ghost shrimp

[lyric112209]

Are they beneficial to a fish tank? I've got a 10 gallon tank with 7 fish...how many ghost shrimp could I put in the tank?

 

[jcolon]

Are they beneficial to a fish tank? I've got a 10 gallon tank with 7 fish...how many ghost shrimp could I put in the tank?

You can have a bunch to put it simply! Yes they do offer a benefit in keeping the tank cleaner. They're great little beginner shrimp that do not harm fish and love to eat leftover food missed by your fish. Just feed your fish the normal food and they'll scavenge for scraps. I would however throw in an algae wafer once a week or so.

Depending on the fish you have, they'll either be tank mates, or lunch. Ghost shrimp will do better if you give them plenty of cover with Plants, DW and Rocks ... especially when they molt. Start with 10 and give them a couple of weeks. Your bound to lose a few due to acclimation so don't be surprised if you only have 6 or so left ... it happens ... assuming your fish don't look at them as a snack!

 

[lyric112209]

Cool. The fish I have are all pretty small so I don't think they would get eaten....my tank has started growing green algae recently...would they snack on that?

 

[jcolon]

Cool. The fish I have are all pretty small so I don't think they would get eaten....my tank has started growing green algae recently...would they snack on that?

Green Algae? Ghost wont really do it. It's best you tell us the type of lighting you have. Green Algae's usually a result of excess nutrients along with too much lighting. Some spot algae on glass is fine, you just don't want the runaway stuff growing on everything.

Your two best candidates for dealing with some types algae ... that are usually available at LFS's are Amano and RCS. Depending on what fish you have RCS are REALLY looked upon as snacks ... so go with 2-3 Amano Shrimp along with some ghost. Amano's are bigger and are just Algae eating hogs.
Ghost will help to eat up excess uneaten food that contributes to Algae growth.

 

[lyric112209]

Green Algae? Ghost wont really do it. It's best you tell us the type of lighting you have. Green Algae's usually a result of excess nutrients along with too much lighting. Some spot algae on glass is fine, you just don't want the runaway stuff growing on everything.

Your two best candidates for dealing with some types algae ... that are usually available at LFS's are Amano and RCS. Depending on what fish you have RCS are REALLY looked upon as snacks ... so go with 2-3 Amano Shrimp along with some ghost. Amano's are bigger and are just Algae eating hogs.
Ghost will help to eat up excess uneaten food that contributes to Algae growth.

Yeah its green algae, and some black...its growing on the substrate and a little here and there on my silk plant, and decorations....lighting is I think a 10 watt...lights on from 8am-8pm usually

 

[jcolon]

So there are no live plants correct? Live plants would help to consume some of the nutrients the Algae's feeding off. With green and black algae it'll come down to controlling the light, watching out for excess nutrients and PWC's. You could also cut down your light period down to say 8hrs a day.

How often are you feeding the fish? Uneaten food ... which happens with fish ... is a big contributor to excess algae. As mentioned, the shrimp will help feast on any uneaten food and some algae ... but we want to cut down on the factors. Could you provide a picture of algae? I'm far from an algae expert ... other members like Aquachem's much more knowledgable about algae. I confident you'll get more responses .. picture's do wonders.

 

[lyric112209]

So there are no live plants correct? Live plants would help to consume some of the nutrients the Algae's feeding off. With green and black algae it'll come down to controlling the light, watching out for excess nutrients and PWC's. You could also cut down your light period down to say 8hrs a day.

How often are you feeding the fish? Uneaten food ... which happens with fish ... is a big contributor to excess algae. As mentioned, the shrimp will help feast on any uneaten food and some algae ... but we want to cut down on the factors. Could you provide a picture of algae? I'm far from an algae expert ... other members like Aquachem's much more knowledgable about algae. I confident you'll get more responses .. picture's do wonders.

No live plants, I only feed them once a day..my phone has to charge before I can take a pic...will get it up soon...thanks

 

[lyric112209]

Here are some pics of the algae, kind of hard to see in the pics

 

[Wyomingite]

Howdy!

That almost looks like the start of a blue-green algae bloom.

With no live plants in the tank, the only reason ya really need the lights on is for your viewing. The lights on my non-planted tanks are only on for a few hours in the evening when I'm home.

How often do ya do water changes, and how large are those? The best way to control nutrients is with water changes. Depending on your current schedule, I'd also consider increasing the frequency and size of your water changes.

WYite

 

[lyric112209]

Howdy!

That almost looks like the start of a blue-green algae bloom.

With no live plants in the tank, the only reason ya really need the lights on is for your viewing. The lights on my non-planted tanks are only on for a few hours in the evening when I'm home.

How often do ya do water changes, and how large are those? The best way to control nutrients is with water changes. Depending on your current schedule, I'd also consider increasing the frequency and size of your water changes.

WYite

My tank has just recently been cycled, its been a week or so and I was doing 50% water changes pretty much everyday because i was doing a fish in cycle, I havnt done a water change for 3 or 4 days

 

[lyric112209]

Well I just did a 40% water change about. Cleaned the subsrtate and decor and am leaving the light off for the day