# Ghost Shrimp Question(s)



## chazneeka (Jul 11, 2012)

I just got ghost shrimp for the first time a few days ago, so bear with me while I try to learn about these guys. I'm finding that its very difficult to find any type of information on caring for these guys.

The first thing is...if anyone has any good information on keeping ghost shrimp I would greatly appreciate it.

Second...I've ready that when ghost shrimp turn white/opaque they are either getting ready to molt or dying. Both of the ghost shrimp I have turned white when I first added them to the tank (they are housed with 1 African Dwarf Frog and a mystery snail) but over the past few days have been clearing up...literally. They are extremely active and have healthy appetites. Does this mean that they will fully recover?

Also when they turned white I did a little research and found that traces of copper can be bad for them and checked Ninja's (the ADF) food and realized it had copper in it (I immediately bought a higher quality food with no copper as it isn't good for the frog either). Could that have been the reason they turned white?

I guess that about covers it for now. Any input would be greatly appreciated.


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## z1200 (Jan 26, 2012)

You about got it covered as far as I can see. They are somewhat difficult to breed, so if you see eggs but no babies don't get disappointed. They pretty much just walk around and look for things to eat. Sometimes they don't live real long, but they are readily available and cheap in most places. They do help clean up after overfeeding, I wouldn't worry about feeding them too much as long as your food is copper free.


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## chazneeka (Jul 11, 2012)

I'm actually really hoping they DON'T breed successfully. The tank I have them in is really already too small (2 gallon) for what it holds but its a desktop tank at work and I'm not allowed to go any bigger. So I really don't want anything that will increase the bio-load any further....althought I'm sure the ADF would enjoy the hunt little piggy that she is. Thanks for the input.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

The successful breeding really depends on what the shrimp is.Several are sold under the name Ghost Shrimp.Some breed as easily and some cant hatch the young without saltwater.What Ive read anyhow.I have some pearl blues and I feed a shrimp specific wafer for them.Easily found online or in some pet stores.


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## chazneeka (Jul 11, 2012)

I didn't realize that there were so many shrimp that had the semi-transparent appearance. After you mentioned that there were a number of species that get sold as ghost shrimp I looked into them a little bit further and I think I might actually have snowball shrimp or possibly the pearl blue...but I can't tell if the blue tinge is from the blue gravel I have in the tank or the actual shrimp. 

Body shape and size indicate that one of my shrimp is a female but she doesn't have the green saddle that one would expect in a ghost shrimp, and the pictures I've seen of snowball shrimp more closely match Ghost and Caspar (kinda messes up my names but oh well lol). I'll have to do some further research but that may explain why they are more opaque than clear...but still somewhat transparent. This world of shrimp is totally new to me...until about 2 or 3 weeks ago I actually didn't even realize there were freshwater species of shrimp so I mean REALLY new to me.

Eventually I'll try to get some pictures but I have a feeling thats going to be very hard to accomplish LOL.


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## TheShrimpFarm.com (Apr 28, 2011)

chazneeka,
Check out our photos here of the Blue Pearl, Snowball and the Ghost Shrimp.

Blue Pearl Shrimp
Ghost Shrimp
Snowball Shrimp

Notice the big difference in the Ghost Shrimp's eyes and body.

I'll watch for you to post pics, too.


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## chazneeka (Jul 11, 2012)

The more pictures I see, the more research I do, and the more I watch my shrimp I am becoming more and more convinced that they are snowball shrimp. They've even got some white striping that I've seen in a lot of the pictures of the snowball shrimp. Whatever they are as long as they're healthy I'll be happy.  

Thank you for the links!


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## z1200 (Jan 26, 2012)

Lucky, they don't even sell neos in my area and I've been wanting some desperately. They do breed easily by the way, If that is in fact what it is.


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