Ghost Shrimps

[Lynden]

Somebody on this forum once told me that I could acclimate Ghost Shrimp to saltwater.

I thought, hey, what a cheap way to fill the tank full of shrimp without forking out mega bucks.

Is this true? How is it done?

Please respond,
-Lynden

 

[Die_Grinder]

i think thay are FW and breed in brackish. tho i could be wrong. Never heard of turning them 100% marine tho.

DG

 

[Lynden]

Hmm. I'll have to look into this.

I found some shrimp on the internet called Ghost shrimps, and they were tropical marine, but I dont think they were the kind at my pet store.

 

[andywg]

The feeder shrimps around here are fished straight out of the Thames and are kept at around SG1.022. I am 99% certain they can be kept in full marine.

All depends on the species you get, I guess.

 

[Lynden]

Thanks.

I might try it.

 

[crazyelece]

When I fed ghost shrimp to my old stingray I got them from the store in freshwater. I held them in a breeder net for a few weeks feeding them the food I wanted in one of my FW tanks. I then threw them into the marine tank without aclimating them at all. A few escaped via the overflow to my sump where they made it to my fuge. When I found them I threw them in my main tank again. After this I got the idea to try and leave them in my sump instead of the other FW tank. Without aclimating them they would last five days or so and then die. It wasn't worth the time to aclimate them propperly as they were just feeders and almost impossible to breed easily (way cheaper to buy) so I stopped keeping them there and continued on keeping them in the FW tank.

I would say if they survived 5 days with no aclimation, they would be fairly hardy and aclimate well to marine conditions over some time.

BTW I have also heard of both FW and SW species but I do not believe they were the same.

 

[AMS]

i think thay are FW and breed in brackish. tho i could be wrong. Never heard of turning them 100% marine tho.

That is true of Caridina japonica, which is not labeled as Ghost Shrimp but Amano Shrimp.


The common name Ghost Shrimp covers variety of shrimp in the Palaeomonidae family. In this family there are 4 genus (whats the plural of genus?) which are Macrobrachium, Palaeomonetes, Palaemon, and Leander. Palaemon, and Leander are marine water shrimp. Macrobrachium are freshwater and do not make there way into the aquarium trade often. Palaeomonetes often makes there way into the aquarium trade. The Palaeomonetes group are a freshwater to brackish shrimp, and two shrimp in this genus are most common in your LFS. Palaeomonetes kadakensi is exclusive to freshwater and is usually found in the United States while Palaeomonetes pugio is brackish to marine and is usually found in England and the rest of Europe. There are exceptions of this "rule" as many Palaeomonetes pugio are found in the United States and some Palaeomonetes kadakensi are found in Europe.

This is why many brackish hobbyists have ghost shrimp survive in their aquariums despite their owners thinking they are freshwater.

EDIT: Note that Palaemon and Leander sometimes make their way into the aquarium trade, but chances are the ghost shrimp in your LFS (Regardless of location) are either of the two most common Palaeomonetes.

 

[andywg]

whats the plural of genus?

genera

 

[Lynden]

All righty. I will make sure that they are the correct species.

One problem, however, is at my pet store the feeder shrimp (ghost shrimp) are grossly overpriced at 2 bucks a piece

I might try to get them from somewhere else.

-Lynden

P.S., Andywg, hope you don't mind me asking, but what's with you and pie?

 

[andywg]

CM: http/www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/

In particular: http/www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/pie/

 

[AMS]

All righty. I will make sure that they are the correct species.

This is the problem. Identifying each species is very difficult as they all grow to the same length and appear very similar. I personally can not identify them, but perhaps a picture in the inverts section would help.

 

[Lynden]

All righty. I will make sure that they are the correct species.

This is the problem. Identifying each species is very difficult as they all grow to the same length and appear very similar. I personally can not identify them, but perhaps a picture in the inverts section would help.

I'll try to identify them.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Got a local marine club or know of an estuary close by? Ask your LFS where they get theres, it might be local and you might be able to catch your own. I know one of the UK members here says he catches the shrimp in the tide pools. Im gonna catch my own in my holidays. Ive been askin around and I know the spots people use now.

 

[Lynden]

I live in a small, inland town way up north

The things you mentioned are not an option

-Lynden