# Holy Jumping Ghost Shrimp!!



## LittleWatty

I don't know what's going on with my new ghost shrimp. I got them just the other day (Friday), and I got about 20 of them from Petsmart. I purchased them so I could get some entertainment for my glass-surfing CT male (as bad as it may sound), and have 6 in there with him currently. I've lost 4, which doesn't surprise me (one in my betta's tank, 3 in the shrimp tank), and the others are looking healthy enough, and I'm making sure they eat. However... the ones in the shrimp tank are acting, well, odd. As the title says, they're jumping. Kind of. 

This morning before I left for work, I had one shrimp that managed to get itself OUT of the water, and up about an inch from the surface (tank was only half full), and was stuck to the side of the tank. I have no idea how long he was there, but I flushed him back into the water with some of the tank's water. It seemed ok, but I have no idea how long it was up there like that. Within the next half hour, it did it two more times, in the same spot. Now, 5 hours later, I returned to my apartment and went to check and see if I had any more suicidal shrimp. As soon as I got close, 6 or so of them jumped out of the water, almost clear across the tank. I have never seen or known shrimp to do this >.> Especially since the 6 ghosties in with my betta happily hang out around the bottom. Not the others, they love climbing all over the tank, and have made a habit of gliding around just under the surface.

Its a 3 gallon tank with about 10 ghosties (not sure how many I have left in there, but I can only ever count 8 at once. I'm supposed to have started with 20, I've lost 4, and 6 are in my betta's tank, meaning I should have 10 left). I know its probably over stocked a little bit, but I didn't expect this many to live this long. I do 20-30% water changes daily, and they're the only stock in the tank. I've got some gravel in there, not even a full layer over the bottom of the tank. Its heated to 78 (+/- 2), and is NOT filtered. I have one plastic plant in there for them to hang out on, and a Marimo moss ball.

Anyone ever had ghosties, or other shrimp, do this? Anyone know why they would? This behavior only started today.

The photo is what the tank looked like yesterday. They're happily hanging out on the plant, and none are near the surface at all. Today, it was the opposite. Half are buzzing the surface, the other half are just hanging out wherever they find themselves.


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## LebronTheBetta

Ghosties are known to jump. When I had them, they kept jumping when my Betta wasn't looking. I heard them since they were body-slamming the hood.  But, all of them are dead now. They were all eaten by Lebron. D: He got fat afterwards but he's better now. There were 4 of them. :/ Poor Shrimpies...


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## LittleWatty

I had two more suicidal's today that climbed out of the tank water, and I found two more dead ones. So... I took them all out of that tank, and am putting them in with Sonas. I'm wondering if maybe its a water quality thing. They climb out, trying to find better water? XD I dunno. But, I'm down to my last bunch of them, so I'm just putting them in with Sonas, and will be keeping an eye on them to watch for any more jumpers, or dead ones.


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## Silverfang

when shrimp try to get out of the water like that, there is a reason. There was something in their that they didn't like. A trace of salt, or some other substance.

Shrimp can be a pain in the butt... When I had ghost shrimp they did their own thing, tried to butt in at feeding time (seeing one stealing a blood worm from a hungry girl was priceless!). From the best of my knowledge, when shrimp and snails (with the exception of nerites) keep trying to leave water, there is something in there that doesn't like them (or they don't like).


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## LittleWatty

Well, considering some were dying when all this started, it doesn't surprise me really that they were trying to escape something in the water. Since moving them to my betta's tank, they seem to be doing quite alright. They're not buzzing the surface anymore (with a few exceptions) and I haven't noticed any climbers.

For me, its the exact opposite at feeding time XD I'll give my betta a few pellets, then I'll give my shrimp some flakes (using my turkey baster to get them to the bottom quickly), but the little piggy Sonas will cruise the bottom of the tank looking for all of those flakes. I didn't notice him doing it until he was rather... well, fat. Most of the shrimp got a decent meal in before the "starving" betta came charging through, but I gave them a few more flakes while keeping Sonas in his cup. I left him in there for a good long while, just to make sure he wasn't eating any more and he passed his food.


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## Shirleythebetta

You made me think of my three ghost shrimp. LOL. I had to net mine once and hold my hand over the net. When they jump they make the slightest "snap" sound. it's weird.


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## PaintingPintos

When I first got my 3 ghost shrimp, I kept them in a 1 gallon tank for the first night. It was about 1/2 full and when I came by in the morning, I scared them when I walked by the tank. 2 of them shot backward and ended up stuck on the sides of the tank. Ghost shrimp aren't really known for getting out of the tank by climbing, so when they don't like something they tend to just shoot out. If you tap the tank suddenly, they'll all rocket backwards.
Having enough water and things to make the shrimp happy should be enough.
Usually they end up stuck to the sides of the tank when the water level is too low.


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## xShainax

Ghost shrimp usually die in a few days.


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## Aus

They shouldn't. 

Unhappy shrimp = something's up with the water. Part of the reason I keep them is that if there's a sudden crash in the tank, I'll know it. The shrimp will all spazz long before the fish looks uncomfortable. This happened a few months back - I had all the RCS surface-scooting and so on. Just tested the water that morning, all was fine, so I was 'huh?" - and yup, there was a mini-cycle happening. 

It's the only one I've had in that tank, soon fixed with some water changes. But yeah, shrimp don't freak out all at once for no reason. And they should live a year or even two (if bettas don't eat 'em), not drop dead in a few days..


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## xShainax

I think my betta's pestered them to death.  I saw spitfire eat one....Max my DG I think ate a few also


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## Aus

Ah, well that makes sense... :lol:

I give the Zoidbergs plenty of cover, java moss & such to hide in, plus a kind of wall of tangled java fern roots & wood at the back of the tank where Cleo can't get to. This lot have all survived several months now..


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## xShainax

Lol, Max was a monster DG. He grew to be about...4"


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## LittleWatty

The water level was definitely not too low with the second climbing incident XD The 3 gallon was nearly full to the brim. I had to put the cover back on it to keep them from jumping clear out of the tank when I walked close. They've definitely settled down in the 6.6 gallon with Sonas, and I haven't lost one yet (that I can see. There's lots of little hidey holes!). Sonas leaves them alone for the most part. Once and a while he'll buzz through the group of them that hang by my marimo moss ball, probably just to remind them who's boss XD


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## Silverfang

I bought six in October, when I moved in May I still had three


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## Jessie1990

I put 4 on either side of my divided tank and the bettas chased them for 2 days before they managed to eat them all >< I found one that tried to escape stuck to the top of the hood light when I went to clean the tank D: I felt kinda bad... but my bettas were very happy...


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## Aurie

I've never had any jump out of my 10 gallon tank... I have 4 left over from 7 that I bought

At night mine are more active, maybe because the water is colder. I have a HUGE one that I just found is female.. with eggs... and 3 others that are smaller. She likes to flit to the top of the tank along the front glass like she's saying hi to me every time I go to the tank. I also catch her up in my taller plants.. hopefully eating my fish eggs 

On my first water change after buying them I didn't want to suck them up so I netted them and the second the net left the water they jumped like a farkin cricket and I squeeeeeeeeled like a pig cause it scared the crap out of me. Luckily it landed on the glass hinge top for the aquarium and I just dunked it back into the tank. I also had one land on the carpet and I had to get a flash light and I finally found it and put a net by it and it jumped into the net and i quickly put it back into the tank. It survived for about 2 minutes out of water. I was surprised as all get out..

Now they just stay in the tank and I go slower with my water changes and gravel vacs.


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