ghost shrimp

[LMOUTHBASS]

again just thinking of things i have interest in for the future, i'm curious about ghost shrimp, is there a ben for having one in your tank in have a 20 gal well planted tank with gouramis platies and an angel , will he mix well, what woul you feed them and are they worth getting in the tank???

 

[OrionGirl]

Ghost shrimp are detrivores. They help clean up excess food, which will help keep the water conditions better. Otherwise, they offer little to a tank--they are reclusive, and frequently nocturnal. If you are looking for any of the fish to breed, ghost shrimp are a threat to fry, and will snack on any they can catch.

If you are interested, there are many kinds of FW shrimp available, many which can be useful in a tank, such as amano shrimp which graze on algae. Here's a link that has good info on some of shrimp available (some are pricey!) http://www.franksaquarium.com/shrimporderform.htm

 

[CHINABOY1021]

ive had ghost shrimp skim the tank surface upside down and grab huge chunks for flakes and eating the whole thing itself.
also i've seen all my ghost shrimp eat fish poop, dont know why.

also i've read sometimes on this board that ghost shrimp are usually 3 bucks a peice? but over here, they sell them by the dozens for 2 bucks.

 

[OrionGirl]

Ghosts don't actually eat fish waste. Rather, they sort through it looking for undigested food. This helps break the waste down for bacteria to process.

 

[Sumpin'fishy]

My opinion is a bit different than OG's, all except for the fact that they are more than willing to munch on any fry that are available!

I had seven of them in my planted 20 gallon tank and have two left. They have all been very active in my tank. I have really enjoyed their addition. Feeding time is pretty funny, too, since they are very determined to get some food, even to the point of swimming upside down along the water surface, or sometimes crawling over other fish to get a bit!

They are excellent at cleaning up the tank, and while mine don't eat anywhere near the amount of algae that my Ottos do, they still are constantly crawling over every surface of the tank grabbing anything available (including algae!). You don't have to worry about any particular foods to feed them, as they are oppotunistic feeders. Whatever is available, they will happily eat (including fry )

I have never seen anything to suggest them being nocturnal, although they may be even MORE active at night! Mine are at least as active as my Corys all day long!

Other shrimp may be even more delightful to have in your tanks, though.......I just haven't had any others to comment on.

 

[OrionGirl]

Guess their activity level depends on what is in the tank..Mine have always shared a tank with a potential predator, so they may be bright enough to hide out when the dwarf puffer pack is on patrol.

 

[RTR]

Agree pretty much with all the above - diurnal/nocturnal or always visible/rarely visible depends on many things - the biggest two being perceived threat, and available cover.

They are for me poor algae eaters in comparison to other shrimp, but are excellent and tireless scavengers.

And Ghosts or other scavengers will eat fish poop if fish are chronically overfed - fish have no appetite suppresion mechanism that I have seen, and will continue eating even if the gut is pushing undigested food out the back end. A Panaque on a cucumber is a wonderful example - they will consume (but not digest) a volume equal to more than half their own in 24 hours. That will teach you (or at least it did me) to control portion size in the interest of water quality. My conclusion is that OG learned how to feed earlier than I did. I am still learning that.

 

[OrionGirl]

I grew up on a farm. Very few animals will regulate their own intake of food. After being yelled at by my dad for overfeeding the horses (they 'looked' hungry), anyone would pick up the lesson.