Ghost Shrimp

[d1anonly22]

do you know anything about ghost shrimp?, i have some with eggs and i was told they need aquarium salt to hatch, so i put some in to day and when i was doing so i noticed three babys the size of a flea or smaller.

[thatmagicguy]

Originally Posted by d1anonly22

do you know anything about ghost shrimp?, i have some with eggs and i was told they need aquarium salt to hatch, so i put some in to day and when i was doing so i noticed three babys the size of a flea or smaller.

If they are freshwater ghost shrimp they do not need salt. There is a species very similar that live in brackish estuaries that would need salt, but adding arbitrary amounts of salt without knowing if you have salt water shrimp may kill them.

I have raised thousands of freshwater ghost shrimp by doing no more than providing them with loads of fine leaved plants along the edges of the pond and they release the babies from their swimmerettes into the plants.

You could easily do this in a tank as well, but you need to not have any filter on other than a sponge filter. Otherwise they get sucked up.

Bill

[d1anonly22]

i just have them in a ten gallon tank with know filter, i figured they would get sucked up so i took it off. they seem fine with the salt i added. only 2 tsp. for the ten gallon.

[gzeiger]

Well that's good news.

If it was me that told you they need salt to hatch, what I said was that it's unlikely they need salt, but there are two different species you might have and one of them would need salt. The freshwater species is much more commonly sold, so your shrimp probably do not need salt.

Good luck with the babies. Have you added dead leaves like I suggested? Finely ground flake food will be good for them too. You can just rub it in your fingers to grind it up.

[d1anonly22]

my friend at petsmart where i got them said he raises them and they need salt, he was wrong but now i have it anyways. your info helped a lot more than his.

[gzeiger]

I don't think a small amount of salt will hurt them. I have collected them in tidal freshwater that is at least intermittently brackish.

The little ones are cute aren't they?

[HN1]

Aquarium salt will not create brackish conditions. I agree that you most likely have a truly FW variety if they've reproduced succesfully. There are quite a few actual species of shrimp sold as "Ghost shrimp".

[d1anonly22]

yeah they are, they look like debree floating in the tank, so what exactly do i do with the dead leafs. also theres a metal dog pan thats hooked up to the hose all day it constantly stays full, pretty cool actualy, anyways it is full of algae my questions is is that of any use to the ghost shrimp?

[gzeiger]

I just throw enough leaves in to cover the bottom of the tank. The adults grze on them. I'm not sure if they're eating the leaves or bits of fungus and tiny invertebrates that live on them, but eventually the leaves end up eaten and the shrimp can live on that for days if you forget to feed them or can't figure out exactly the right amount to feed.

I'm not sure if algae will help out or not. I'm sure it can't hurt, and if it had critters living in it then it would certainly help.

[mgamer20o0]

Originally Posted by d1anonly22

my friend at petsmart where i got them said he raises them and they need salt, he was wrong but now i have it anyways. your info helped a lot more than his.

ah i guess the employees at petsmart always know best. good luck.

[d1anonly22]

will the adult shrimp eat the babies? because some have hatched but the two mothers still have some that havent yet. is it okay for them to stay in with the ones that have hatched?

[mgamer20o0]

they shouldnt.

[d1anonly22]

ok. i had seen at least one in the tank but cant find since yesterday.

[thatmagicguy]

I have seen freshwater ghost shrimp cannibalize newly released babies. If you have fine-leaved plants for the babies to cling to then this should be a minimal problem. And it can be difficult to keep track of baby shrimp when they are in the plants. If the shrimp are in a bare tank it is likely that they will be harassed by adult shrimp.

[gzeiger]

I've never observed closely enough to say for sure, but it makes sense that they might be cannibalistic. They certainly eat dead adults readily enough. I've never thought of them as particularly good hunters, but then the fry aren't the most elusive of prey either. Floating Java moss might help, or even just plastic Easter grass or something to make obstacles.