Are ghost shrimp and cherry shrimp compatible?

[carter_beyer]

I have a 20 long tank with some ghost shrimp in it would I be able to add some cherry shrimp too?


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[emerald76]

Ghosts might kill the RCS depending on what spaces you get, lots of species are labelled ghost shrimp


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[carter_beyer]

Ok any algae eating invertebrates that ate compatible


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[Fishfur]

If the Ghost shrimp are labeled as Palaemonetes paludosus, or just Palaemonetes, which is actually an American species, the Eastern Grass shrimp, then they should be safe enough with cherry shrimp.

It is true that the adults will eat very young cherries if they catch one, and it's not all that easy for them to catch them. Ghosts also eat their own very young shrimplets, but so long as you provide lots of hiding places, such as thick plantings, rocks or wood, the majority of the baby cherries will survive just fine.

I've kept these two species and a few others all together, along with a number of fish that might well have been expected to eat baby shrimp too, in a 29G, and the cherry shrimp colony grew steadily. I'm sure some of the babies were eaten, but not enough to stop the colony from growing.

Unless you are trying for maximum numbers of cherry shrimp babies, they should do ok with Ghosts, provided it's the right Ghost species. There are at least 3 species sometimes called Ghost, but the one most of us in North America think of when we see this term is the Eastern Grass shrimp, which is native to the south eastern USA.

 

[carter_beyer]

If the Ghost shrimp are labeled as Palaemonetes paludosus, or just Palaemonetes, which is actually an American species, the Eastern Grass shrimp, then they should be safe enough with cherry shrimp.

It is true that the adults will eat very young cherries if they catch one, and it's not all that easy for them to catch them. Ghosts also eat their own very young shrimplets, but so long as you provide lots of hiding places, such as thick plantings, rocks or wood, the majority of the baby cherries will survive just fine.

I've kept these two species and a few others all together, along with a number of fish that might well have been expected to eat baby shrimp too, in a 29G, and the cherry shrimp colony grew steadily. I'm sure some of the babies were eaten, but not enough to stop the colony from growing.

Unless you are trying for maximum numbers of cherry shrimp babies, they should do ok with Ghosts, provided it's the right Ghost species. There are at least 3 species sometimes called Ghost, but the one most of us in North America think of when we see this term is the Eastern Grass shrimp, which is native to the south eastern USA.

Alright awesome because I was told the ghost shrimp wouldn't help with algae only left over food


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[Fishfur]

They eat almost anything. They do eat some algae, but not as much as Cherry shrimps will. Ghosts are more generalists, they eat whatever they find, be it animal or vegetable.

Mine adored shrimp pellets, which are not for feeding to shrimp, but are made OF shrimp, for fish. They'll happily consume any deceased fish, shrimp or snail too, which is handy, really, as it stops anything that dies from spoiling the water parameters. Sometimes all I'd find would be a skeleton of a fish and even that would be gone a day or two later. They are true scavengers, and not at all fussy.

They are quite able to survive for weeks without being fed at all, if the tank is reasonably mature [ say, at least 4 months old]. I've had one small algae eating shrimp in a 5G tank now for nearly a year and I haven't fed him yet. He managed to elude capture and by the time I realized he was still in there, it was already months later and he was doing fine. He has moss and plants to graze and a sponge filter.. and I haven't ever put food in there for him.. so they can do pretty well on biofilm and whatever else grows on plants and whatnot.

 

[keegster803]

I have a 20 gal as well, with ghosts and cherries, if you want the young cherries to survive, get thick plantings, like java moss and stuff like that, as it provides a hiding place for the shrimplets when the feel threatened


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