Lifespan Of Freshwater Shrimps

[dwarfgourami]

What sort of lifespans do freshwater shrimps have? Ordinary ghost shrimps? Cherry shrimps?

 

[soritan]

Eh, I haven't read up on any other shrimp, other than the ones I own, and opinions seem to vary wildly depending on who you ask. I own Ghost Shrimp, and I've heard anywhere from a few months, to many years. Since GSes are most often sold as feeders (not pets), the age at which they are sold is often considered a huge variable.

www.petshrimp.com is a great source of information, with individual writeups on the most common shrimps available.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Thanks, I'll check out that site.

How long have you had yours?

I'm sort of half thinking of ordering some (didn't get that new tank for my birthday, so can't add much to the bioload ), but if they only live a few months it hardly seems worth it.

 

[soritan]

I've only had mine for a month. I bought 6 (got 7, there are perks to buying translucent aqua-life), mostly because I expected die off. They were feeder shrimp. One is already old enough to cart around fertilized eggs... still not sure if I'm going to try and do anything special for her, yet.

I have lots of hiding places in my tank. When the tank itself was a species tank, they were brave and swam out at all hours of the day. When I added the frogs, they hid a bit, and then they realized that the frogs were harmless and took over again. They tend to swarm like little locusts at feeding time.

I can't say this enough, they're like little aquatic squirrels.

 

[dwarfgourami]

They tend to swarm like little locusts at feeding time.

I can't say this enough, they're like little aquatic squirrels.

I like the sound of that!