hmm yes no?

[ploughking]

I am interested in keeping a ghost shrimp... hmm. How big do they grow? Would they need a heater? I have a spare goldfish bowl type thing and maybe I could grow one in there. Would my community eat it? (check my siggy)

 

[lyquidphyre]

you have 8 goldfish in a 10 gal tank???? that es no bueno
hopefully that is a misprint... if it is than ghost shrimp would work in a goldfish tank. Then again, I don't know if they need a heater or not. My advice to you is make sure you don't get Indian Prawn (which look VERY similar to ghost shrimp when they are little but when they get bigger they can get HUGE and very very very aggressive). I purchased what i thought were 6 ghost shrimp once- half were ghost shrimp the other half were indian prawn. The indian prawn, when they got bigger, ate the ghost shrimp and at one point two had my fancy goldie pinned to the gravel attacking him. So just watch out as they grow =o)

 

[ploughking]

No, it wasn't a misprint. They are the inhabitants of my old tank, which was enourmous. They have stopped growing and I worry for them; I am moving them to a pond soon. The black moor I'm gonna keep, I might put a few river shrimp in. Kudos to you for all the advice!

 

[ploughking]

If they werent to sell ghost shrimp0 would it be ok to put river shrimp in? I have seen them - five pence each! - and they seem roughly the same. The people at my LFS said they were food for cichlds and such but I don't have the heart to give them such a slow and painful death.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Ah well 8 goldies in a 10 gal is scary! The sooner you move them to the pond the better poor things. Are they all common or fancy or a mix? I miss my goldfish. But if they are in a 10 gal and you do frequent water changes, they are pretty hardy so they will be okay for a tiny bit but hurrty and move em to the pond!

 

[ploughking]

They are all common and greowing fast. There is a pond I know and I can put them in there - the fish in there are brand new and they are all about the same size.

 

[Gunnie]

I have put ghost shrimp in my tanks in the past, and they are so fun to watch! No, you don't have to heat the tank. The LFS I used to buy them from keeps their ghost shrimp in tubs with the koi they have for sale. They don't get very big, I'd say about an inch or so. Some fish will eat them, but I had mine in a community tank with gouramis, bettas and corys, and no one bothered them.