Ghost Shrimps

[IovaykInD]

What kind of algae do ghost shrimp eat? I want to know specifically for the brown algae that I have in my aquarium, will they eat it? Also..do they eat fish poo, I know I sound stupid but I don't know

Isaac

 

[keyhole]

Hey, not quite sure what they feed on because mine lived long enough for me to find out. A word of caution though - nearly all fish enjoy dining on them! They are beautifull though so enjoy.

 

[RedShark]

Ghost shrimp don't eat any type of algae. I heard that they only feed on tiny shrimp pellets that sink, I may be wrong though.
Amano shrimp are what you need if you want algae eaters. They eat soft algae and hair algae, but certainly not brown. No shrimp eats brown algae im afraid. If you are in need of a brown algae-eater i think your best bet would be Oto's, but remember to keep them in groups of atleast 4 or more b/c they feel more safe in large groups.

 

[IovaykInD]

Okay thanks. What kind of fish keeps fish poo and dirty stuff that gets on the bottom. I'm making a java moss carpet and need shrimp to clean out all the debri that gets trapped.

 

[xautomaticflowersx]

Um... about the only thing that's going to consume fish poo is bacteria!
Otocinclus like to eat brown algae. Have a look here: http/www.otocinclus.com

 

[Tim N]

I have a "school" of 12 ghost shrimp. They eat just about anything. They are excellent at detecting foor in the water and swarm out from under my java moss whenever I add flakes to the tank. They then scour the bottom for any bits of flakes that fall to the bottom. If you have bigger fish make sure theres a lot of vegetaion for them to hide on. They are so cheap though (my lfs doesnt carry them so i get them from petsmart for $0.33) that its really no big deal if they all get eaten.

 

[DirkW]

I recently bought 10 ghost shrimp at a LFS for $0.20/each. I keep them at 80 degrees with mollies, swordtails, and neon tetras. None of my fish harass them, and at that temperature they are quite active. Mine start swimming when the flake hits the water and usually compete with the tetras for food. A couple will even turn upside-down and topfeed, crawling under the water surface. They do a good job of keeping the aquarium clean.

Unfortunately, my wife hates them. She thinks they look like bugs. But they're staying, because all of my seven kids love them. My oldest daughter (15) has decided she will no longer eat shrimp.

 

[IovaykInD]

So some kind of store like PetsMart will have it correct? I think I'm going to get my about 5 or 6 of these things. They sound very interesting, and seem to help a lot with leftover food. Okay, I forgot that shrimps don't eat poo, but at least now I know for sure.

 

[Paradise_Gourami]

yeah petsmart has ghost shrimp

 

[RedShark]

What about cory's, i heard they will most likely eat up the poops on the botoom. Or you could just be a dear and keep up with frequent cleanings.

 

[juliehainsworth]

There is nothing that will eat the fish poo except for bacteria! The only way to keep it down is to vacuum your tank and do regular water changes if you dont want to see it!

 

[Iron Man]

There isn't any fish I'm aware of that will readily consume fish poop, even most kinds of catfish. You might be able to get something like a weather loach to be attracted to fresh poop but I doubt they would consume it to any benefit, especially if you feed the other fish any kind of food they can go after themselves.

That being said, my ghost shrimp fought over a peace of fish poop like it was the last piece of food on the planet. Just make sure the tank isn't too overcrowded with A LOT of poop laying around and you don't grossly overfeed so the shrimp are waiting on the next blessing from the flake food gods so they get lazy and don't look for anything (dont know if thats possible though, esp at higher temps).

I had mine in with livebearers too and the fish couldn't have ignored them more. Just don't put them in with anything large enough to swallow them just in case.....or anything mean like barbs. Those WILL devour them first thing, trust me I know.

What's funny is you could watch them get a piece of poop, eat off a piece, watch it go into their stomach and see it churn back and forth. THAT is what made my mom decide to never eat another shrimp.....and she hasn't! lol

 

[bUcky]

my lfs sells ghoast shrip 10 for 1$ so i buy like 50 and just use them to clen different tanks, and if one turns into lunch oh well.