Ghost shrimp in my tank?

With being burned twice in the recent past with ordering fish online (receiving dead ones, incorrect fish, late shipping) I will not order fish or anything live again from an online store, no matter how reputable.

I was going to order amano shrimp in the near future but instead of that, I want to add ghost shrimp that my local fish store has. I can pick them up and be home in less than an hour.

Are ghost shrimp an OK addition to a tank? I don't care if they're not as effective as amanos. Ghosts are cheap and readily available to me

 

yes they're fine i find them really interesting to watch and they do a great job of cleaning up

 

I find them creepy, but if they are effective, great! And yeah, they are pretty cheap here, too.

 

I have ghosts in all but my betta tanks because they just become lunch. I also have amanos and the ghosts seem to get along with everyone. They're fun to watch as they zip around.

 

Ok then.....

If that fish store has them, I'll get some. Thanks!

 

Remember they must be drip acclimated in case you don't know

 

Remember they must be drip acclimated in case you don't know

I'm aware

 

Yeah they can be sensitive at first but are great little additions to a tank!

 

Yeah they can be sensitive at first but are great little additions to a tank!

And cheap too! Local pet store has them 5 for a buck! Unfortunately he's out of stock but will get them in a few weeks

 

And cheap too! Local pet store has them 5 for a buck! Unfortunately he's out of stock but will get them in a few weeks

Wow that is mega cheap!

 

Wow that is mega cheap!

I'm almost sure he said 5 for a buck!

 

I'm almost sure he said 5 for a buck!

Dont break the bank lol

 

Dont break the bank lol

I wonder how many I can toss in my tank. Their bioload can't be that big LOL!

 

I wonder how many I can toss in my tank. Their bioload can't be that big LOL!

600 no more no less lol

 

600 no more no less lol

Hahaha! 600 it is

 

With being burned twice in the recent past with ordering fish online (receiving dead ones, incorrect fish, late shipping) I will not order fish or anything live again from an online store, no matter how reputable.

I was going to order amano shrimp in the near future but instead of that, I want to add ghost shrimp that my local fish store has. I can pick them up and be home in less than an hour.

Are ghost shrimp an OK addition to a tank? I don't care if they're not as effective as amanos. Ghosts are cheap and readily available to me

I purchased ghost shrimp on and off from a place about an hour from where I live. The shop would get new shipments on Wednesday and usually by Thursday midday they were gone. That seller sold them four for $1 and it is the only place I've seen them sold until last week, where I saw a random ghost shrimp in a tank at Petco/Petsmart.

I initially purchased them as a snack for my bettas - but one that they would have to hunt down and then eat. However, the bettas didn't really care to even try to chase them and later the bettas died, and I was left with three ghost shrimp.

For a while, I kept them in their own 10 gallon tank, and they were 'nice' to watch, but nothing too exciting. Later I added them into a different 10 gallon- this one stocked with about 10-15 cherry shrimp. After a week, the ghost shrimp came alive! It was much more interesting to watch-- they would pop out of random leaves or rocks or hiding places and try to catch the cherry shrimp, which they never could. Also, when I went to feed them, they were always the first ones to see that I was coming over and swim up/around, waiting for the food.

After a few months of only shrimp, I decided to get some ember tetras. By this time, the ghost shrimp- five or so- had fully grown - up to an inch and a half- and so they are biggest thing in the tank. I put the ember tetras in, but have begun the process of removing the ghost shrimp since they terrorize the fish.

All in all, I am glad I tried keeping these. I found they are a bit pickier eaters than the red cherry shrimp, but are great scavengers and do clean things nicely. IMO, a combo of 3:1 or 4:1 red cherry shrimp to ghost shrimp is great; they keep each other active and the cherry shrimp are voracious eaters-- the ghost shrimp will clean up anything left over. Finally, they are very low matenence: I've left them alone while I'm away for up to 10 days- just sticking an IAL leaf or two for them to munch on and when I returned they were happy as a bug in a rug!

Apologies for the wall of text!

 

Have you got your ghost shrimp now?

I've got some in one of my tanks and they're pretty fun to watch. There are a couple of male guppies in with them and they'll sometimes swim around with the guppies.

My only comment with the ghost shrimp is that I've found that my LFS (plural) have no idea what an actual ghost shrimp is, and there are often non-ghosts mixed in. Heck, one has a picture of an entirely different shrimp genus on their website for the "ghost shrimp"

Sometimes this can work out in your favor (I got 2 Amano shrimp once that were mixed in with the ghost shrimp and Amano are a lot more expensive normally).

However I also got a Macrobrachium sp. mixed in once as well which depending on species might try (and possibly succeed) in eating everything else in the tank. That one got returned.

True ghost shrimp have orange bands on their antenna and on their front legs near the claws and orange dots on the tail fins. The Macro guys don't.

I've attached a photo of one of my more brightly colored boys showing off the orange areas.

 

Have you got your ghost shrimp now?

I've got some in one of my tanks and they're pretty fun to watch. There are a couple of male guppies in with them and they'll sometimes swim around with the guppies.

My only comment with the ghost shrimp is that I've found that my LFS (plural) have no idea what an actual ghost shrimp is, and there are often non-ghosts mixed in. Heck, one has a picture of an entirely different shrimp genus on their website for the "ghost shrimp"

Sometimes this can work out in your favor (I got 2 Amano shrimp once that were mixed in with the ghost shrimp and Amano are a lot more expensive normally).

However I also got a Macrobrachium sp. mixed in once as well which depending on species might try (and possibly succeed) in eating everything else in the tank. That one got returned.

True ghost shrimp have orange bands on their antenna and on their front legs near the claws and orange dots on the tail fins. The Macro guys don't.

I've attached a photo of one of my more brightly colored boys showing off the orange areas.

The last time I was at this fish store and saw shrimp in a tank, it might have been labeled "feeder shrimp " and it might have been labeled "ghost shrimp"...I don't remember.

Whatever they are, they're coming in 2 weeks. And they're 5 for a buck

I purchased ghost shrimp on and off from a place about an hour from where I live. The shop would get new shipments on Wednesday and usually by Thursday midday they were gone. That seller sold them four for $1 and it is the only place I've seen them sold until last week, where I saw a random ghost shrimp in a tank at Petco/Petsmart.

I initially purchased them as a snack for my bettas - but one that they would have to hunt down and then eat. However, the bettas didn't really care to even try to chase them and later the bettas died, and I was left with three ghost shrimp.

For a while, I kept them in their own 10 gallon tank, and they were 'nice' to watch, but nothing too exciting. Later I added them into a different 10 gallon- this one stocked with about 10-15 cherry shrimp. After a week, the ghost shrimp came alive! It was much more interesting to watch-- they would pop out of random leaves or rocks or hiding places and try to catch the cherry shrimp, which they never could. Also, when I went to feed them, they were always the first ones to see that I was coming over and swim up/around, waiting for the food.

After a few months of only shrimp, I decided to get some ember tetras. By this time, the ghost shrimp- five or so- had fully grown - up to an inch and a half- and so they are biggest thing in the tank. I put the ember tetras in, but have begun the process of removing the ghost shrimp since they terrorize the fish.

All in all, I am glad I tried keeping these. I found they are a bit pickier eaters than the red cherry shrimp, but are great scavengers and do clean things nicely. IMO, a combo of 3:1 or 4:1 red cherry shrimp to ghost shrimp is great; they keep each other active and the cherry shrimp are voracious eaters-- the ghost shrimp will clean up anything left over. Finally, they are very low matenence: I've left them alone while I'm away for up to 10 days- just sticking an IAL leaf or two for them to munch on and when I returned they were happy as a bug in a rug!

Apologies for the wall of text!

Thank you for the great info!

 

The last time I was at this fish store and saw shrimp in a tank, it might have been labeled "feeder shrimp " and it might have been labeled "ghost shrimp"...I don't remember.

Whatever they are, they're coming in 2 weeks. And they're 5 for a buck

Thank you for the great info!

That's an awesome price! Give us an update when you get them, I'd love to see them.