# Taking care of ghost shrimp?



## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

I bought two ghost shrimp today, and I've never had them before. Is there anything that isn't commonly known about them that I should know?


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Generally easy to care for..avoid the extremes.....they are short lived shrimp to start...1-2 years....cannibals- known to eat their young, turn white when nearing death...I always called mine Zombis when they turned white cause I knew they would be dead in 2-3 weeks...escape artist will use anything to climb out of the tank, can sling-shot themselves...lol....net them and they bounce and sling-shot out of the net-so you have to cover it with your hand....trying to think of other things on them....lol.....will eat some algae...but not enough to matter...prefer left over food and have been known to take it away from passive fish.....will kill RCS....will eat Betta eggs and steal eggs from the nest and grab falling fry......keep nitrates low...under 10ppm....what else......what do you know that I haven't listed.....I am sure I forgot something....lol......


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

At the pet store (Petsmart), the sign giving info on ghost shrimp said to have a small bit of AQ salt in tank...

If they turn white just before they die, then I'm glad I didn't get the white one...


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

My two ghost shrimp are in a tank with no AQ salt, they do well, I throw in the occasional pea for them (which my betta occasionally eats)
As OFL said, watch out for them, they are ESCAPE artist, I had two commit suicide one night (jumped outand dried up on the floor)
I have had no other issues with them but my bett keeps them in check (no swimming at the top and no eating HER food)


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

Cassia's discovered her shrimp, Green Brain. His green bits don't seem as green anymore...lol


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

There are several different species of ghost shrimp and depending on what location they came from...some may or may not need salt...be sure and ask the shop you buy them from if you plan to use them for pets....


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

Are they able to jump out through the small feeding hole in my hex tank?


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## Littlebittyfish (Jan 5, 2011)

Mine enjoy sinking shrimp pellets...
o_0....


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## newfiedragon (May 25, 2010)

Well...Green Brain didn't make it. At some point Cassia decided to go all Conan the Barbarian on his shell...:-(

But at least Root Beer hasn't caught Float yet, even though I know Root Beer knows he's there and has chased him a few times.


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## Kaoru (Jul 28, 2011)

The reason as to why they say they need aquarium salt is because some ghost are brackish and I'm pretty sure if you ever want to breed ghosts, you will need to have some salt in the water and good aeration for them to hatch.


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## Reece (Aug 10, 2011)

This may or may not sound extremely dumb but here goes, do Ghost shrimp need oxygenated water?


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## Kaoru (Jul 28, 2011)

Reece said:


> This may or may not sound extremely dumb but here goes, do Ghost shrimp need oxygenated water?


Its not a stupid question.I would say yes, you need oxygenated water. Can they survive without oxygenated water, also yes, but until you are relatively experienced and know what you are doing, you wouldnt want them to die in an ammonia infested puddle. The shrimplet larvae will need to have oxygen though if you plan to breed. The mother will fan them, but they need the extra oxygen to hatch. What setup do you intend to put them in? Are you trying to breed them or just have them as a clean up crew?


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