# Will ghost shrimps eat my plants??



## unlimitedx (Mar 20, 2007)

Will ghost shrimps eat the plants that are in my betta tank? I have amazon swords, hortwort, frills, and some green-grass like plant (I don't know the name of it  )

Will the ghost shrimps eat the greens? or will it only eat the algae that grows within the tank? I spent quite a lot of money on the plants and I don't want the shrimps to be eating them!


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## SummerOj (Dec 29, 2009)

i dont think they will? Im not too sure


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

No they don't eat the live plants.. they will eat dead and dieing plant matter. Which will help keep your tank clean 

(Oh and BTW the plural if shrimp is shrimp.. sorry its just a pet peeve of mine;-))


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## unlimitedx (Mar 20, 2007)

Cool  and hello again!

I think I'll get 6 ghost shrimps. They're 6 for $1 at my local fish shop, and they're extremely tiny, about .25 to 75 inch. Maybe the betta will even eat some 

Are they any other organic matter eating tiny critters I can get for the tank? besides snails, I don't really like snails


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

not that I know of.. shrimp are the smallest, snails are small to big in size, then there are bottom dwellers but I wouldn't suggest them unless you have a 10 gallon tank or larger.

The betta may eat some. Ghost shrimp are really great for completing the ecosystem of a planted tank because they eat dieing plant matter then breed and/or die and give the betta a nice snack of dead shrimp and baby shrimp.

They do molt (shed their outer skins) so you need to provide lots of plant cover or a cave that the betta can't get into or stuck in where they can hide while they don't have shells


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## unlimitedx (Mar 20, 2007)

Got a dollar worth of ghost shrimps. They were supposed to give me 6 but when I got home there was only 5 in the bag    

they're very tiny. once the ghost shrimps were placed in the tank the betta played hide n seek with them, trying to take a bite out of them but the shrimps were too fast for it. plus the shrimps are safe hiding inside the hornwort maze


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## unlimitedx (Mar 20, 2007)

My ghost shrimps are dying one by one. Help!

I just got them yesterday, and 1 died this morning when I woke up, and another just died.

What's going on????


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## Eolith (Aug 4, 2009)

I can't say. I've got three ghost shrimp in the tank with my betta and some live plants and other fish, and they've been doing just fine. I haven't lost a one of them. They're a great little cleaning crew though.


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## Tinthalas Tigris (Jan 28, 2010)

do you have salt in your aquarium?

I don't know much about the ghost shrimp, but the one I have in my tank has thrived so far.

I currently have 2 tablespoon of salt per each gallon of water in my tank. 

The shrimp swims and crawls all over while the light is on.


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## unlimitedx (Mar 20, 2007)

The added some aquarium salt.

This morning, another died   

The first dead shrimp has some sort of clear stuff growing around it. Should I leave the dead shrimps in the aquarium so it will decompose and become fertilizer for the plants?


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

You'll want to remove them so that if they died from something, your other fish and shrimp don't get it.


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## salubri3i (Feb 8, 2010)

not an expert here but i hear shrimps are very sensitive to ammonia levels. maybe you should check that.


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## sidestrike (Feb 12, 2010)

Did you notice anything different about them before they died? Check to see if there's copper in any of the food you use to feed your fish. Copper is bad for shrimp.


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