Ghost Shrimp (Palaemonetes Paludosus) Care Guide

Ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus) or Glass shrimp can make an excellent addition to a peaceful community tank. 

As well as providing an interesting alternative to fish, these busy invertebrates help to keep your tank neat and tidy, scavenging detritus and waste from the substrate and grazing on algae. 

But do you need to feed them, and if so, what do Ghost shrimp eat? What kind of aquarium filter system is safest for a tank containing Ghost shrimp? And, can Glass shrimp live with goldfish?

Read this complete care guide for the answers to these questions and lots more!

Ghost Shrimp – Species Profile

Origins and Habitat

They were first described in 1850 by Gibbes and are native to North America.

The shrimp live in lakes and rivers where the substrate is soft and silty, and there are plenty of places to hide.

These little crustaceans are often used by fishermen as bait and have widely colonized clam farms where they are regarded as pests.

In nature and captivity, Glass shrimp spend much of their time foraging for scraps within reach of the safety of burrows that they dig in the substrate.

What Do Glass Shrimps Look Like?

The Glass or Ghost shrimp’s name is a dead giveaway when it comes to the creature’s appearance! They are completely transparent in color, which allows you to see the crustaceans’ inner physiology, making fascinating viewing. However, you may notice that individual shrimp have dots of various colors on their backs.

Ghost shrimp have one short and one long pair of antennae on their head that the creatures use to detect particles of food or toxins in the water. It’s thought that the antennae are also used for some kind of social or communication purpose, although the precise nature of that is not fully understood.

Between the shrimp’s eyes in front of its body is a beak-like extension called a rostrum. A hard shell or carapace protects the creature’s soft body. Behind that are six flexible segments comprising the shrimp’s abdomen and housing the animal’s pleopods used to propel the shrimp through the water.

The tail is connected to the sixth abdominal segment that terminates in the shrimp’s characteristic fan shape.

How Big Are Glass Shrimps?

They typically grow to around 1.5 inches, females being larger than males. 

That’s good news for hobbyists, as it means you can add quite a few of these guys to your tank without compromising water quality since the shrimps’ bioload is so small.

How Long Do Ghost Shrimp Live?

The main drawback of these shrimp is that they only have a very short lifespan, typically just one year or perhaps a little longer in some cases.

As they are very easy to breed and keep, they are commonly used to feed large fish species in the home aquarium. Consequently, the shrimp are often raised in overcrowded tanks with poor water quality. That increases their mortality rate, even if they are housed in a healthy tank.

Do Glass Shrimp Molt?

Yes, all shrimp species molt regardless of their lifespan.

The shrimp’s hard carapace doesn’t grow, but the shrimp inside it does. So, the shrimp must shed its old shell and grow a new one. The frequency of molting depends on the quality of the shrimp’s diet and, therefore, how quickly it grows.

Immediately before and after molting, the shrimp will hide while it’s vulnerable, only emerging when the shell has hardened.

Gender Differences

If you’re planning on breeding your shrimp, which is a great idea given that they have such short lives, you need a good mixture of males and females.

Sexing juvenile shrimp is extremely difficult. However, adult males are usually slightly smaller than females, and you will see female shrimp carrying eggs in a green belly saddle when in breeding condition.

Temperament and Activity Level

Ghost shrimp are scavengers, eating any leftover fish food in the aquarium and grazing on algae growing on the substrate or tank decorations.

They are active throughout the daytime, and they navigate the tank either by free-swimming around the tank or scuttling about on the substrate.

What Are Good Tank Mates for Glass Shrimp?

There are plenty of suitable tank mates for Glass shrimp.

Basically, any small peaceful fish should do fine with Ghost shrimp, including Neon tetras, Corydoras catfish, and similar peaceful bottom-dwellers. You can also keep other shrimp species such as Cherry shrimp or Bamboo shrimp with Ghost shrimp. Snails make good tank mates, too.

See also: Whisker Shrimp Vs Ghost Shrimp: What’s The Difference?

Fish Species to Avoid

When it comes to what fish species you should not keep with Ghost shrimp, I recommend that you avoid any fish that has a mouth large enough to fit a shrimp! For example, Discus, Oscars, large cichlids, and goldfish will all make a meal of a Ghost shrimp.

Can I Keep Ghost Shrimp in Groups?

They can be kept in isolation, but they do seem to prefer having a few of their own species for company in a tank, probably applying the safety in numbers principle.

What Do Ghost Shrimp Eat?

When it comes to feeding them, Ghost shrimp are extremely easy to cater for! 

Basically, these opportunistic scavengers will eat anything that they find while scavenging in the tank. That includes plant matter, algae, leftover fish food, and general detritus.

However, to make sure that your shrimp don’t go hungry, especially if you have a large group in the tank, I recommend that you offer your shrimp algae wafers, too.

How Often and How Much to Feed Ghost Shrimp

If the shrimp appear to be getting plenty of food from their environment, you only need to add one algae wafer every day to keep them happy. 

Tank Requirements

Tank size

The tiny Ghost shrimp is ideal for a 5-gallon nano tank, although if you want to keep a big group, you’ll need a larger tank.

As a general rule, you can keep around three or four Glass shrimp per gallon of water. However, these little critters breed very readily, and you could soon end up with a population explosion.

Tank Setup

Substrate

Ghost shrimp like to make burrows that they use for shelter. So, a soft, sandy substrate is the best choice as it’s easy for them to get through it without damaging their sensitive antenna.

Another advantage of using sand over gravel is that leftover food, plant debris, and general waste tend to sit on top of the substrate. That provides easy pickings for the shrimp and makes your maintenance job easier too.

Decoration

Ghost shrimp do well in densely planted aquariums that have lots of busy plants, overhangs, and caves that the shrimp can shelter in, especially during molting.

Pieces of driftwood and twisted roots can make a nice addition to your aquascaping, adding to the tank’s aesthetic and offering hideouts for them. Also, wood provides the ideal surface for algae, which they will eat.

Water Quality

Filtration

Good water quality is important if you want to keep them healthy and make the most of their short lifespan. A gentle flow of water through the tank that your filtration system generates is fine, or you could add an air stone, too, if you want to.

Shrimp are tiny, delicate creatures that could easily be sucked into a filter inlet pipe unless you fit a small piece of thin sponge to the pipe. So, when choosing a filter system for a shrimp tank, I recommend that you use a sponge filter to prevent accidents.

Water Parameters

Water Temperature

Ghost shrimp aren’t fussy when it comes to temperatures, and they can tolerate a range between 65ºF and 82ºF.

Water Hardness and pH Range

The pH level should be in the range of 7.0 to 8.0, and the water should be on the hard side.

Lighting

When choosing lighting for your tank, focus on what you need to keep the plants healthy and growing well. Ghost shrimp don’t have any particular requirements when it comes to lighting.

Aquarium Maintenance

If you’re keeping them purely as feeder fish for your other livestock, you don’t need to be quite so rigorous about your tank maintenance. However, from a welfare perspective, you should keep the tank clean and hygienic.

• Carry out partial water changes of around 30% each week.
• Test the water each week to see that ammonia and nitrite levels are zero and nitrates are 20ppm or lower.
• Rinse the filter media in tank water once a month or so to remove detritus that could otherwise clog the sponges. Replace the media regularly as per the manufacturer’s recommendations.
• Be sure to deep-clean the substrate, tank corners, between the bases of plants, and under decorations, using an aquarium vacuum cleaner to remove debris and detritus.
• Trim dead leaves from plants and thin out overgrowth as necessary.

How To Set Up A Tank For Ghost Shrimp

Setting up a fish tank is much quicker if you take a few moments before you start to gather everything you need:

• LED light unit
• Sandy substrate
• Sponge filtration system
• Heater if required
• Driftwood, rocks, caves, twisted roots
• Plants
• Water dechlorinator

Health and Disease

Ghost shrimp are quite hardy critters that don’t succumb to many diseases during their short lives. However, a few health conditions affect shrimp in general that you should be aware of.

Most of those illnesses can be treated with medication that you add to the water.

What To Look For In Healthy Glass Shrimp

Healthy Glass shrimp are active animals that spend most of the daylight hours scavenging on the bottom of the tank and occasionally swimming in the middle area of the water column.

The shrimp also like to dig burrows in the substrate that they use for shelter.

Shrimp that are about to molt often hide for a day or so before and after the process while they’re soft and vulnerable. If your shrimp disappears and doesn’t reemerge for a few days, check that the critter is still alive. Remove any casualties right away so that the body doesn’t decompose and pollute the water. 

Signs of Ill Health

The following behaviors could spell trouble:

• Not eating
• Inactivity
• Hiding away and not reemerging for more than a couple of days

Common Ghost Shrimp Health Issues and Treatment 

Breeding

Unfortunately for the Ghost shrimp, they are very easy to breed in the home tank, so they are often used as feeder fish. However, given the Glass shrimp’s short lifespan, their ease of breeding is good news for you if you want to keep these pretty little shrimp as a cleanup crew in your aquarium.

Observe them in your main tank. Every two or three weeks, the female shrimp produce clutches of green-colored eggs, which you will see attached to the shrimp’s legs. Allow a few days for the male shrimp to fertilize the eggs, and then remove the “berried” females to the breeding tank to prevent predators from eating the baby shrimp as soon as they hatch.

Breeding Tank

The best way to raise Glass shrimp is to set up a separate breeding tank.

Use a sponge filter to prevent the youngsters from being sucked into the filtration system and set up the tank with a thin layer of sand and a few plants that will provide food for the juvenile ones.

The eggs usually take around three weeks to hatch. Once the eggs hatch, remove the females, or they will probably eat the eggs. 

You’ll need to feed the shrimp larvae with tiny amounts of particle food to supplement what nutrition they derive from algae and plant debris. As soon as the larvae morph into baby shrimp, you can offer them the same food as you give to your adult Glass shrimp. 

They are fully grown after around five weeks, and you can then move them into your main setup.

Availability

Glass shrimp are readily available in pretty much any fish store, or you can buy them online quite cheaply. 

However, it’s worth asking the store assistant if the Ghost shrimp they’re selling are intended as feeder fish. If that’s the case, the shrimp have likely been raised in crowded, stressful conditions, and they might not last long once you get them home.

In Conclusion

I hope you found our guide to keeping Ghost shrimp helpful.

Do you keep Ghost shrimp in your community aquarium? Tell us in the comments box below.

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