ghost shrimp

[bluekrissyspike]

i just got some ghost shrimp from the lps, where they were in brackish water, but the lady there said they were freshwater(huh?) how do i tell if they are really supposed to be in brackish or fresh? i wanted to breed them to make food for the loaches, the pet store said they would just have babies if i left them alone, but that they might eat them so i should take out the adults...wish they had a better idea of what they were talking about...anyone here got more info?

[vampie]

The commonly sold ghost shrimp is freshwater, but brackish-tolerant.

I believe the babies hatches into a larval form before becoming miniature shrimp. How long that takes and whether or not they'll need salt would depend on the species. The adults will eat the young.

They're usually sold as feeders though, I don't think I've heard of anyone who chooses to breeds them over just buying them.

[bluekrissyspike]

i want to breed them to feed my loaches, because i have a lot of them, and a lungfish who can eat like 15 of them in one sitting, so i thought i could save $ by breeding them myself, like i do with snails

[pixl8r]

Keep them in freshwater only. You don't need to use any salt. It may take some time before they start to breed. You can tell the females from the males by the shape of the tail. Ghost shrimp have a large hump on the top of their tales (unlike the dwarf shrimp such as RCS). The important part is the bottom of the tale. Female shrimp have an area where the carapace extends down past their swimmerets, where they hold their eggs until they hatch. The male shrimp lack this feature.

Watch for the females to become 'saddled' there will be a bright spot, usually yellow/orange, sometimes greenish, on the top of their back, that extends from just above their stomach to the base of the tail. The saddle is actually the ovaries, full of eggs. With the next molt, the eggs will drop and, if there are male shrimp present, the eggs will be fertilized and in about five weeks you'll have tiny critters.

[vampie]

How much is your LFS charging you for them? They're usually very cheap. They don't breed easily enough to really raise as feeders. Snails on the other hand are a piece of cake.

[jm1212]

snails will be great food for loaches, and get two and they will breed like there is no tomorrow.

to breed shrimp, you'll need a firly large sized group of them. make sure to put a sponge over the intake of the filter, or use a sponge filter on the shrimp tank. this will prevent larvae from gettign sucked into the filter

[bluekrissyspike]

lps charges 55 cents each...not that much, but they are pretty small...i have 8 loaches that like to eat them, and my lungfish...i like breeding things anyways, it's fun and i don't get out much...lol

[_aQuaflAme_]

I get my shrimp for 30 cents. IN YOUR FACE:silly: :silly: , just kidding. I bought five of them a while back and four them got eaten and the last one is happy as can be undisturbed. Its funny watching him eat bloodworms, looks like he is shoving it down his throat tee hee.:hitting: Is it hard to breed them? how many shrimp do you need to have if you want to breed them?

[OhNo123]

I get my shrimp for 30 cents. IN YOUR FACE:silly: :silly: , just kidding. I bought five of them a while back and four them got eaten and the last one is happy as can be undisturbed. Its funny watching him eat bloodworms, looks like he is shoving it down his throat tee hee.:hitting: Is it hard to breed them? how many shrimp do you need to have if you want to breed them?

I get my Ghost Shrimp for 10 cents each or less. IN YOUR FACE aQuaflAme. :devil:. My LFS sells 10 shrimp for 1 dollar and throws in extras. I bought 2 dollars worth of shrimp and got roughly 27 or 28.:headbang2:

I tried breeding them. Actually 3 or 4 of the shrimp I bought were already pregnant females. But the aborted maybe due to high ammonia. My brother left 2 algae wafers in the water, a bunch of leftover flakes in the tank. :thud:

[_aQuaflAme_]

I get my Ghost Shrimp for 10 cents each or less. IN YOUR FACE aQuaflAme. :devil:. My LFS sells 10 shrimp for 1 dollar and throws in extras. I bought 2 dollars worth of shrimp and got roughly 27 or 28.:headbang2:

I tried breeding them. Actually 3 or 4 of the shrimp I bought were already pregnant females. But the aborted maybe due to high ammonia. My brother left 2 algae wafers in the water, a bunch of leftover flakes in the tank. :thud:
:swear: <this is to you "OhNo123" :silly: oh and thats a low price for shrimp where do you live?

[OhNo123]

:swear: <this is to you "OhNo123" :silly: oh and thats a low price for shrimp where do you live?

Live in New Jersey. Don't get good deals around here often. Tried to find some good looking Bettas, mostly veiltails and rarely crowntails.

Anyway. The LFS I went to is actually a LPS. Really small shop located inside a shopping mall. Around 10 tanks. Fish are actually in good health and they use box filters.- Acrylic Box where your insert your own carbon and filter fiber, correct? So I go there and I see Ghost Shrimp. I'm like :perv:. I look at them and some of them are pregnant. So I HAD to buy some. I ask the lady how much they were. At first she was like "What shrimp? I don't know, look at the label." There was no label for shrimp. So I ask the cashier. Shes like they are 10 for a dollar. So I'm like :perv::perv:. I ask the lady to buy a dollar worth (The previous inexperienced lady) and shes like okay. So she starts netting for some shrimp and gets me a couple of adults and some juvies. Then shes like "Uhh I don't know how many is in here, but ill give you some more." So I'm like :perv::perv:. Total was $1.07 for 15 shrimp. Go back and I wanted to get more. Same thing this time. Total was $1.06 for 14 shrimp. The lady put in 99 cents instead of a dollar into the cash register.:headbang2:

Also, where I am currently now, Taiwan, they sell shrimp by weight. They first net a bunch and put it into a bag and weigh the bag without water. Then they add water afterwards.

[lia-w]

You need 6 shrimp to start a breeding colony. Just let them do their own thing. Provide lots of hiding spaces for the tiny shrimp, after a few molts they will be much like the adult shrimp.

[legendaryfrog]

You need 6 shrimp to start a breeding colony. Just let them do their own thing. Provide lots of hiding spaces for the tiny shrimp, after a few molts they will be much like the adult shrimp.

Yep. tahts good advice. Also, aim to get a pH above 7, if its not already.

[OhNo123]

exactly 6 shrimp to breed or can you have more?

[_aQuaflAme_]

im gonna go buy shrimp now! just so I can breed them... anybody know anything that will be safe in my community tank and eat some of the shrimp?