Woo Hoo! Baby Ghost Shrimp!

[BenjaminS]

Hi all!
I just saw my first teeny tiny baby ghost shrimp on one of my sponge filters! It's so cute! I thought they were planktonic in nature. If they are, does this mean it was swimming around as a 'plankton' and has now molted to it's sedentary form? I hope I see more of them...

[Mustafa]

Are you sure it's the type of shrimp commonly called "ghost shrimp" or "glass shrimp" in the US? Check the pictures on this website. If so, then yes, the larvae would float around for about a week before setting down as benthic postlarvae (=mini shrimp). However, "Ghost Shrimp" is a name given to many different species that are see through depending on what country you are in. In the US only Palaemonetes species are given the name Ghost Shrimp. In some asian countries it's Macrobrachium species and in some other locale they call a Caridina sp. "ghost shrimp." All have different modes of reproduction.

Mustafa

[Cajunspice]

what shrimp would they cross breed with? i have one pregnant ghost shrimp with cherries and bumble bee.

[Dolfan]

BenS, what kind of setup do you have? Is it a shrimp only tank? I have ghost shrimp and had a pregnant mom a few weeks back but I didn't have any success. I was wondering what you did, to compare it to my failure. hehe. From what I understand, they are hard to breed. As too Cajunspice question....how long have you had the shrimp, was it maybe pregnant when you got it? I'm no expert, but I wouldn't think it could breed with either of those types of shrimp, only maybe other Paleomantes(spelling) species.

[BenjaminS]

I'm virtually certain they are the Palaemonetes species as they look identical to the ones you have here listed as ghost shrimp.

I keep them in a 30 gallon tank with only some nerite snails as companionship. I have two sponge filters in there, one is a powerhead with a sponge on the intake and the temperature is 75 degrees. The ph is a little high, 7.8 but they don't seem to mind at all. There is a heavy growth of algae in the tank and the water is brackish because i'm trying to breed the nerites as well. Hope that helps!

[Cajunspice]

i doubt ghost shrimps babies are brackish water. They're found in freshwater ponds or lakes i believe...

i bought mines when it was pregnant, it has been nearly a week already. It seems to fan the eggs and rearrange them inside her... they're yellowish green.

[jwarper]

Don't quote me, but I think that Palaemonetes are found in lightly brackish waters as well.

[BenjaminS]

I made the water brackish so the nerite eggs can hatch but I read that the increased salinity will not harm the shrimp at all and it hasn't