Shrimp Help!

[Kat03]

so i got some fish today for my new tank and i was looking in there and all of a sudden I saw this little white clearish thingy moving around! it was a shrimp. she must of scooped him up when getting the fish. now..i dont know exactly what kind it was or anything. what do they do in there? what do they eat? i dont want him to just..die! i might have to call the store but i dont want to do all that stuff really. it will be hassle trying to get him and taking him to the store b/c the store is not close to where I live. any suggestions

 

[vancouver]

Do you have any algae wafers? That's mainly what I feed mine. I also throw in some bottomfeeder wafers as well.

 

[GoldLenny]

http/www.azgardens.com/shrimpfactory.php

http/www.franksaquarium.com/freshwatershrimpfarm.htm

The above two sites have pictures and information on various shrimp. Maybe the pictures will help identify them. Ghost shrimp and baby Cherry shrimp look very similar since the cherry shrimp do not start to turn red until they grow up a little and the males do not turn as red as the females.

They will live off of algae and any food your fish miss.

What kind of fish do you have? Some fish will find the shrimp a tasty little meal. You can also put in a little shrimp cave so your little guy has a hiding place.. especially for molting which they tend to do frequently while growing up and when ever they get moved into new water. There is a simple DIY Shrimp cave on this page. http/www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/...hrimp_ghost.htm

 

[Invader Xan]

Any chance of a picture, so we can try and ID him?
Otherwise, some other good sites for IDs are:
Shrimp Crabs and Crayfish
PetShrimp.com

Shrimp can all act as scavengers. Food shouldn't be a problem for him, as he should get all he needs from scraps falling to the tank floor and tank algae.
If you want to buy him some food though, mine love Hikari Crab Cuisine pellets. Gives them plenty of calcium, too.

 

[Kat03]

Thanks! I will look over all the info. I will take a picture today when I get home from school. I have 3 mollys and 3 guppys in there and a medium size pleco.

 

[Kat03]

okay he looks like this

I cant find him in my tank now..hmm.. hes clear and small so maybe thats why? I dont think one of my fishes would eat him???

 

[fishboy619]

looks like a ghost shrimp.
common in fish stores.
will live of leftovers, and maybe drop a bottom feeder wafer or pellet in now and again. will graze on algea, but cant live of it.
wont be bothered by guppies or mollies. plec should leave alone too.

 

[Invader Xan]

okay he looks like this

My, that's a strangely familiar looking picture...

If your new shrimp really is the same kind as mine, you shouldn't have much to worry about. He's quite shy, not particularly aggressive and likes to hide in the shadows under ornaments -- probably why you have trouble finding him. I'm not sure exactly what kind of ghost shrimp he is... Most likely at the moment is an 'Amazon Prawn', but I need to do more research before I can confirm anything.

By the by, he loves Hikari Crab Cuisine pellets...

 

[JDWolf]

I had a shrimp like that. Unfortunately he attached my neons, killed one of them and destroyed the tail of another. Bit worried about get shrimp now!!!

Just thought i better warn you, but other people seem not to have any problems with them

 

[GoldLenny]

I don't think it was a shrimp like that. Most shrimp are herbivores and eat algae and leftovers. Now there are some bigger shrimp and crawfish that might attack a fish but not the common shrimp like ghost, cherry, amano, etc.

 

[GoldLenny]

EDIT - Somehow my post got duplicated. I've seen this happen to other people over the years but this is the first time it has ever happened to me on any forum. Hmmm.... does anyone know why this happens?

 

[RESGuy]

I had a shrimp like that. Unfortunately he attached my neons, killed one of them and destroyed the tail of another. Bit worried about get shrimp now!!!

Just thought i better warn you, but other people seem not to have any problems with them

It was most likely a small Macro sold as a "Freshwater Shrimp", they look similar to Ghost Shrimp but have longer arms and slightly bigger claws, they also grow much larger than Dwarf Shrimp.

 

[JDWolf]

It was most likely a small Macro sold as a "Freshwater Shrimp", they look similar to Ghost Shrimp but have longer arms and slightly bigger claws, they also grow much larger than Dwarf Shrimp.

Thanks, like i said it looked a lot like that one. Most likly did have longer arms, think it was just sold as a shrimp.

 

[Invader Xan]

Actually, that one is a baby macro. Trust me, it's my photograph.
I'm not sure yet which one. A lot of macro species are sold as 'ghost shrimp'. Actually lots of them (particularly M. Lanchesteri) get shipped to Germany as 'Glass Shrimp'.

 

[Kat03]

thanks everyone for the replies. I found him today which made me happy b/c i was hoping a fish didnt eat him. i dont think a guppy or molly will eat him though. hes hiding under a tree stump thingy i put in there. if the store is open i think i will go and see what the people say. even though they know like NOTHING! haha.

ya Invader Xan I took your pic..sorry! haha. i looked at your post and i was like HEY! thats what my lil dude looks like!