Ghost Shrimp eating my tetras?

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Mar 24, 2003
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OK, this is the only possible conclusion I have come to here...it's a mystery to me!

I have a 30 gallon planted tank. Water quality is good, plants are healthy, everything seems fine.

It is currently (rather has been) stocked with a handful of Danios, a handful of Black Neons, a handful of Glowlight Tetras, a medium sized Gold Gourami (about 4.5 inches long), a handful of ottos, and one freaking giant Ghost Shrimp (he was the original inhabitant...started out about an inch long but is easily 4-5 inches now...beautiful bugger).

Every morning I come out and find some of the Black or Glowlights missing. They aren't stuck on the filters, there aren't dead bodies floating, there is no debris or bones on the bottom. And that Ghost Shrimp is growing at a fantastic rate. He molts, on average, once every two weeks now.

I see the Gourami chase the others a bit...but that's usually only around feeding time. I feed the fish fairly well...a large pinch of quality flake and a half dozen shrimp pellets...and once a week they get frozen blood worms.

I've never seen an actual death/disapearance of a neon...they simply aren't there in the mornings.

Without finding 'em stuck on the filter, and since the Gourami isn't that big...and since the Ghost Shrimp is fairly massive (with pretty bad *** claws!) that is the only conclusion I can come up with...

Any other thoughts/ideas?

Oh yeah...I haven't lost a single Danio.

Thanks!
Crawford
 
Ghost shrimp are neither that large, nor do they have large claws. What you have is likely to be a Macrobrachium shrimp, which depending on species can be large (up to much larger than yours), and do have long arms and claws. And they will eat any small fish they can capture. Species tank time I would say.

For some photos, see:

http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Shrimp/

or do a Google on Macrobrachium shrimp or prawns.

HTH
 
That is definitely what I have...the pictures that came up are pretty much dead on.

Well...looks like it won't be a neon type tank! The Danios seem fine...I've lost none of them and have lost several of the tetras.

Guess I'll have to find some larger fish that will be more compatable. I love the shrimp, he is just amazing to look at.

Thanks for the help!

Crawford
 
Sorry my friends, have to disagree. I had a ghost shrimp that I bought when he was less than 2 inches long. In less than a year it grew to about 4 inches and started to nip the fins of my betta and other fishes. I had to take it back to my LFS and it is still there after more than 4 months, still growing. Last time I saw him (last week) he had molted that day.

I am 100% sure he is a ghost, but what a ghost! He learned to swim to the top of the tank to feed from my hand and he loved all the food he could get, especially brine shrimp and algae tablets (he stole those from the other fish). He was a really smart animal and I really miss him, but it was either him or the rest of the fishes.

Hope that helps.

Tony
 
Ghost shrimp do NOT get over 1.5 inch in length. Anything bigger than that is not a ghost shrimp, but some other type that I would really really really love to get.
Ghost shrimp will occasionally grab the very small fry that happen to come within reach, but if you are losing larger fish it is definately NOT a ghost shrimp.
good luck
:)
 
I had one of the jumbo Macrobrachium shrimp a number of years ago. He (you can sex them by the arms/claws) lived all alone in a 40-long, and when resting with the main walking legs still on the bottom, could reach into the air above the water - a huge prawn, close to a foot in body length (he had trouble turning around, had to be moved to a 50), with arms almost that long again. Huge and fierce. He was not well colored, some of the smaller marcrobrachium have cool colors on their arms and claws, some have red bodies, some tiger-stipes. Very interesting beasts, worth keepig, but may eat tankmates.

BTW, these are farmed for food use.
 
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He's definitely a killer...not that I have seen him eat anyone yet but he's been "stalking" the last of the neons...and that neon has a nasty gash now.

From 6 danios, 6 black neons, 6 glowlight neons, 6 ottos, 1 pleco and 1 gourami....I'm down to the pleco, gourami, 4 danios and one black neon.

Yow! Freaking war zone! I'm gonna pick up a tank tomorrow...and move the remaining little dudes into a new home. Crappy...but I gotta do it!

Crawford
 
A friend of mine had one of those electric blue crawfish. His fish kept disapearing as well. one day he saw it walking on the bottom of his tank with a fish speared on its claw. He got rid of it the next day.
 
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