How to Care for Baby Ghost Shrimp

Ghost shrimp make fascinating pets and can be bred at home.

Tiny see-through ghost shrimp are arthopods sold as both pets and as food for other fish. Many species of cichlids eat them. These shrimp can grow to 1.5 inches and live up to two years, sometimes even longer. They do best in water that is between 65 and 82 F. They are scavengers and easy to feed using just flake fish food. Ghost shrimp are truly transparent, so much so that you can see the fish food inside them. This transparency helps them hide from predators but also makes them fascinating pets. You can breed your own ghost shrimp with time and a few supplies.

Things You'll Need

• 10-gallon freshwater aquarium
• Smaller aquarium for raising babies or 1-gallon beta bowl with airline
• Brine shrimp net
• Baby brine shrimp
• Liquid feed or minute algae
• Plants

Instructions

1. Prepare the smaller tank or bowl and install plants or aquarium toys in the breeding aquarium so the babies, also called "fry," have a place to hide when they hatch. Since some of them may hatch before you have a chance to remove the adult females, the babies need safe shelter available.

2. Remove pregnant female ghost shrimp from the large tank using a net and place them into the smaller tank. It's easy to see the pregnant fish because you can see the eggs inside the transparent shrimp.

3. Return the parent ghost shrimp to the large aquarium once the babies have hatched.

4. Feed the young shrimp baby brine shrimp and also liquifeed (fry) food or minute algae. As the babies grow, they will moult into new exoskeletons every few months. They're especially vulnerable after moulting before the new shells harden.

Tips & Warnings

• To remove external parasites from ghost shrimp, use a net to dip them in marine salt water for five to 10 minutes.

• Don't overcrowd adult ghost shrimp, since they can be aggressive. There should be no more than one adult shrimp per gallon of water. The shrimp can be kept with fish such as small tetras, rasboras, danios and other fish small enough not to eat the ghost shrimp.

References

• Aqualand Fact Sheets: The Cute, Tiny, and Underrated Ghost Shrimp
• Fish Forever.co.uk: Ghost Shrimp-Callianassa
• Petfish.net: How to Raise Ghost Shrimp
• Aquatic Community: Ghost Shrimp