# Ghost Shrimp



## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

I bought 20 ghost shrimp today and added them to my planted 46g with the manny. I figured they would be appetizers for him if he wants to hunt. But since I have added them, I haven't even seen a single one since earlier. The tank is pretty heavy with vegetation on the left side, which is where I suspect they all are.

Basically wondering if they stay hidden in the thick stuff, if they would be able to successfully breed, or does it require some other type of conditions? I don't really mind either way. Would be nice to have a constant supply of food running around in there though. Anyone have experience with breeding these shrimp?


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

Eww shrimp. But I think they should breed fine in the vegitation.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

if they are left alone they should be fine and start breeding.

JZ barely beat me in posting lol GRRR


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

They can but don't expect many as they love to carry em under their tail for a while pull em out one by one and eat em


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## sadboy (Jan 6, 2005)

Why do you want to breed ghost shrimp?


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

sadboy said:


> Why do you want to breed ghost shrimp?


So my manny can eat when whenever he wants. I would like to have a constant supply breeding within his tank. But I think it would take another tank and special care for them to breed successfully, and not eat their young.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Unless you like shrimp it wouldn't even be worth the time & effort. They only have 15-20 babies. You be lucky to get 2-3 per batch & they're bite size full grown. Buy some big fat mollies or guppies.


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## banshee42096 (Apr 29, 2010)

i bought cherry shrimp to do the same thing they breed way to slow and dont have that many babies mine are in a seperate tank also its not worth it in my opinion.i still have them because i like the way they look.i go to the lfs and buy ghoust shrimp and put them in with my piranhas as a snack once in a while.i think they will have a real hard time populating in the ps tank because getting picked off.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

In your tank they will breed but the population size will have alot to do with how many are picked off. A separate tank would be best to keep a steady supply.


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## Piranha-Freak101 (Dec 8, 2010)

man i bought some ghost shrimp from my lfs and 3 were stuffed with babies but i just threw em in my reds tank and they slowly picked them all off


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

I have a few ghost shrimp already which are pregnant for a month now but I believe the eggs are infertal. I only use ghost shrimp in my 40gal filled with baby reds, Their only purpose is to help clean the tank floor off left overs and eat the algea. They also have a long ass waiting period for their eggs to hatch but its common for them to eat their eggs before they hatch. Overall my review of using Ghost shrimp for feeding your manny is not good. Ghost shrimp are almost the same as gold fish when it comes to nutrients and they are some times a pest because your piranha may get bored of them and just ignore them. I also heard when you breed ghost shrimp you must have a separate tank with a sponge filter, air pump to suppy air bubbles, have the temp at 72 or higher, no fish in that tank with the shrimp and you have to let the tank accumulate alot of bacteria and algea for the baby shrimp to eat. So its more of an hassel to actually breed them, I view ghost shrimp lesser than a feeder fish. They also jammed my filter with their shell casings when they shed. Hope you have better luck though.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Once shrimp get a decent population established, they can reproduce pretty quickly, but even if you start with 20 in a separate tank, it will take a while for them to get to that point. I started another cherry shrimp tank a few months back, I had about 25 to start with and now I have around 50-60 in the tank with 4 or 5 females carrying eggs. Once I double that number, I'll probably start putting a few in my other tanks because I'll finally be able to replace them without effecting the group too much.


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

JoeDizzleMPLS said:


> Once shrimp get a decent population established, they can reproduce pretty quickly, but even if you start with 20 in a separate tank, it will take a while for them to get to that point. I started another cherry shrimp tank a few months back, I had about 25 to start with and now I have around 50-60 in the tank with 4 or 5 females carrying eggs. Once I double that number, I'll probably start putting a few in my other tanks because I'll finally be able to replace them without effecting the group too much.


What are the gold cherry shrimp variety actually called? Im thinking gold algea shrimp right?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

They are usually just called "yellow shrimp", they are another color variety of Neocaridina heterpoda, same species as the red cherry shrimp, they are two variations of the wild type.


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## shaneb (May 4, 2010)

I put about a dozen or so in with my mac every cpl of weeks. When i rescaped his tank last time i was amazed to find about 4 dozen hiding in all kinds of places.. Needless to say i haven't added any in awhile. He better figure out how to get them cause i am not putting in some "Fresh Meat" for him.. LOL


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## Bacon Of Time (Feb 1, 2011)

I was debating hunting down some shrimps to start breeding them, but after reading here, it seams like a tobig of a hasle for a low pay off.

they might look cool, but i totaly dont care enuph


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

It's actually not a hassle at all... I have a 20 long with an AC20 with a foam prefilter over the intake, a Stealth heater, and some plants -- the shrimp eat all the dying plant matter and keep the tank spotless, the filter rarely needs to be cleaned, and I drop a veggie stick or some Hikari shrimp food in a couple times a week.

They are cool little creatures to keep and they multiply like crazy as long as you have a good number of them to start with. I'm just saying that if you start with 20, you'll probably have to wait a while and let their numbers build up before you start cutting into their breeding population by putting some into tanks with fish that will slowly pick them off. I started off with 25 this time and it took a couple months to double the population, but now I have 50-60 and it seems like there is a new batch of baby shrimp swimming around every couple days -- I'm sure it'll take about a month, if that, for the population to double again.


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## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

i've bred shrimp, and despite what bruner says, if you have a large enough colony of breeders, you can actually pump out a solid supply of them. you may need a few tanks though.

http://www.theshrimpfarm.com/posts/?s=american+glass+shrimp+breeding+program


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