.

I stopped by the lfs yesterday, and they had a whole tank full of little shrimp-like things. the tank label read "Glass shrimp". When I got home, I had a drs. foster & smith catalogue that had ghost shrimp inside, but there wasn't much information.

So....what are these buggers, and how do you take care of them? Are there any fish that are incompatable with them?

Thanks,
DC

 

[kenor33]

Well I know some folks buy them for fish food, I guess If you have a very timid tank with small fish they would be ok..I would think they are scavengers as far as eating but I could be wrong. I haven't had any personally but was considering them for a Oscar snack in the near future

 

[An t-iasg]

I had a ghost shrimp for about a week, and it died, so I don't have much experience with them. If a fish can eat the shrimp, it probably will. If the shrimp can fit in a fish's mouth, it may get eaten. The shrimp will eat some algae, but it also looks on the bottom of the tank for uneaten food. When I had mine, I dropped a small piece of algae wafer in for it to eat, and it went right over and grabbed the wafer. I also gave it just a little bit of flake food, since my tank (5.5 gallon with one betta) didn't really have any uneaten food on the bottom. I'm not sure why mine died, but my water may have been too soft. They might need harder water than I had for their shell. I'm not sure though -- that's just my guess as to why mine died. There's also the possiblilty that I got an unhealthy one. But I'll need to do some more research on them before I get another one.

If you don't have any fish that are big enough to eat them, I would say to buy some ghost shrimp and give it a try!

 

[Devilishturtles]

Ghost shrimp are nifty. I had three in my 55 gal for a while, just to try them out. 2 I lost in about a week I think to my either agressive pleco, or angel.

They are not the difficult to breed, and alot of times you can get them from the lfs already with eggs in the tummy, which is obvious when you look at the fish.

They scavenge around and pick at everything! They'll eat of your decorations, gravel, the tank glass, etc. I agree with the above responses though that if you have a bigger fish, it probably will get eaten. I'm pretty sure hardwater is needed as well, due to the exo-skeleton.

If you can grab a few, go for it. They really are cool.

 

[jenbabe256]

I had some of these for about a month. They eat practically everything they can. Mine even came to the top for flakes occassionally. They are very neat and can be pretty active, especially when they start swimming all over the tank. They also shed their "skin" which is definitely neat and unusual. They did eventually end up being eaten when I added tiger barbs to the tank...one of my barbs was found with a shrimp tail hanging out of his mouth But they were still fun while they lasted

 

[Talon242]

At one point I had 20 but the rams finally got a taste and all hell broke out. Anyways they don't really eat too much algae. Mine always scurried around the bottom and collected flakes and then went in to hiding to munch on them. Definitly very fun to watch, I wouldn't hesitate to buy more if I had a place to put them.

 

[DragonChild]

Neat! I was afraid that they were like my pleco....hide all day, do nothing, nibble on some algea here and there, but basically just add to the bioload. They sound neat though! And at $0.75 a piece, something tells me that I can add some, and not be broke if they croak!

*gryns* Thanks guys.

 

[nicracing]

i use the ghost shrimp in my molly baby tank to keep the bottom clean. i also have some in my plant growing tank they are fun to watch. the life expectancy is not long though i was told about 2 to 3 months at the longest. for $.30 each they are not bad

 

[Lance M.]

Mine are 20 cents each. They will only live a max. of one year in a tank with great water conditions. They are a truly saltwater/brackish shrimp that are most often used as feeders. If you have any catfish that get 5inches+ then they will eat the shrimp. My loach has eaten one. And both my african dwarf frogs have killed and eaten some of the shrimps (they are about the same size). The shrimp are usually 2inches long sometimes you'll find bigger ones. They are great active scavengers. They will go all around your tank in plain view during the day. They don't really eat algae but maybe a little. If you have about ten it will always seem that at least one is pregnant. It's easy to tell with the green eggs. However the eggs won't hatch in freshwater and the larvae are extremely difficult to raise/impossible. They are really cool. One neat thing is if they are hungry and there are flakes at the surface of the water, the shrimp will swim up there, turn completely upsidedown grabe the flake and eat it. Really cool to watch.

 

[LittlePuff]

They will live much longer if you add some iodine to the water. If you don't they will turn white and die within a few months. They also need hard water to harden their shells after they molt. If you have soft water, you can add a calcium supplement. Kent makes 2 iodine products and Seachem makes one. Add one drop per 5gal. The shrimp also need hiding places for after they molt. They are vulnerable before their shells harden.

Kim

 

[krap101]

here its like 2$ for 6 3$ for 12

 

[Lance M.]

it's 5 for a dollar here.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Wal-Mart sells them for $.26. If you can get some even for a while, they are cool to have.

Enjoy!

 

[QuietDusk]

They will live much longer if you add some iodine to the water.

If you have soft water, you can add a calcium supplement.

Will doing either of these things affect fish? I was thinking of putting some ghost shrimp in with my goldfish...

 

[DragonChild]

Um...are you supposed to be able to see them after they are added to the tank?? I went down there today and asked for 4...he gave me 6 and only charged me for 4. Anyway, I got home, did the 'drip acclimation', and about a half hour later, added them to my tank. The biggest chased the shark for the algea wafer that he had, and horded that under the ship. Aside from that, I haven't seen them since I added them!! *glances worridly at the tank*

 

[Devilishturtles]

It'll be normal for them to hide. They need to get used to their surroundings and such. Give it a bit of time. All those big things in your tank are probably scaring them.

 

[LittlePuff]

I've never had problems with the iodine and other fish. I've kept them with puffers,bettas and goldfish.

Kim