ghost shrimp

[sassyfrassy]

Is it a good idea to add ghost shrimp to a reef tank or a FOWLR as live food for fish? Will they reproduce in the tank and be continuing source of live food? Do they have special needs or will the simply eat uneaten flake food or algae or whatever?

 

[sterling18]

ghost shrimp are freshwater shrimp.

 

[Whisperer]

They can be acclimated to salt. I get them under my dock all the time. Sometimes I just dump them in my tank and they survive without acclimation. the problem with them is that they jump out. They will probably do well in the sump.

 

[sassyfrassy]

Will they reproduce and be a food source for DT?

 

[LaOtIn]

9 times out of 10 something will eat them before they can reproduce. Even if they do reproduce their eggs are a very tasty treat for any fish. Pretty much everything likes to eat ghost shrimp. However, in your sump they should be ok, however you will want to feed them from time to time (they will eat anything you offer) My blood red shrimp even snags the stray ghost shrimp in my tank for a snack. I keep them in my reef because 1. i like them and 2. they are a tasty treat haha. I have to restock 10-15 of them every 2 weeks id say. Great thing about ghost shrimp is that they are super cheap and very hardy. I have never accliamated them, just strain them in a net and dump them in im sure you could acclimate them and 100% will survive everytime though.

good times

 

[crvz]

highly unlikely for them to reproduce in a non-dedicated breeding system.

 

[Whisperer]

You can buy them carrying eggs already. These will hatch and give your fish nice treat. Place them in the sump if you have a safe compartment there. They will eat green hair algae, so if you have GHA in the DT, give them some.

 

[Wannabe29]

highly unlikely for them to reproduce in a non-dedicated breeding system.

I know everyone's experiences are different but, from my experience, I would disagree with this. However, my experience with ghosties is only in a freshwater system, at the moment.

I have had ghost shrimp reproduce in my fw tank, with a very predatory angel fish constantly scouring the tank for them (and some other species that would take the occasional nip at them). The trick is to provide them with enough hiding spots so they can evade predators. Also, don't overstock your tank with too many predators.

Again, my experience relates to a freshwater set-up. It might be very different with regards to a saltwater set-up. But, I did buy ghosties already in berry (with eggs) and observed them producing several more clutches over time. I also noticed, over time, several apparently new, and smaller, shrimp in the tank as time went by....smaller than the original shrimp that were purchased. So, it is possible, and maybe better than "highly" unlikely that they would reproduce in certain set-ups, providing predation pressure is low. Obviously, if you have lots of large fish or very active night-feeders, they'll never really get a chance to breed.

That being said, I do agree that they would do much better in a dedicated system. I plan on putting them in my sump and letting them go to town. Their offspring should get sucked up into the return and help supplement the main tank.