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Re: ghost shrimp


On Fri, 3 Sep 1999, Ryan Ingram wrote:

> Hi all,
>        does anyone know what, besides eating algae(is it green algae?), the
> "ghost shrimp" are helpful with? BTW, what is the scientific name for them,
> the store just labelled them as "ghost shrimp". I put them in my heavily
> planted tank with 4 juvenile kribs and various other algae eaters/bottom
> feeders, plus the water is about 3-4 DH(can't remember for sure) and the pH
> is around 6.3-6.5. Is this going to be a problem? If so, please let me know
> and I could put them somewhere else. Thanks.

Sorry I can't provide the scientific name for you.  There are two
similar-appearing shrimp that are sometimes sold together, one called
ghost shrimp and one sometimes called glass shrimp.  Both are mostly
transparent.  The ones I usually call ghost shrimp have inconspicuous red
bands on a pair of antennae and on their fore limbs with some
ornamentation on their carapice.  The glass shrimp have no colored bands
or ornamentation.  Glass shrimp get bigger than ghost shrimp, but I've
never succeeded in keeping glass shrimp alive for very long.

I've kept a small colony of ghost shrimp breeding and alive for a couple
years.  They are mostly scavengers.  They do eat some algae but they
aren't particularly good algae eaters.  If you're keeping them in hopes
that they will act like Caradina japonica (Amano shrimp) you will probably
be disappointed. If you're keeping them because they're interesting and
fun to watch, then you'll enjoy them.

I've found it necessary to add a little iodine to my water to allow them
to molt.  Without it, they die.  But I think the iodine problem may be
unique to my water.  You must provide them with a lot of cover.  They are
very vulnerable just after they molt and even small fish can kill and eat
them when they're that vulnerable.  My water has 7-9 degrees alkalinity, 2
degrees hardness and a higher salt content than many municipal water
supplies.  I suspect they might prefer brackish water but that isn't
essential.


Roger Miller