I've watched the forums a little and know there are many types of shrimp called Ghost Shrimp. The ones I have have lived in my freshwater tank without problem for quite some time now. I have 6. They do an excellent job cleaning the tank and are fascinating to watch.
What I want to know is what kind of setup I should make to breed them. Since information I've read says brackish water shrimp wouldn't live long in freshwater, I assume they are freshwater shrimp. Given the food the young like and the way it says young head for light, would a good setup be a 3-5 gallon opaque container with a little substrate, plenty of dead plant matter (leaves, mostly), a filter to keep it from getting toxic or not having enough oxygen and adding food every now and then, geared more for the adults? Light wouldn't be a problem and room temperature water here is always between 70 and 80 degrees.
While they are fascinating to watch and clean tanks very well, the turtle hatchlings I have are bound to catch one every now and then. In the big tank (50 gallon), I will be setting up as protected an area as possible but doubt it would be adequate for breeding, so wanted to breed them in another tank so they can be added to this one as needed.
I have a painted turtle hatchling, hatchling red-ear slider, 1 young pleco, 1 male fiddler (gold-claw) crab, 1 female crab and 8 or 9 feeder guppies. When in the 50 gallon tank, I intend to have over 20 shrimp, 25+ guppies, same turtles, same pleco, same crabs, maybe a very young goldfish or two. I might also add another crab or two but am not yet sure.
Advice is welcome. I will be making areas turtles can't get into for the shrimp to go if they're being chased but think they may not do for breeding since guppies or crabs will probably be able to get in there as well.
RN
Breeding Ghost Shrimp
Moderator: Mustafa
Ok, not sure what you are saying there. Do you hope to breed and raise ghost shrimp in the same tank the turtles and guppies (et al) are living in? Not a good idea if you don't want the baby ghosts to be food. Newborn ghost shrimp hang suspended in the water, they have tiny little paddling legs so they can move and steer a bit but I've never seen one dart away very fast so they probably wouldn't be able to escape a hungry fish or turtle. If you want to raise your baby ghosts, don't put the berried females in with other species.
Some dead plant matter is good but not a great deal of rotting stuff or your tank readings will go bad. Live plants are good and babies (and shrimp in general) like to hide and climb about in the plants, catching food stuff as it drifts by, etc. You'll also need a certain amount of infusoria and tiny rotifers in the water so the babies have enough food to eat. A filter is good but make sure the babies won't get sucked into it--a sponge filter works really well.
Don't turtles eat shrimp?
Some dead plant matter is good but not a great deal of rotting stuff or your tank readings will go bad. Live plants are good and babies (and shrimp in general) like to hide and climb about in the plants, catching food stuff as it drifts by, etc. You'll also need a certain amount of infusoria and tiny rotifers in the water so the babies have enough food to eat. A filter is good but make sure the babies won't get sucked into it--a sponge filter works really well.
Don't turtles eat shrimp?
This is not always the case. Many species of shrimp spend all of their adult life in freshwater, but the larvae require brackish water to mature. Do you have any berried females? If so, how many eggs is she carrying? How big are they?renichms wrote:What I want to know is what kind of setup I should make to breed them. Since information I've read says brackish water shrimp wouldn't live long in freshwater, I assume they are freshwater shrimp.
I think a larger container is necessary. I'd also add some live, self-sustaining food for the larvae. Otherwise, it sounds fine.Given the food the young like and the way it says young head for light, would a good setup be a 3-5 gallon opaque container with a little substrate, plenty of dead plant matter (leaves, mostly), a filter to keep it from getting toxic or not having enough oxygen and adding food every now and then, geared more for the adults? Light wouldn't be a problem and room temperature water here is always between 70 and 80 degrees.
Make sure you use heavy leaves that do not contain toxins. Be sure to prepare them before adding them.
How much water will be in this tank? It sounds rather crouded. It will require rather strong filtration, won't it? Shrimp are not overly fond of strong currents.I have a painted turtle hatchling, hatchling red-ear slider, 1 young pleco, 1 male fiddler (gold-claw) crab, 1 female crab and 8 or 9 feeder guppies. When in the 50 gallon tank, I intend to have over 20 shrimp, 25+ guppies, same turtles, same pleco, same crabs, maybe a very young goldfish or two. I might also add another crab or two but am not yet sure.
The big (50 gallon) tank will not be for breeding of shrimp. I doubt the young shrimp would survive turtles, guppies and crabs. The turtles try, every now and then, to catch the shrimp, but they have yet to succeed. The only shrimp they have caught were already dead.
If I got a bigger, opaque container, what live plants would you all suggest? If it turns out they aren't just freshwater shrimp, is it possible to put adults in a brackish setup to live in instead of freshwater, then if they successfully reproduce, move shrimp to the turtle tank as needed? I'm concerning these posts mostly with establishing a seperate shrimp-only tank in order to get them to reproduce. I love to watch them in the tank and they clean up very well.
My brother and I have both kept these multi-species tanks for a while now. He has a tank with a map turtle, musk turtle, crayfish, guppies, one goldfish, male and female fiddler crab and a good many Ghost shrimp. His pets don't bother the shrimp. In my tank, the turtles have pretty much stopped bothering the shrimp and guppies as they have learned they can't catch them. So the shrimp and guppies are kept more as pets than food, though when they do pass away, I generally let them stay in the tank a very short time for the turtles, and if the turtles do not eat them, I remove them. The 50 gallon tank will start with water 10-12" deep throughout, with areas turtles cannot get to. However, it is not intended as a tank for breeding shrimp or guppies, though guppies will anyways since they just pop up all over. As far as keeping the tanks clean, they keep quite clean with little effort. I have a filter on the current setup that helps a lot. Guppies, crabs and shrimp do an excellent job of finishing off any food the turtles don't plus any sinking pellets I add for them. For example, I put in some new shrimp when the tank was cloudy, went away for a weekend, came back and it had been turned crystal clear. I clean out waste and food the animals have not gotten to and make sure to check things such as pH and ammonia and correct if needed. If I can set up a tank for breeding Ghost shrimp, they will be the only species in the tank, no fish or turtles or crabs.
Bigger container, live plants, proper water (fresh vs. brackish), right amount of prepared leaves...any other suggestions? Right now, I think I see one shrimp with something resembling eggs. I can't count them well, but a rough estimate would be a dozen. They're not huge, obviously, but I can see the individual eggs if I watch the shrimp.
RN
EDIT: Also, is there any "quick" way to tell if a shrimp requires brackish water for breeding? They're definitely Ghost shrimp, and I can ask the pet store where I got them, but that doesn't guarantee an accurate answer (they may not even know).
If I got a bigger, opaque container, what live plants would you all suggest? If it turns out they aren't just freshwater shrimp, is it possible to put adults in a brackish setup to live in instead of freshwater, then if they successfully reproduce, move shrimp to the turtle tank as needed? I'm concerning these posts mostly with establishing a seperate shrimp-only tank in order to get them to reproduce. I love to watch them in the tank and they clean up very well.
My brother and I have both kept these multi-species tanks for a while now. He has a tank with a map turtle, musk turtle, crayfish, guppies, one goldfish, male and female fiddler crab and a good many Ghost shrimp. His pets don't bother the shrimp. In my tank, the turtles have pretty much stopped bothering the shrimp and guppies as they have learned they can't catch them. So the shrimp and guppies are kept more as pets than food, though when they do pass away, I generally let them stay in the tank a very short time for the turtles, and if the turtles do not eat them, I remove them. The 50 gallon tank will start with water 10-12" deep throughout, with areas turtles cannot get to. However, it is not intended as a tank for breeding shrimp or guppies, though guppies will anyways since they just pop up all over. As far as keeping the tanks clean, they keep quite clean with little effort. I have a filter on the current setup that helps a lot. Guppies, crabs and shrimp do an excellent job of finishing off any food the turtles don't plus any sinking pellets I add for them. For example, I put in some new shrimp when the tank was cloudy, went away for a weekend, came back and it had been turned crystal clear. I clean out waste and food the animals have not gotten to and make sure to check things such as pH and ammonia and correct if needed. If I can set up a tank for breeding Ghost shrimp, they will be the only species in the tank, no fish or turtles or crabs.
Bigger container, live plants, proper water (fresh vs. brackish), right amount of prepared leaves...any other suggestions? Right now, I think I see one shrimp with something resembling eggs. I can't count them well, but a rough estimate would be a dozen. They're not huge, obviously, but I can see the individual eggs if I watch the shrimp.
RN
EDIT: Also, is there any "quick" way to tell if a shrimp requires brackish water for breeding? They're definitely Ghost shrimp, and I can ask the pet store where I got them, but that doesn't guarantee an accurate answer (they may not even know).
You can't go wrong with Java moss.renichms wrote:If I got a bigger, opaque container, what live plants would you all suggest?
I think we need Mustafa's expertice/experience to answer this, but I think that is a solution.If it turns out they aren't just freshwater shrimp, is it possible to put adults in a brackish setup to live in instead of freshwater, then if they successfully reproduce, move shrimp to the turtle tank as needed?
I believe I remember reading that the freshwater variety have fewer, larger eggs. One dozen eggs is not many for a shrimp, so this may be an indication that they are true freshwater.Right now, I think I see one shrimp with something resembling eggs. I can't count them well, but a rough estimate would be a dozen. They're not huge, obviously, but I can see the individual eggs if I watch the shrimp.
Not really. There are only two ways I know to differentiate the species. One way is to find a friendly expert with a microscope. The other is to wait and see if they breed in freshwater.Also, is there any "quick" way to tell if a shrimp requires brackish water for breeding? They're definitely Ghost shrimp, and I can ask the pet store where I got them, but that doesn't guarantee an accurate answer (they may not even know).
I've looked again and I'm fairly sure there are 6-10 eggs, fairly big, greenish. Last night, the biggest few shrimp ran the female fiddler crab out of the burrow she had made in the tank and ALL the shrimp are in there now. They come out briefly, grab a HUGE load of food, then drag it into the burrow. Any idea what's going on? Do they lay eggs in places that might resemble this burrow and ALL go in for it or guard them or what? I've confirmed they aren't dead in there and aren't turning odd colors or acting odd other than all retreating there together. Any ideas?
RN
RN
Odd. My ghosts have never done this. Can you snap a picture of the little buggers?renichms wrote: Last night, the biggest few shrimp ran the female fiddler crab out of the burrow she had made in the tank and ALL the shrimp are in there now. They come out briefly, grab a HUGE load of food, then drag it into the burrow. Any idea what's going on?
No. The female carries the eggs until they hatch. After that, the shrimp are oblivious to the presence of the larvae.Do they lay eggs in places that might resemble this burrow and ALL go in for it or guard them or what?
The inside of the burrow is well beyond a place where pretty much any camera can go. It's big for a burrow but underneath a rock. I can get a skewed view when looking through the side of the tank at the other end but that's all. The one with the eggs comes out the most...even doubled over and rearranged them a few times. I can get a better description of the inside when I finish setting up the big tank (it just arrived) and start moving everything into it.Bradimus wrote:Odd. My ghosts have never done this. Can you snap a picture of the little buggers?renichms wrote: Last night, the biggest few shrimp ran the female fiddler crab out of the burrow she had made in the tank and ALL the shrimp are in there now. They come out briefly, grab a HUGE load of food, then drag it into the burrow. Any idea what's going on?
No. The female carries the eggs until they hatch. After that, the shrimp are oblivious to the presence of the larvae.Do they lay eggs in places that might resemble this burrow and ALL go in for it or guard them or what?
RN
I've set up the big tank and removed the brick. Of the 6 living Ghost shrimp, I've moved 3 over to the big tank. I haven't found the others at all, and assume they died and were eaten, but am giving it a day or so for them to come out. I don't know what happened but there are no shells inside and no eggs either.
I ordered Java Moss and so should have some in the tanks for all the critters, whether shrimp or fish of some sort. Java Moss is really good for them, right?
RN
I ordered Java Moss and so should have some in the tanks for all the critters, whether shrimp or fish of some sort. Java Moss is really good for them, right?
RN