expansion5th

I want to add a few ghost shrimp and a snail or two to my tank - should I treat these just like fish to determine my overstocking limit?

Gilbert

No, Inverts don't count towards stocking levels. their bioload is smaller per size and not the same as fish. You can usually have more inverts than fish in a certain volume of water.

expansion5th

Thanks gilbert! I really like those ghost shrimp for some reason, I'd love to keep a few of them around.

By the way, is there a difference between ghost shrimp and glass shrimp?

Gilbert

Nope, from what i know, they're the same.

pepetj

There's no difference other than the name.

I must warn you (I'm joking... but it's true) that somehow one or two out of five or seven individuals -usually "pregnant" females- disappear to never being found again (I guess that's why they are called Ghost more often than Glass).

I am not sure why this happens, maybe it's the Bermuda Triangle (I'm in the Caribbean) but several anecdotal reports in this and other forums of Ghost Shrimps vanishing without a trace in other latitudes suggest that's not the cause (maybe it's alien fish abduction!).

Now seriously... Ghost Shrimps' bio-load is minimal, but the same doesn't go for all snails. Apple and Mistery Snails do have considerable bio-load and should be kept in big enough or understocked tanks; Nerite Snails are great for small tanks, and Ramshorn Snails bio-load is minimal but will multiply easily if not controlled; avoid Trumpet Snails -multiply even faster than Ramshorn- if you have planted tanks, they ruin leaves.

Side note: Apple Snails, Nerite, and Ramshorn are safe for most plants, Mistery Snails, Trumpet Snails not. I had a bad experience with Ghost Shrimps and Anacharis, but I can't say they were responsible for that: in a matter of few days most Anacharis bundles brake down, some looked rotten, a total mess; I removed the Shrimps and now keep them in a tank without that plant)

You're going to have a lot of fun watching those crazy odd-free-swimmers!
In particular, I like the Ghost Shrimps + Nerite Snails inverts combo.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

expansion5th

Thanks Pepe - for the snail info especially, there's not as much ready info out there about snails. I'll definitely look for Nerites. Although you know, funny thing, I added some anarachis to my cycling tank a few weeks ago and now I've noticed a few tiny snails on the glass. I don't know if they'll survive the cycle or not, but if they do, any idea which these might be?

I'll look forward to witnessing the "ghost shrimp" phenomenon first hand...

Alessa

another note, the bioload for snails like apple snails is huge, depending on size can be anywhere from 2.5 to 5 gallons of bioload.

Barbrella

Those are likely pond snails, which breed at a furious pace.