Aggressive Ghost Shrimp

[Tetra27]

Hey everyone,
I recently stocked my 5.5 gallon with 5 ghost shrimp from a local petsmart.
In the last month I've had them there have been no problems but recently one of my bigger shrimps that has just molted is picking on the others. At first I thought it was just the shrimp fighting over food but then he started picking on one shrimp in particular ALL THE TIME. The poor victim began turning a white color the last couple days so at first I thought he was molting but this morning I found him pale white dead being eaten by the big mean shrimp . Is this regular ghost shrimp behavior? or is it just because I got it from petsmart? Should I be taking that shrimp out of that tank? (It's starting to be a jerk to another shrimp and although they are very cheap I don't want them to die) If it's just the species is there other types of shrimp that get along? What should I do?

 

[Coursair]

Hey everyone,
I recently stocked my 5.5 gallon with 5 ghost shrimp from a local petsmart.
In the last month I've had them there have been no problems but recently one of my bigger shrimps that has just molted is picking on the others. At first I thought it was just the shrimp fighting over food but then he started picking on one shrimp in particular ALL THE TIME. The poor victim began turning a white color the last couple days so at first I thought he was molting but this morning I found him pale white dead being eaten by the big mean shrimp . Is this regular ghost shrimp behavior? or is it just because I got it from petsmart? Should I be taking that shrimp out of that tank? (It's starting to be a jerk to another shrimp and although they are very cheap I don't want them to die) If it's just the species is there other types of shrimp that get along? What should I do?

GS can be aggressive. Do you have plants or hiding places ?

 

[Tetra27]

GS can be aggressive. Do you have plants or hiding places ?

Yeah I have a 2 java ferns and a fish decor with two places for shrimp to hide though they seem to prefer scavenging the substrate.

 

[Tetra27]

Is there a more peaceful species anyone recommends of freshwater shrimp? I'd like input on other peoples experiences with them.

 

[Tetra1990]

It may not be a ghost shrimp. Most shrimp are sold as 'ghost shrimp'. Similar thing happened with me. Bought a bunch of ghost shrimp from petsmart and one went rouge. At the time it was 2x the size of all the others. It was moved to it's own 10 gallon. asked around on AA and found it was a long armed freshwater shrimp. When it passed away, I measured it and it was almost 3 inches from tail to claws.

 

[Tetra27]

It may not be a ghost shrimp. Most shrimp are sold as 'ghost shrimp'. Similar thing happened with me. Bought a bunch of ghost shrimp from petsmart and one went rouge. At the time it was 2x the size of all the others. It was moved to it's own 10 gallon. asked around on AA and found it was a long armed freshwater shrimp. When it passed away, I measured it and it was almost 3 inches from tail to claws.

Woah really!!!!! That's interesting, it looks like a ghostie but idk it could be another species....it's double the size of the others but has many similar characteristics to the rest but just in case I think I will move it to another tank. Thanks for the info!!!!! I hadn't thought of it being another specimen.

 

[Tetra1990]

Yeah that shrimp I had was a monster. It was so big that I could be across the room, look into the 10g it was in and spot it right away. Also, it would eat an entire bottom feeder tablet in one sitting. Too bad it died. I really want a crawfish for that tank but I'll need to rehome my male betta first. Oh and I like your handle, great minds think alike

 

[Tetra27]

Yeah that shrimp I had was a monster. It was so big that I could be across the room, look into the 10g it was in and spot it right away. Also, it would eat an entire bottom feeder tablet in one sitting. Too bad it died. I really want a crawfish for that tank but I'll need to rehome my male betta first. Oh and I like your handle, great minds think alike

Thanks for the help

 

[Fishfur]

Check the front claws.. if they are larger than the other ghost shrimp, it's not a ghost. Sometimes a machrobrachium gets mixed in and many of them, though not all of them, are very aggressive.

The shrimp that died may have been the weakest, thus the easiest target. But any shrimp will eat another shrimp that is dead.

Cherry shrimp are very peaceful and have the advantage of giving birth to live babies that are just like the adults, instead of larvae, as Ghost shrimp do. They don't need special conditions, nor special food.

 

[Tetra27]

Check the front claws.. if they are larger than the other ghost shrimp, it's not a ghost. Sometimes a machrobrachium gets mixed in and many of them, though not all of them, are very aggressive. The shrimp that died may have been the weakest, thus the easiest target. But any shrimp will eat another shrimp that is dead. Cherry shrimp are very peaceful and have the advantage of giving birth to live babies that are just like the adults, instead of larvae, as Ghost shrimp do. They don't need special conditions, nor special food.

I've gotten more ghosts after I have transferred the suspect killer and so far none of them have died. As far as I can tell the mean one is still a ghost shrimp (the others were not fully grown) as it has the markings and such (It's big but not oversized). I am aware of the ghost shrimp breeding info (I just like a challenge) and I plan to start cycling a planted tank in September for cherry shrimp. Thanks for the info!!

 

[Fishfur]

It is not hard to breed them at all. It is hard to keep the zoeys alive long enough to morph, even though it only takes a few days. Once morphed, they do fairly well, provided there are no fish to snack on them. They are extremely small when first morphed.

I've bred a number of them, in a 5G tank. Not hard, but takes time for them to grow to a size that's safe from fish predators. I have had them survive in my 30G community tank, but not many, most get eaten or filtered, I suspect. I have fan shrimp too, so I don't mind so much if they get the eggs when they are released, or the zoeys.