Ghost Shrimp in a Community Tank Disappearing.   8/22/09
Hello Crew, long time no see, all well here, hope all is well across the
pond.
<Hello,>
Ghost Shrimp Q's please, for a community 120 gallon tank: several Corys, 1 rubber lips catfish, 1 Pleco catfish, and assorted swords, platys, mollies, guppies. And 4 glass catfish. There is lots of cover (plastic foliage, rocks, slate), even floating 'grass' (plastic) mats we use to hide livebearer babies. Water is brackish at constant 1.002 salt. Water is excellent all respects. pH 7.6. Temp is 80. Food is alternated between flake, algae tabs, shrimp pellets (!), and tiny spectrum pellets.
<Sounds fine.>
We started with about 8 ghost shrimp of good size from the LFS, now down to one we can find after 3 months.
<Often brackish water shrimps... limited lifespan in freshwater tanks.>
Some small evidence of shells once in a while (molting? eaten alive?
natural death?) we can't tell as we have never found a 'whole' body over the time period of losing them.
<I see...>
The shrimp seemed to spend a lot of time high in the floating grass mat or high on the UG filter tubes of the 3 pumps bodies when not crawling the bottom or hiding under rocks or in the created caves. Our one remaining shrimp goes high but makes forays across the bottom, too.
<Shrimps are super-sensitive to low oxygen concentrations, or at least, poor bottom water circulation.>
Questions, please: Would they have crawled out of the tank, since they can hang onto the slick uplift tubes easily?
<Can, will jump out of open tanks.>
Would any of the 3 types of catfish above eat the shrimp critters?
<Not normally alive... though glass catfish are of course predatory, and will eat very small fish/shrimps.>
Do they normally go high in the tank or remain on the bottom (the tank is two feet tall), or do you think they were running from the catfish? What is with iodine use; we saw related info on treating/feeding iodine in your forum.
<Iodine not normally necessary for shrimps, though can help with crabs and crayfish.>
Is this necessary for us? If so, please advise the amount per ten gallons and the frequency, and whether there is harm to the community fish in the tank from iodine. Is the salt content to the liking of the ghost shrimp?
<Difficult to say... if true brackish water species, will likely need more saline conditions than your other fish. Would recommend unambiguous species, e.g., Cherry Shrimps.>
If ghost shrimp are wrong for our tank, please advise what kind to look for of the other two choices mentioned in forums (cherry and bamboo). Is a 5 inch long bamboo shrimp ok with our catfish and other smaller guppies or will they become prey for the bamboo shrimp?
<Bamboo shrimps (Atyopsis spp.) fairly delicate, so do review their needs; need fast-flowing water and suitable particulate foods.>
Many thanks,
Don and Rosemary
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Ghost Shrimp in a Community Tank Disappearing.   8/22/09
Thanks, Neale for the speedy reply below.
<Happy to help.>
Just to clarify as a follow-up: I neglected to mention that in addition to the 3 UG power head pumps, we also run two Fluvals (305 & 405) so our H20 turnover and movement is quite good, we think. Our tank is fully covered with only slots for pump hoses and wires.
We do have good water movement.
<Still, there's a difference between lots of water current and good, thorough mixing of water at all levels. Put some flake at the bottom of the tank in various places. See how well the flake is carried along by the current. The results may surprise you. Things like plants and large rocks can restrict the flow of water, creating pockets of still water. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if the sediment is dirty as well, lack of oxygen in these pockets as organic decay proceeds could cause problems.>
The glass cats stay mid water column all to themselves and skim the surface for food then hover in one end; I never see them descend below midlevel in the tank or explore much, unless it is after dark, so I had discounted them as a threat to the ghost shrimp. They seem rather reclusive and shy.
<Indeed often the case, even when maintained in large groups.>
It would be helpful to us if you could look at the follow-up questions. In comments below in your last email reply:
Are you saying that the typical LFS ghost shrimp prefer saltier water than our constant 1.002? I didn't quite follow you there, but I am protecting the Corys by keeping salt at this level, and the Mollies are very healthy and huge. So changing the salt content is not an option.
<At least some of the shrimps sold are brackish/marine species, and their longevity in freshwater will be limited. Another issue is that sometimes coldwater shrimps will be sold, and again, these will not live long in a tropical aquarium. I'd tend to avoid shrimps unless you can be sure they're something suitable, i.e., Cherry Shrimps, Amano Shrimps, etc.>
Are you saying that for 1.002 SG, the Bamboo Shrimp would be a better choice than ghost shrimp?
<On the contrary, Bamboo Shrimps are, when mature at least, strictly freshwater animals. They may tolerate slightly brackish conditions like those in your tank, but they do prefer neutral, moderately hard water. For what it's worth, Cherry Shrimps seem to tolerate brackish water well, and I keep this species in a slightly brackish planted tank alongside gobies and snails. They breed normally, and show no signs of stress.>
Would you advise not buying more ghost shrimp, even given their true inexpensive cost and the pleasure they give us in watching them in the tank? We don't want to harm any fish by trying to make something work that isn't meant for our conditions. They can pick up a shrimp pellet and run like crazy with the whole thing; lots of fun to see.
<There's some wisdom to what you're saying here: If you can't keep Species X in your tank, despite repeated attempts, then perhaps it's not worth keeping. For whatever reason they aren't doing well. With shrimps, there's a bunch of factors beyond the usual. For example, copper is highly toxic to them, so medications will kill them quickly, as will traces of copper in your pipe work.>
Are you saying that the shrimp were going high in the tank due to possible lack of Oxygen near bottom; or is the high/low behaviour normal for ghost shrimp? I wasn't sure.
<Yes, shrimps are sensitive to the lack of oxygen at the bottom of a tank.
Since most of the shrimps sold come from fast-flowing habitats where water temperature is quite low, even in the case of tropical species, oxygen sensitivity can be acute in warm aquaria. If your shrimps stay all the time at the surface, it's a good sign oxygen is an issue. This isn't in itself a disaster; my Cherry shrimps often behave this way in summer, but still breed like mad. But it's a factor, and coupled with others, could cause failure in the long term.>
Lastly one of your colleagues strongly supported a temp max of 77 degrees F for a community tank (our fish list is below) when another person stated their tank was kept at 80 degrees F, and urged that the temp be dropped to 77. We can pin-point the temp with the two heaters we have. What temp would you strive for, given a precise choice?
<For most community tanks 25 C/77 F is ideal.>
Many thanks, Neale, much time was spend on the forums last evening, and as always, the entire Crew's all encompassing knowledge much admired and appreciated. Happy autumn.
<Thanks for the kind words.>
Cheers,
Don and Rosemary
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Ghost Shrimp in a Community Tank Disappearing.   8/22/09
Neale,
Knowing full well you and Crew are deluged with email (and not wanting to add to the deluge), I did want to reply with Thanks In A Big Way for these thoughtful answers. No more questions for now, you fully
covered it and guided us in the right direction.
<Glad to have helped, and thanks for the thanks!>
You are appreciated here.
Don and Rosemary
<Best wishes, Neale.>

Shrimp Tonight ... adding to FW  1/22/06
I am going to setup a 29 gallon freshwater aquarium. I was thinking about putting in 7 Zebra Danios, 9 Harlequin Rasboras, 4 Dwarf Gouramis, and about 10 Ghost Shrimp. I have a 50 gallon AquaClear Power filter and a 30 gallon undergravel that I will be using with air to circulate the undergravel.  Would the Ghost Shrimp be ok with these other species? Would I be able to put in more fish or is this the max I should go? Any suggestions on other fish if possible?
< The problem with adding shrimp is the fact that every once in awhile they need to shed their exoskeleton as they grow. When they do this their skin is soft and they have no protection and become mobile banquet blocks. Go with this set up at first and see how it goes for awhile. Meanwhile check out some other fish and check the nitrates periodically. If you can continue to keep the nitrates under 25 ppm between water changes then i think you can add a few more fish depending on the species. If the nitrates exceed 25 ppm then you need to increase the frequency of the water changes or increase the amount of water changed.-Chuck>

Iodine And Freshwater Shrimp - 12/15/2004
I recently picked up some ghost shrimp for my two aquariums.  
<Yay, welcome to the world of freshwater crustaceans!!>
All is well, but I want to be prepared for molting if/when it occurs.  
<No "if" about it - ghosties molt a lot and often.>
I know iodine is important for crustaceans.  Is there some sort of Iodine supplement the shrimp will need or is the weekly 10-20% water change I do going to be enough for them?  
<Some SERIOUS kudos to you for thinking of this!  Yes, freshwater shrimp require iodine to facilitate calcium uptake and successful molting.  Though you *might* be able to get by with your regular water changes alone, I have found that adding iodine *dramatically* reduces the chance of a "bad molt".  Before adding iodine to my tanks, I would lose a few shrimp each month.  After adding iodine, I haven't lost any shrimp to bad molts, that I know of - and they started breeding right away, as well.  I use, and heartily recommend, Kent marine iodine, at a rate of one drop per ten gallons each week.  This amount may seem insignificant, but it has proven seriously beneficial in my tanks.>
I feed a varied diet of plant and animal foods, they also have in the tank a piece of real driftwood and several species of live plants.  
<Sounds perfect.>
Thanks for your help guys!  :-)  (Almost forgot, they are also in the tank with some Zebra Danios and Otocinclus algae eaters in one tank, and a Betta and Otocinclus in the other tank.)
<All sounds good.  Wishing you and your shrimp well,  -Sabrina>

Ten Gallon Shrimp
Hello there! This is Molly here, avid fish enthusiast. I currently have a 10 gallon aquarium housing 5 White Cloud Mountain fish and 3 Zebra Danios. As you can probably guess, there is a fair amount of algae in this tank. I have tried to keep a small Pleco in the tank but sadly he died approximately a week and a half after I purchased him. I wonder if I could keep at least one African Dwarf frog in the tank, I have done a good amount of research on them and have figured out that they can (and will, given the chance) escape from tanks. 
I have a hooded light fixture on my tank so I am considering purchasing one....or more, depending. I have also read that they don't get too large so they will not eat my small ornamental fish. Do you think this would work? I was also considering ordering a ghost (glass) shrimp. They don't get much bigger than 1-1.5 inches so I thought they would also do well cleaning up the tank. 
I have had snails in the past, but they don't do too much to combat the algae problem unless I buy several...which I don't really want to do. What do you suggest? Would some Cory cats survive in an unheated tank? I did not have luck with Corys with goldfish.. but I think that is because of the large ammonia output of such fish. Any advice you could give would help me greatly. Thanks, or should I say, Tanks!-Molly
<I'd go with shrimp over fish. Eight fish of this size are about all you want in a ten. The frog would work, but he will not eat algae. And I always warn, he may eat a fish. Any frog will eat any fish it can catch and fit in it's mouth. But the Dwarfs usually don't. And he would like it warmer, as would a Cory. The fish you have are OK unheated. And you are 100% correct in your reasoning about goldfish in small tanks. Shrimp add little ammonia to the water. You could handle about a half dozen. Make sure you feed them after the algae is gone. Any baby shrimp produced will make excellent food for the fish. Don> 

Awesome Shrimp Question - 04/05/2005
Hey awesome team at WWM!
<Hey, awesome reader!>
Can ghost shrimp be slowly acclimated to saltwater at 1.025 SG.?
<Honestly, it depends entirely on the species. There are many, many shrimp that fall under the name "ghost" shrimp. To be quite honest, you could try it with just a few and see how they fare. Don't raise the salinity more than 0.002 a day.>
I want to raise them, should I aim for a larger say 55 gal, or could I do this with a 25? They don't seem to mind being crammed.
<They sure don't mind being crammed, but the larger you go, the more likely you are to be successful. The ghosties most commonly offered for sale can be easily raised and bred in freshwater.>
I also think that they don't eat their offspring so farming these little guys shouldn't be too much of a problem?
<Not difficult at all. Been there, done that. They breed like bunnies.>
UGF, air stone, water changes... Will everything just happen on it's own if I start with a good population, vary foods...?
<Pretty much. A word of caution - if you don't add iodine, they may not breed, and may slowly die off. I use Kent marine iodine at a rate of one drop per ten gallons each week (note that this is NOT the marine dose!). I went from losing a few shrimp each month to breeding profusely after a few weeks of adding iodine. When your populations get very high, you may wish to increase the dosage. Good luck with your shrimp! Wishing you well, -Sabrina> 

Shrimp Discrepancy? - 01/19/2005
Hey,
<Hola.>
I was just admiring your site and I noticed you mentioned P. kadiakensis, a freshwater shrimp.  There you mentioned it as a marine species;
<Mm, no, just that this particular individual was living in a marine aquarium....  A few freshwater Palaemonetes shrimps can be pretty easily acclimated to brackish or saltwater environments.  After looking at the photos that I have available (including a higher res pic of the one in question), I am not convinced that this is (or, for that fact, is not) P. kadiakensis - the only solid information I can find on its tolerance of salinity suggests 20ppt is okay, but 25ppt is lethal....  I also assume that, like with other Palaemonetes shrimps, this tolerance may differ with different geographical populations of the species.>
however, it is true freshwater species, not needing salt or brackish water to breed, as I raise them successfully.
<Agreed wholeheartedly.  The same can be said for other Palaemonetes which can be acclimated to saltwater, as well (though some species have a much lower survivability in larvae in lower brackish or fresh conditions, and vice verse).  But, taking into account the areas that P. kadiakensis can be found in the wild, I am inclined to agree - the species of this animal is, in fact, in question....  Unfortunately, I do not have other clear photographs of "known" P. kadiakensis for comparison....  Sigh.  Perhaps you have some that I could take a peek at?>
The shrimp on your site (bottom pic) was most likely P. pugio or P. vulgaris.
<Alas, I do not have access to any clear photographs of either of these - but from the small pic on the site, I think identification is impossible....  The high-res version we have is very, very clear - if you have any photos of pugio or vulgaris, or kadiakensis for that fact, I would be very eager to see, and perhaps get this fellah correctly named!  Or maybe I should take a road trip and find some to see with my own two cute little eyes.>
It might even be Macrobrachium or a related Palaemonid species.
<Mm, if in saltwater, I find it very, very unlikely that it's a Macrobrachium - perhaps I've got this wrong, but I'm not confidant that there are any saltwater Macrobrachiums, or any species of the genus that can take fully marine conditions?>
If you have any questions, email me.
<Thanks very much for your comments - if you can get any clear photographs of your kadiakensis, I would very, very much like to have a peek!  Wishing you and your shrimp well,  -Sabrina>

Ghost Shrimp, marine
I would like to add fresh water ghost shrimp to my tank for algae control and they are neat. All I can find in the stores are salt feeder ghost shrimp. Is there any way to adapt the salt shrimp to live in fresh water and what is the difference. Thank you
<With some species of Palaemonetes this can be done... see WWM re. Bob Fenner> 

Shrimps, FW
Hi there
    I got a 5gal. tank for Christmas last year.  It brought back memories of my childhood almost 50 years ago. I quickly went  down to a local fish store and to my amazement found a $.79 tank (just before  the store owner would get new fish on Thu. he would go threw the tanks and any single fish he would put in this tank just to get rid of them.) I was like a kid  again every few weeks going down to the store and seeing what was there. I have  3 neon's, 3 white clouds, 3 zebras, and a white vial tetra in the tank.  few  weeks ago I got 3 ghost shrimp but they seemed to die during there mullet.
<?>
I  went down and bought 3 more and again they seem to be dead one at a time on the  bottom of the tank. I went out and got Kent's Iodine the label said 1 drop per 50  gal. so took a cap full and cut it with 10 caps of water. I add 1 drop per.  week with my gal water change. And of course went out and got (yes you guessed  it ) 3 more shrimp. 1 seemed to die but I lost the other 2.
<?>
My tank is pretty  heavily planted with Java moss and ferns, swords plants, and several other types  of plants I got from the fish store. I really like the different shapes and  colors of the plants with the fish swimming around them but my real joy is the shrimp. I just got 2 bamboo shrimp but 1 is a fan feeder about 1.5 inches  in length (I think you call it that) and the other is a long armed shrimp about  2 .5 inches in length. They were in the same tank about 5gal with about 12  other shrimp of the same types. After I put them in my than I noticed at least 4 ghost shrimp come from some place to investigate the newcomers everyone seems to be getting alone wonderfully.
    Now to cut to the chase am I adding  the right amount of iodine to the water or should I just add 1 drop per gal. as  you said in the past?
<Not able to tell w/o testing... this material is transient depending on water chemistry, bio-load...>
    Should I buy shrimp pellets for the  bamboo shrimp or is my testament and live plants OK?
<Please read on the Net re... not able to live on pellets>
        What is the  best way I could care for OTTO & HERMAN they are so cool?
<Who are they?>
I really think my tank is perfect until I get a bigger tank  with more plants and shrimp.
    Is there any types of shrimp or  invertebrate I should stay away from in the future?
Thank you so very much for your time and please keep up the  good work Walter.
<Walt... please read over, have someone there review your writing before you send it... Some doesn't make sense, a bunch is mis-spelled. I do wish our "shrimp queen" were with us more often (Sabrina). Will cc her here in the hopes she will respond. Bob Fenner>

More Mystery Shrimp! - 10/04/2005
Hello,
<Hi!  Sabrina the slightly shrimp-obsessed with you today....  And please let me apologize for the extreme lateness of my reply; on top of having been sick and missed some emails in my box a few days back, you've really given some perplexing pictures!  Excellent photos, I must add.>
I have seen this question before ("Mystery Shrimp - Fun with Freshwater Inverts") but I would like to ask it once again... is what I have actually a ghost shrimp?
<Not what is commonly considered to be a ghost shrimp, but it does look like a Palaemonetes species to me.  Perhaps P. antennarius - your shrimp seems to have the same bizarre iridescence that they exhibit.  They do develop markings like yours shows as they grow, but yours is more prominently marked than ones I've seen.>
or is it a "long-arm" - Macrobrachium... because this guy's arm's aren't longer then his body, but he is a bit big to be a ghost shrimp. He is about 4.5cm (1 3/4").
<Not a Macrobrachium, as far as I can tell, but not a "common" "ghost shrimp".>
I have posted photos here: http://www3.telus.net/public/al_s/ShrimpPhotos/  I am wondering what the morphological difference is between the Macrobrachium and the Palaemonetes?
<Well....  See, you're asking tough questions now!  Just kidding, this is a good one.  To be quite honest with you, I do not know the difference in systematics between these two genera.  They are both in family Palaemonidae, though Palaemonetes shares the subfamily Palaemoninae with a few other genera, whereas Macrobrachium is not in that (or other) subfamily.>
is it just the length/size of the pincer arms or am I missing some other key item?
<Macro = big, brachium = arm ....  All of the shrimps of genus Macrobrachium do have very prominent "arms".  Some more so than others, to be sure, but all are quite big.  This can be somewhat less noticeable in females, but even most females have really big arms.  Also, all of the Macrobrachiums (Macrobrachia?  Uhh, I don't know the pluralization of this word!) that I have met seem to have an impressively large rostrum.  Some Palaemonetes do as well though, including P. antennarius, whose rostrum can be quite wicked-looking.  Physically, those two pincer arms will tell all.  Or most, at least.  Yours is not a Macrobrachium, as far as I can tell.  Now, that doesn't mean it's not aggressive!  P. antennarius, if it were just the size of a dog, would take over the world and wipe out humanity.  And you'd hear an evil laugh while they did it.  Fortunately, they stay at or under 2", so hopefully we're safe.  Or maybe that's just what they want us to think....>
Thanks,  -Rose
<And thank you for showing us these great images; I do hope you enjoy this animal.  Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Differences between Palaemonetes and Macrobrachium species shrimps....  9/21/05
Hey Bob!
<Sabrina>
I know I should know this, or at least be able to find it, but I don't and I can't.  I wonder if you know, or
can point me in the right direction.
<Will try>
What, physiologically, ARE the differences between these two genera?  I mean, aside from the (macro) big
(brachia)" arms"/pincers, what really makes a Macrobrachium a Macrobrachium?  What makes a
Palaemonetes a Palaemonetes?  Both are of the same family (Palaemonidae), though Macrobrachium is in
sub-family Palaemonidae....  But....  What determines this?  I've struggled a couple days to try to find
*something*....  hobby-related websites and the few books that mention shrimps (including Uwe Werner's
Aqualog) just talk about care, and those big honkin' arms....  and I can't seem to find any scientific
websites that really explain what makes a Macrobrachium a Macrobrachium, or a Palaemonetes a
Palaemonetes.  Any thoughts?  I wish/hope it could be as simple as counting scales, rays in fins, tooth
shapes and pharyngeal bones....  Fish are so easy
<.
<Don't know... w/o "looking"... likely at SIO... but here is the feedback from Google on Systematics of the Palaemonidae:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-27,GGLD:en&q=systematics+of+the+palaemonidae
Looks like there are some useful bits here... and I would try the (not ready
for prime time) "Google Scholar" as well... Next time you're in town, let's
make a sojourn down to the Scripps Library... am facile at searching "the
literature". Bob F>
Thanks much....
-Sabrina

Discus Tankmates  11/28/05
Hello. I was wondering if the blue tetra (Boehlkea fredcochui), the glass blood fin tetra (Aphyocharax anisitsi), and some shrimp (Palaemon pantanal) would be able to be housed with 3 discus and not be eaten. If so would these be able to coexist with each other in a 55 gallon tank. CJ
<All should get along fine. The tetras are too fast for the discus to eat even if they wanted too. When the shrimp shed their exoskeleton they will be soft and very vulnerable for awhile so they will need a place to hide until their new outer skin hardens.-Chuck> 

Freshwater shrimp?
Dear Crew,
We have unfortunately had a small tragedy in our freshwater tank (240L, ph6.5-7, temp 75-77, nitrates 0, hardness 3-4)...in with our neon tetras (11), black widow tetras (6), Otos (5), Rams (3), Corys (6) we had had 5 "red claw shrimp". Now from the pictures on your site and on all of the other freshwater shrimp sites, they look like ghost shrimp, but are a reddish/orange color. We bought them from one of the LFS staff who lives in our area and breeds them in her tank. The biggest of these fellows is about 2 inches long, and the smallest about 1 inch. Until yesterday all was well (how can you tell there's going to be a but) but yesterday evening I noticed small red shrimp on its back, scrabbling a bit. I thought this was strange, so turned him over and moved him into a sheltered corner, he seemed to be struggling, so I wondered whether he was molting and turned off the tank lights to minimize stress and left him to it. This morning at work I have received an e-mail from home telling me that small red shrimp is no more. So now I have 2 questions, first of all, do you have any ideas what species these fellows might be? and secondly, what could have killed small red? his legs and claws looked strangely pale and he seemed sort of bunched up (cramp?) but apart from that we have no clue...
Any suggestions would be useful, we want to prevent the same happening to the other 4. Thanks for your time. Nicola
<Hey Nicola, sorry to hear about your shrimp. It is hard to get a positive ID without a good picture. The common ghost shrimp will not reach 2in. Take a look at the link below, is it one of these guys?
http://www.calacademy.org/research/izg/SFBay2K/ghostshrimp.htm
My first concern would be water quality. I would do a good water change, and add a poly filter to absorb metals and many other contaminants. Keep an eye on the other shrimp, if it starts happening to the others we will know that it was not a molting complication and can start troubleshooting from there. Let us know how it goes, Best of Luck, Gage.>
Nicola Blay, BSc, MSc

Crawfish and Shrimp – 06/14/07
Howdy.
< Ave.>
> I have 2 10 gallon tanks. One of them holds my 4"inch crawfish, Bojan and four (used to be 5) guppy "friends". He is happy and healthy and hilarious.
< So, you have discovered that crayfish can and do eat small fish, given the chance.>
> The other tank holds 3 Cory catfish, a couple of guppies and three TINY crawfish (one temporarily named "grain of rice") which I know will get bigger and will need to be either moved to separate tanks, or returned to the creek from whence they came.
< Returning animals "to the wild" is at least the wrong thing to do, and at worst illegal. If in doubt,
<<My value systems switch these. RMF>>
consult with your local Fish & Wildlife Bureau. The problem is that those crayfish have no been exposed to pathogens and bacteria than native crayfish (and other aquatic organisms) may have no resistance to. American crayfish got loose in the UK, likely from farms, and carried a fungal disease that has basically wiped out our native crayfish. The American crayfish is somewhat resistant, and so takes over vacated territory. See here: http://www.defra.gov.uk/fish/freshwater/crayfish.htm . Moral of the story: never, ever release captive animals back into the wild.>
> Here is my question. My friend has the cutest little ghost shrimp. I was thinking of getting some to put in with the Corys and baby crawfish. I am guessing that ghost shrimp and crawfish are not compatible, but thought I would ask you guys and gals to see what you thought. If these two are not compatible, are there any shrimp that would be compatible with baby crawfish or would I need to choose between having crawfish or having shrimp? (What a delicious question!)
> Thanks!
< Crayfish and small shrimp are indeed incompatible. Crayfish are omnivores, feeding primarily on plant material and detritus, but small animals are also on the menu. In the confines of an aquarium their clumsiness isn't a problem, and eventually they corner smaller tankmates, usually at night. Obviously baby crayfish smaller than the shrimps won't be much of a problem, but as the crayfish grow, expect them to become more predatory *and* more territorial towards one another. The only shrimps I would keep with crayfish would be large Macrobrachium spp, (Freshwater Tiger Prawns) because they are pretty nasty animals themselves. Given crayfish don't move about much, I personally think they look best kept in their own small aquarium. Cheers, Neale.>

Killer Ghost shrimp?!?!  – 03/09/07
Hi there!
<<Hello!.>>
I don't have a question, I just wanted to share what I thought was kind of surprising.  I turned the light on in my 10 gal tank this morning, just in time to watch my ghost shrimp "pounce" on a neon tetra.  Before I went to bed the neon looked perfectly healthy, and seemed to be pretty strong after the attack this morning...at least initially.  I would have intervened but I was far too shocked and amazed by what I was seeing.  The neon struggled to get away, "dragging" the shrimp with him, but the whole time the shrimp had a hold of him he shredded his tail and fins.  Eventually the neon stopped struggling and the shrimp was able to settle on a piece of driftwood and eat the neon at his leisure.  He held the fish tightly and moved it up and down his legs ripping and tearing with tiny little pincher claws that I never noticed before.  I just could not believe what I was seeing!  I have two particularly large crayfish in my 30 gal, and I have neons there, as well as some glowlight tetras, and in the past 6 months have not lost a single fish to the crayfish.  I have had the shrimp since January, and he has already caused a loss... NOT what I expected!
<<Thank You for sharing.  I have not experienced this, but I have heard similar cases.>>
Many Thanks for all the time and money this site has saved me with free education.  My tank losses have never been lower since I started my research here 2 years ago!
<<Happy to hear it!  Keep up the good work.  Glad to help. Lisa.>>
Doug

Bettas and Ghost Shrimp comp., incomp.   4/1/06
Hi. <Hello> Do you know why my fighting fish ate my ghost shrimp? <Are you sure he did?> My fighting fish was a male <And still is, I'm thinking> and he ate 2 ghost shrimp. I bought 6 but he ate 2. I have 4 left. <Your math is correct. :)> E-mail me back when you get this. <We always do> Thank you very much! <First, Danielle, I don't have any way of knowing, one way or the other, if your Betta actually ate your Ghost Shrimp. I'm a bit skeptical about this for a few reasons. First, Ghost Shrimp are pretty fast when they need to be and Bettas aren't known for their speed (this makes them quite compatible together). Additionally, at warm temperatures such as your Betta requires, Ghost Shrimp are known to be far more active and aggressive than they would at cooler temperatures making it more likely that it would be they who would take a swipe at your Betta rather than the reverse. Finally, Ghost Shrimp regularly shed their outer shells (exoskeletons) and then hide until new exoskeletons form. This, all too frequently, leads folks to assume that their shrimp have fallen prey to a hungry tankmate when, in fact, no such thing has happened. I'd keep an eye on your tank and see if your "missing-in-action" shrimp don't magically reappear. Tom>
International Zoo Veterinary Group

Ghost Shrimp
Hi! Can you tell me what ghost shrimp eat?
<Just about anything you offer them meat based.>
Thanks, David Muir
<You are welcome. -Steven Pro>

Sexing ghost shrimp
I'm trying to breed ghost shrimp and I was wondering how to tell the difference between a male and female ghost shrimp.
<Mmm, is this the ghost shrimp of the family Callianassidae? Or the Palaemonids that are sold as food animals in the pet-fish trade? For the latter please see here: http://fish.orbust.net/ghostshrimp.html
Bob Fenner>

A worm question (Horsehair worms; stingrays)   10/17/08
Hello,
<Hi,>
was just wanted to know I notice some of my ghost shrimp have worms in there intestines are to believe they are Gordian Worm, a.k.a. Horsehair Worms...one died bc the worm killed it but I never notice them b4 on my shrimp I feed these shrimp to my Motoro stingray which I have had for about a week I know they are prone to roundworms and tapeworms but I was wondering if I did feed some shrimp that had these in them can they kill my ray I called the pet store where I got my ray and they never really heard of these worms really and are not sure if they will harm the ray they feed there ghost shrimp to there rays and had no prob but they never looked at there shrimp to see if they had worms so they could be feeding ones that do so I don't know what I should do I don't want my ray to die and I don't know if I should get new shrimp the other ones seem to not have these worms in them..should I continue to feed them to my ray or go and get new ones??????
<Sheesh... not even a period or comma. Do please review our very modest "fee" before writing: we expect e-mails to be spell checked and written with proper grammar. Not much to ask, and the point is that we depend on properly formatted messages so that we can share them with other site visitors. The better Google can index our pages, the more people will view our pages, and the more revenue our advertising generates to pay for bandwidth. It's a simple deal really.>
HELP!!! PLEASE KINDA SCARED FOR MY RAY I LOVE HIM!!!
<Horsehair worms are not likely to cause your Ray any harm. Most parasites are species-specific, and while they may be harmful to the shrimp, they are unlikely to adapt to the particular anatomy of your Stingray. If you're really that bothered, don't use the shrimps. Earthworms are a very safe food if collected from an area that is "organic", i.e., not sprayed with chemicals. Most rays love earthworms. There's no reason to use live food with most Stingrays anyway, and a varied diet of mussels, prawns and squid is easily provided using foods sold for humans.>
thanks
Maria
<Cheers, Neale.>

Shrimp ID 11/27/08 Hiii!!!!!!! I caught 4 wild shrimp at the beach and threw them without hesitation in my 17 gallon saltwater tank. it's been 2 month now they r all the same and tiny except one which is bigger and more colorfull, all the rest are transparent and look healthy. i did everything i could to identify their name or have information about them but NOTHING. 6 days ago i noticed the big shrimp(1 inch) with his belly full of dark green eggs!!!!!!!! everyday the eggs changed and one the sixth day i can notice 2 dots in each eggs,the shrimp look shy and is not eating like the others, what can i do to identify the shrimps, when the eggs r gonna hatch????i really need answers plz!!!! <Heyyyyy! Are you a child, a non native speaker, a person of diminished capacity?..... Please fix your English and re-send. Can you send a picture or two? The color of the eggs is about right. BobF. >

Shrimp ID    11/28/08 i'm sorry for my english and for the spelling, it's not my official language <Ah, no worries. I understand> i just wanted to identify the shrimp i caught, which is pregnant know. <This appears to be a Grass Shrimp, likely the species Palaemonetes paludosus. Bob Fenner>