Bought some ghost shrimp?

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:42 am

I went to my lfs today to buy a sponge filter and saw the feeder shrimp at the back of the shop and was amazed when the guy said they cost 60p for ten shrimp....so I bought ten.

I had a look at the ghost shrimp in the shrimp varieties and read they are safe with dwarf shrimp but i'm not sure if mine are the same now

.....could anyone tell me if they're safe to keep with my tigers.

Many thanks.

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:51 am

Hmm....it's hard to tell what they are from this pic...you think you could manage a close-up shot of one of the individual shrimp?

As for the American glass/ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus)...it is absolutely safe with adults and small juveniles in my experience. It will probably catch and eat hatchlings if it gets the opportunity, but glass shrimp will just cause a dent into the hatchling population and not eliminate it.

Either way, if you want to maximize hatchling survival with dwarf shrimp species, I would keep the species by itself. I would not even put other dwarf shrimp in with them as they will compete with the species you are trying to breed for food and space (by reproduction).

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:06 am

Sorry about the double post.

Here's a closer pic...

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:13 am

Hmm...still very hard to tell. It also looks like they have not colored out probably and are still in "stress coloration." Give it a few days. I doubt they are American glass shrimp as those are not exported outside the North America. Most so called "glass shrimp" or "feeder shrimp" outside North America are Macrobrachium lanchesteri or closely related species.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:44 am

Well I caught ten, put my shrimp stuff away and low and behold....shrimp # 11 was staring back at me in the tiger tank.

All eleven are with my amanos now.

They do look washed out....I didn't see a filter in their tank or a heater....just a bubbler. It'll be interesting to see how the colour develops.

Thanks Mustafa.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:10 am

That is a nice surprise to have an extra shrimp

I like how you can see the pink food in their belly, it lets you know they are eating and getting the nutrients they need. I hope the color up for you and do well.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:16 am

Cheers Neonshrimp.

I was like this ---->

when I saw the pink colour of the bloodworm pellet show up inside them so quickly. They are very cute and I want to stare at them for a while

but I put the lights off so they can chill out.

JK · Post by JK » Fri Oct 20, 2006 2:18 pm

Hi shrimp and snails,

Are you sure these are not just our native river shrimps?..........Actually found in brackish water round river outlets. If so I don't think they will survive in totally fresh water for long.

They are the only thing I can think of that you could possibly buy for so little.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:32 pm

I did suspect they were river shrimp but I didn't know they were brackish.

JK · Post by JK » Sat Oct 21, 2006 12:32 am

Apparently there are no native freshwater shrimp species in the U.K.
Just crays.

Post by **Mustafa** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 12:20 pm

I am pretty sure now these are Palaemonetes varians. It's a brackish water shrimp that can also temporarily live in freshwater. The "river shrimp" reference helped me a lot as Palaemonetes varians is often referred to as "river shrimp" in the UK. If they are locally caught (i.e. in the UK) it would explain why they are so cheap.

Please let us know how these shrimp are doing in the long term.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 12:25 pm

Hi Shrimp&Snails, it looks like you are going to add some salt to their home. I hope it works out for them

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 10:39 am

Neonshrimp wrote:Hi Shrimp&Snails, it looks like you are going to add some salt to their home. I hope it works out for them

It's a shame but I can't add salt to any of my tanks....I have shrimp and snails in all of them.

A couple have died but the rest are just scooting around the tank and are more see-through than they were. Guess that'll teach me to buy shrimp I haven't researched before.