Ghost shrimp Palaemonetes Paludosus
Ghost shrimp, also known as Glass shrimp are freshwater aquarium shrimp to keep as an aquarium pet. Ghost Shrimp is a name that is used for at least three different kinds of crustacean:
Thalassinidea, crustaceans which live in profound burrows in intertidal areas.
Caprellidae, commonly known as ”Skeleton Shrimp”. Amphipods with frail, slender bodies.
feeder Shrimp, Typically sold for use in Freshwater aquariums.
Ghost shrimp originate from North America, they became popular in home aquariums after being discovered in 1850. Ghost shrimp can be found in the Gulf of Mexico, they grow approximately 1.5 inches. However, females may grow larger than males.
Ghost shrimp are rather low-priced and are often purchased as ”feeders” for larger and further aggressive fish, they are sold at local pet stores and larger chain stores.
They are also used as fishermen ́s bait, although their population is a massive complication for the fishing industry since they are considered pests in the aquaculture.
Ghost Shrimps can help you clean your tank and are very fun to watch. It is recommended to put a dark background and black gravel so that (they are easier to spot)it is easier to see. Ghost shrimp can be described as translucent creatures with a hint of grey, their colors switch to translucent light grey into translucent dark grey.
Pros and cons of a Ghost shrimp ( Glass Shrimp, Palaemonetes paludosus)
| PROS | CONS |
| They are scavengers and they clean up your tank. | Although their size is small they do need a gallon tank per shrimp |
| They can be bait for fishing | Ghost shrimp molt very often |
| They eat nearly any type of food | Ghost shrimp are very frail |
| They are very easy to breed | They only live up to 3 years depending on their environment |
Palaemonetes paludosus
Ghost shrimp care- Breeding, tank size, habitat, set-up.
| category | assessment | Tips | |
| Minimum tank size | 5-10 gallon | Do not let it overfill | |
| Tank set-up | Plants, cave | It may get stressed out | |
| family | Palaemonetes | Palaemonetes | |
| temperament | peaceful | peaceful | |
| care | easy | easy | |
| scientific name | Palaemonetes paludosus | palaemonetes paludosus | |
| lifespan | 1-year lifespan | Depends on it is environment | |
| size | 1.5 inches | Maximum growth | |
| diet | omnivore | Will eat each other only if one dies |
Tank size
Ghost shrimp are usually kept in small tanks of 5 to 10-gallon aquariums and larger, per each gallon you can keep 3 or 4 shrimp in a tank. For example, you have a 20-gallon tank and you want to put shrimp inside that, keep in mind that some Ghost shrimp might die.
Ideal water parameters for ghost shrimp/ glass shrimp
Ammonia and Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20 ppm
Temperature: 72-82°
GH: 3-10 dGH -50-166.7 ppm-
KH: 3-15 dKH- 53.6- 268 ppm-
pH: 7.0-8.0
Habitat and water temperature for Ghost Shrimp
Ghost shrimp can take different temperatures, but keep in mind that they can die if they do not feel comfortable with the temperature or environment.
The water in a ghost shrimp’s tank should be 72-82 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ghost shrimp could live in fishbowls without any filtration system but the water has to be 65-79 °F. One species, ghost shrimp can live with Cherry shrimp since they are equally calm, most non-aggressive fish can live with ghost shrimp.
For these shrimp to live comfortably they need plants and many places to hide when their skin molts and just in regular, hiding. Adding sand to the tank allows your shrimp to make a burrow to feel secure. Decorations and rocks can help create hiding spots for these shrimp.
You should not risk overstocking the tank, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels always need to be monitored, as well as water regularity to help control chemical levels.
Ghost shrimp Breeding (females)
Female Ghost shrimp can carry 20-30 tiny green-grey eggs on it is leg, it’s better to have two different tanks; the breeding tank and the one where all your shrimp inhabit. Females can be spotted once they have matured, they grow larger than a male. They develop a green saddle below their stomach. It is recommended to move the berried females into the breeding tank before her eggs hatch, the breeding tank should have a sponge filter therefore none of the young shrimp get sucked in by the equipment. Along with the female, there should be plant debris and algae to feed the larvae and females.
If your Ghost shrimp in a healthy environment with no limited stress, your shrimp will breed. It takes twenty-four days for a female Ghost shrimp to give birth to her Larvae. The Larvae grow up into young ghost shrimp.
What is that red spot in my ghost shrimp?
You might sometimes see a red spot inside you ghost shrimp, Are they eggs? Does it have a parasite? Why does my other ghost shrimp not have the red spot inside it?
It could be a number of things;
1- There is a slight possibility that it could blood.
2-If you are talking about the red dot right behind the shrimp’s eye, it could be part of the digestive system of your ghost shrimp.
3-If you feed your shrimp reddish flakes then it could also be the food inside of them. Shrimps live short lives, they molt often. Do not put too much thought in it. Just watch out for your shrimpies!
What do Ghost shrimp eat?
Ghost shrimp aren’t picky about food, but they are fast eaters. They usually eat algae, dead plant latter, detritus. But most likely uneaten food. Ghost shrimp sometimes practice cannibalism, Ghost shrimp do not kill each other but they will eat one another once another shrimp dies. Shrimps need to have places to hide, even from each other. They shed their skin quickly and regularly, they are very vulnerable so it’s easier for them to get stressed.
It’s recommended to buy food with calcium, it is necessary for healthy shells. Like many other fish, they swim up to the top and pluck bits of its food out of the water, bigger shrimp always eat before the smaller ones.
Feeding ghost shrimp
One algae is enough to easily fuel a tank containing many shrimp, if you feed them more, you risk overfeeding.
Copper
Copper is toxic to ghost shrimp and it shouldn’t ever be introduced to the shrimp tank, many medications could have copper, so make sure to check the content before applying the medicine.
Just how sensitive are shrimp with copper?
It can kill a large quantity of your shrimp, especially if in that tank you have other tank mates that aren’t shrimp and you give some sort of medicine or food with copper it will affect your shrimp.
If the silicone in the tank is exposed to copper meds it can cause harm to your shrimpies!
Molting Ghost Shrimp
Ghost shrimp are often kept in large groups, that way it is harder to tell what member of that shrimp group has lost it is shell. Shrimp molt as they grow and eat, it is normal for them to molt often. After molting shrimp leave their shell in the tank for the other to fee on it. Shrimp without shells will hide inside the tank to feel secure most of the time.
Are ghost shrimp Nocturnal?
If you pay attention to shrimp often you might notice that it is very active in the daylight if it kept as an aquarium pet, but in the wild, they are Nocturnal because they are small and a popular prey to many sea creatures.
What fish are Ghost shrimp ( Glass Shrimp, Palaemonetes paludosus) compatible with?
Fish aren’t the only compatible sea creatures, many shrimp can also be compatible with ghost shrimp such as;
Bamboo shrimp- Atyopsis- It is native in Asia
Vampire shrimp – Atya gabonensis- It is native in West Africa
Cherry shrimp- Neocaridina davidi- It is native in Taiwan
Amano shrimp-Caridina multidentata – It is native to Japan and Taiwan.
Are ghost shrimp compatible with fancy guppies?
Yes, but keep in mind the ghost shrimp can be smaller than 1.5 inches so there will be a small chance that if the guppy is bigger it might eat it.
Compatible fish
| Compatibility | Ghost shrimp | Aggressiveness | ||||
| Danios | ✔️ | yes | [5] | no | ||
| Zebra loaches | ✔️ | yes | [3] | no | ||
| Kuhli Loaches | ✔️ | yes | [2] | no | ||
| Catfish | ✔️ | yes | [0] | no | ||
| Cherry barb | ✔️ | yes | [1] | no | ||
| Hatchet fish | ✔️ | yes | [4] | no |
Why do my ghost shrimp keep on dying?
Ghost shrimp are at risk of dying when you add them into a new environment, they might not be able to get comfortable with the temperature of the water or lack of plants in the tank.
You have to be fully aware of the color of your shrimp. If it turns white it could mean that it is getting infected by a bacteria or a disease. Please avoid adding any medicine or food without reading its content!
How to tell the difference between a Krill and ghost shrimp
| Krill | Ghost Shrimp |
| Comprised by three segments | Comprised by two segments |
| Red tinge | transparent |
| Grows up to 6 inches | Grows up to 1.5 inches |
| Many pairs of legs in the thoracic region | A pair of jaws |
Ghost shrimp anatomy +body parts
The Ghost shrimp anatomy is very similar to any other shrimp species.
As i said earlier the ghost shrimp is comprised by two segments:
The Cephalothorax.
The Abdomen.
The Antenna + Cephalothorax
Ghost shrimp has two pairs of antennae, one pair is longer than the other pair. As other sea creatures, the antenna helps them navigate through the water, communicate with other ghost shrimp. This gives the head a distinctive look from other shrimp.
Cephalothorax
The cephalothorax is the large front section of the shrimp body, cephalothorax is not a difficult word to understand, It just means “Head Chest”. In Front of the section of the shrimp’s body, where it is called the “Rostrum”, the rostrum gives the head a distinctive form that you can relate to a lobster or crayfish.
On either of the shrimp’s side of the Rostrum, there’s a stalk that can move. This is the way they can keep an eye on predators.
Behind the shrimp’s eyes, there is a part called the Carapace, a big section of a shell that covers it is Cephalothorax, the heart, stomach, and gills are also located there.
The Carapace is transparent so you can see all the food going into their insides, it is quite gross but still amazing.
The next section we will cover on the shrimp is the abdomen, The abdomen is mostly muscles covering that area. In this area the organs and intestines are also here, the shrimp’s abdomen is overlapped with seven shells, these shells allow the shrimp to be flexible so that it can curl its tail.
Underneath the abdomen area, there are five pairs of legs so that the shrimp can move around and swim.
The last section of the abdomen is the Telson, four pieces of shell named Uropods fan out from any side of the tail.
Cherry Shrimp
Ghost shrimps for Sale!
Here are a couple of places you could buy ghost shrimp online:
Usually,z Ghost shrimp go around $1-$3 dollars per shrimp.
If ghost shrimp ( Glass shrimp) are going to be used as feeders it is not necessary to keep them in an elaborate tank with gravel and live plants.
Imperial Tropicals
12 ghost shrimp on sale
Tropical inverts
10 ghost shrimp on sale for $9.99
https://www.theshrimpfarm.com/american-glass-shrimp.php
Aqua Garden
10 freshwater ghost shrimp with hornwort plant
Aquarium decorations on sale
Aquarium filters for sale
Is the Ghost shrimp a good aquarium pet?
If you like shrimp a lot you will observe its every move, having a translucent creature is amazingly satisfying; to see it eat, play and hide. Although they have a short lifespan there are many ups and downs of having a shrimp. If you are a fisherman you can use it as bait to catch other fish. As said before, they aren’t picky eaters but they are very frail and small, so many things could happen to them. I recommend you to buy 5-10 gal. tanks and many places for it to hide. These shrimp are good companions and keep you entertained. Their transparent bodies are incredibly cool! These species of shrimp are not aggressive by any means and adapt well in a very healthy and live environment. These shrimp are not at risk of extinction, in fact these shrimp have a very big population in North America. 1980,000000000000000 ghost shrimp! These ghost shrimp are very popular as aquarium pets as I mentioned before, each time a female has prepared its eggs and the male has fertilized the eggs the young larvae population increases.
Having an aquarium pet that only live 1 to 3 years could benefit you, ghost shrimp clean the tank and try to make a nice environment. Keep an eye out for your shrimp and make sure that you check the table of content of shrimp’s medicine!
Do you own ghost shrimp? Any questions? Comment on your experience below…