# live shrimp as clean up crew????



## FormulatedFire (Jan 3, 2005)

ok well i have bought some ghost shrimp as food and put about four in with my 3 p's do you think they will be ok as food and a clean up crew the rest of the time.....what are the pro thoughts on this?


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## traumatic (Jan 29, 2003)

I dont' think they'd last long enough w/ p's to be a clean up crew. Your best bet is to have a heavily planted tank.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

I have a few Amano Shrimps with my Reds (initially bought as live food for one of my predatory pleco's, but he's more pre-occupied with his pellets), but they seem to be keepers - well, some of them anyways.
They're pretty funny little buggers (as soon as I put my hand in the tank, the biggest shrimp goes straight for my hand to pinch me), always busy sifting through the gravel in search for something edible.
I've even seen them clean some of the Pleco's they share their tank with (a bit like those cleaning shrimps from the coral reefs), and they don't seem to mind the attention - and if the have enough, one firm tail slap is enough to get the message across :laugh:










They're cheap, and if you have a set-up with lots of decor (ie. hiding places), they're definitely worth a try


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## The_Spoot (Nov 15, 2004)

I'd try it, because it's also a good meal for the ps.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

i was putting ghost shrimp with my ps for awhile, i put about thirty in the tank, i have some slate stacked on one side and they made taht there home, reproduced and kept the area clean, every now and then one of then would ventureout into open water and get munchec on but it worked out good for a pretty long time then i moved the rocks around and i guess theshrimp couldnt find good enough cover and the all disapeared, but my reds had good color and seemed happy..


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

Feel free to give it a shot. I tried it once and they did an alright job until my Ps ended up destroying them.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

I'd think of em more as food than a cleanup crew, doubt they'd last too long but your piranha's will appreciate the addition to their diet


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## Esoteric (Jul 7, 2004)

I bought 6 Japonica shrimp, for my heavily planted 75 gallon elong tank and they did great for a while.. Only once have I seen one in my Elongs mouth. But I have not seen more than 2 at one time in months ;/.


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## mrodge (Nov 13, 2004)

i was gonan get soem today


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## P-Rex (Sep 12, 2004)

I didnt know amano shrimp get that big...

anyways it just expensive for me try it.. usually shrimps here go for $3 and they are really small too, about quarter of an inch in size


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

P-Rex said:


> I didnt know amano shrimp get that big...[snapback]842188[/snapback]​


Well, that's what I think it is (sold as _Caridina japonica_) - correct me if I'm wrong, though


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

bamboo shrimp maybe?


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## usmctowgnr (Nov 5, 2004)

To me Ghost Shrimp are ultimatly nothing more that a food source. My Piranha's have always loved them and I Iook at them as nothing more than a healthy treat. If they happen to clean up a little crap along the way then good for them.

Joey


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## ReDraGon-> (May 24, 2004)

Judazzz said:


> Well, that's what I think it is (sold as _Caridina japonica_) - correct me if I'm wrong, though
> 
> 
> 
> ...


sorry judazz u dont have an AMANO shrimp...u got a Nice fat ghost shrimp

Caridina japonica, Amano Shrimp- has spots running thru the sides of his body..and has a yellowish stripe on its back... and they mostly eat ALGAE

i have a few Amano shrimp along with some Ghost shrimp in my 10 gal

the amano tends to eat all the algae from the plants/deco

where the Ghost shrimp hang out on the bottom continuously searching for food...

heres a pic of a Caridina japonica, Amano Shrimp


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## ReDraGon-> (May 24, 2004)

Just wanted to add ..... ive been learning ALOT scince i started working at my part-timejob (neptunes-reef)

and ive only been there 3 weeks.....

and to answer the Q on the thread.... Ghost shrimp would be able to survive with your Ps....IF htey have hiding spots.... i myself have 5 of these guys currently living with my reds...scince they HIDE underneath the drifwood and when they do come out they can barely be seen...

i havnt had any luck with amano shrimp tho in the P tank scince they have more color and i think the stripe on the back gives My ps a clear Lock on where to Bite... where the ghost shrimp is CLEAR he isnt even seen


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## tweekie (Nov 3, 2004)

ghost shrimp? the see through ones yeah? they seem to die in my tank whether they are eaten or not? always assumed they werent meant to live in water types like the ones we use for Ps or something. strange that alot of you guys have had some in your tanks for a while. i get them from a lfs for a dozen for 50p ($0.75 or something like that) maybe im getting a different variation of the ghost shrimp, the name river shrimp springs to mind.....

i will ask at my local LFS but for now does this sound right to any of you guys?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

ReDraGon-> said:


> sorry judazz u dont have an AMANO shrimp...u got a Nice fat ghost shrimp
> 
> Caridina japonica, Amano Shrimp- has spots running thru the sides of his body..and has a yellowish stripe on its back... and they mostly eat ALGAE
> 
> ...


Thanks for the insights, RD









This means I have some Ghost Shrimps in my Natt's tank, and a solo Amano Shrimp in my Manny tank (sole survivor of a number of shrimps I got when I bought his current tank - second-hand, with a number of fish).
Do you (or anyone else) happen to know the Latin name of the Ghost Shrimp?

Thanks again


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## ReDraGon-> (May 24, 2004)

Judazzz said:


> Thanks for the insights, RD
> 
> 
> 
> ...


...Here u Go Juda the latin name for GHOST Shrimp is -Callianassa californiensis


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

I'm raising some ghost shirmp with crays and I've 1 shrimp that's 4" (body length) and another 3".

Pic of the 4" prawn with a 4" Tiger lobster.


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## lighter (Mar 2, 2004)

I've tried putting these live shrimps into the filter compartment before help "break up the waste" but it seems that they help to contribute more to the waste. Just put a dozen of shrimps in a tank and see how fast it clouds the tank the next day.


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

They do produce alot of waste.


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## waspride (Jun 13, 2004)

I havn't found one lfs near me that sells ghost shrimp. Ive been thinking on keeping a few in my rhom tank.....


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## JAC (Jan 19, 2004)

I tried it with my caribes (5-7"), got 10 shrimp and they were all gone after 3 days.


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