Hello everyone,
I picked up 5 ghost shrimp for my new tank a couple days ago, and have become fascinated with them! They're really quite amazing little creatures. They spent the first couple of days mostly in hiding, but are now quite adventuresome - roaming about the tank and climbing around on plants searching for munchies.
I've become especially interested in their behavior. Here's one particularly interesting event I observed: The largest (about an inch long, give or take) was making his way along the substrate when he came upon one of the smaller shrimps (perhaps 1/2 - 2/3 his size). The smaller shrimp had been in the same spot for a while, and had apparently found a good bit of food. The smaller shrimp was munching contentedly, but froze when it noticed the larger shrimp a few inches off. The larger shrimp spread out his antennae and limbs and took a few steps toward the smaller shrimp, and the smaller shrimp backed off a few steps. This happened three or four times before the larger shrimp finally bolted directly toward the feeding spot, and the smaller shrimp darted away a few inches and sat watching the larger shrimp. When it became apparent that the larger shrimp was there to stay, the smaller shrimp eventually went on its way to find food elsewhere.
I found it interesting that the shrimp both seemed to know their place in the hierarchy - bigger is better! For the most part, the shrimp roam around solitarily. I think the tank is big enough that they don't need to interact much.
Does anyone else have any stories or info on ghost shrimp behavior? I've done a lot of web searching and have come up mostly dry, so it would be interesting to see what other keepers have to say about this subject! Any aspect of behavior is welcome, including breeding, feeding habits, and interaction within the species and with other aquarium inhabitants.
I picked up 5 ghost shrimp for my new tank a couple days ago, and have become fascinated with them! They're really quite amazing little creatures. They spent the first couple of days mostly in hiding, but are now quite adventuresome - roaming about the tank and climbing around on plants searching for munchies.
I've become especially interested in their behavior. Here's one particularly interesting event I observed: The largest (about an inch long, give or take) was making his way along the substrate when he came upon one of the smaller shrimps (perhaps 1/2 - 2/3 his size). The smaller shrimp had been in the same spot for a while, and had apparently found a good bit of food. The smaller shrimp was munching contentedly, but froze when it noticed the larger shrimp a few inches off. The larger shrimp spread out his antennae and limbs and took a few steps toward the smaller shrimp, and the smaller shrimp backed off a few steps. This happened three or four times before the larger shrimp finally bolted directly toward the feeding spot, and the smaller shrimp darted away a few inches and sat watching the larger shrimp. When it became apparent that the larger shrimp was there to stay, the smaller shrimp eventually went on its way to find food elsewhere.
I found it interesting that the shrimp both seemed to know their place in the hierarchy - bigger is better! For the most part, the shrimp roam around solitarily. I think the tank is big enough that they don't need to interact much.
Does anyone else have any stories or info on ghost shrimp behavior? I've done a lot of web searching and have come up mostly dry, so it would be interesting to see what other keepers have to say about this subject! Any aspect of behavior is welcome, including breeding, feeding habits, and interaction within the species and with other aquarium inhabitants.