How to Breed Freshwater Ghost Shrimp

Ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus) are 100% freshwater shrimp. The young shrimp do go through a short larval period, but the entire process occurs in complete fresh water. If the setup is right, your ghost shrimp will multiply into an ever increasing colony of free shrimp! It is possible to breed about 25 ghost shrimp in a 10 gallon fish tank but if you want to have hundreds of shrimp you should aim for a 55 gallon aquarium or bigger. Larger tanks will always be easier to maintain. Ghost shrimp are active and need room to hide from each other when molting.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 55+ gallon cycled aquarium
• 1 male ghost shrimp or more
• 1 female ghost shrimp or more
• Ghost shrimp food
• Suitable substrate
• Aquatic snails
• Aquarium decorations
• Filter floss
• Live or plastic aquatic plants

1. 
    
   Even a crayfish will eat a shrimp if they catch it molting.

   REMOVE ANY FISH OR FILTERS
   
   Any size fish will gladly eat a new born ghost shrimp. No fish can remain inside of the ghost shrimp breeder tank. Mechanical internal and external filters must be removed from the shrimp breeder tank. Filters will suck up and kill larvae and young shrimp.

2. 
    
   Floating plants at the fish tank surface will create more living space for your shrimp.

   ADD ANY AIR PUMPS NOW
   
   Don't use an internal water pump that pushes and pumps water, inside of any breeder tanks. Only use an external aquarium air pump which pushes and pumps only air. You can connect an air stone to the business end of your air line tubing and use this inside of your fish tank to create aeration. Connect the other end of the air-line tube to an external air-pump and this will diffuse the airflow creating tiny bubbles. This moves water, which increases the oxygen exchange rate and circulates food and water throughout the aquarium.

3. 
    
   Gravel, sea shells and marbles form the make up of this substrate.

   MAKE SURE THE SUBSTRATE IS SHRIMP FRIENDLY
   
   Sand, gravel, marbles, rocks and any other substrate that is fish safe will be perfect for the shrimp tank.

4. 
    
   Plants and fish safe flowers provide living space for shrimp.

   FILL TANK WITH PLANTS
   
   Plastic and live aquatic plants throughout your breeder tank will create more living area for your shrimp to rest on. Ghost shrimp like to have many items floating at the top of the water column. They will spend a lot of time there especially if the oxygen in the water gets low for any reason.

5. 
    
   White chunks of filter floss will collect food and provide hiding places.

   DECORATE THE TANK
   
   Add any fish safe decor to the breeder tank, such as; saltwater sea shells, drift wood, plastic tank ornaments, and globs of filter floss. The filter floss might float and the ghost shrimp will prefer it that way.

6. 
    
   Larger tanks are better when breeding ghost shrimp.

   INTRODUCE YOUR GHOST SHRIMP TO TANK
   
   After you have everything else in place, it is time to acclimate your shrimp to their new habitat. If possible, add a whole group of ghost shrimp to your breeder tank but make sure that you at least add one fertile pair. It is best if you can acquire a female ghost shrimp that is holding eggs in her swimmerets. This will shorten the length of time that you must wait to see some young shrimp.

7. 
    
   Ivory Mystery Snails.

   ADD SNAILS TO THE SHRIMP TANK
   
   Snails will consume uneaten food and algae that shrimp might not touch.
   
   
   For smaller tanks, use small pond snails like Planorbis Sp. or Physa Acuta Sp.
   
   Larger snails such as apple snails and mystery snails produce infusoria which ghost shrimp larvae eat.

8. 
    
   Ghost shrimp will eat live foods that sink such as grindal worms.

   FEED THEM WELL
   
   Feed your ghost shrimp 1 to 2 times a day. Ghost shrimp are omnivores and will eat both plant and animal matter. Feed them a well rounded diet.

9. 
    
   This picture shows many places that a shrimp can hide.

   LEAVE THEM BE
   
   Don't remove any of the ghost shrimp young or larvae. Adult ghost shrimp do not eat smaller shrimp. They will live complete life cycles together without any trouble.

10. 
     
    Dwarf blue pearl shrimp.

    Other varieties and species of shrimp will not harm the ghost shrimp or hybridize with the ghost shrimp.
    
    
    Ghost shrimp larvae don't run into the glass walls of their fish tanks or ram into the glass sides of an aquarium and die. They are attracted to light but the rumors of them smashing into the glass and dying is a myth.
    
    The most common reasons that a person could fail when trying to breed ghost shrimp include : Polluted water, less than desirable water quality, under or over feeding, filters, pumps or fish killing the larvae, not enough hiding places, insufficient food, etc.
    
    See the resources section for more information about breeding shrimp.

Tips & Warnings

• Well fed female ghost shrimp will have larger, healthier batches of young.
• Chlorine, chloramine, copper, fish tank medications, heavy metals, etc. are toxic to freshwater shrimp and other invertebrates.
• Stressing out a female ghost shrimp might cause her to eat her young shrimplets if they are being held in her swimmerets.
• Ghost shrimp will eat other sick, weak or molting shrimp if they are starving.

Resources

• How to Feed Breeder Shrimp a Varied Diet
• How to Feed and Raise Ghost Shrimp Larvae
• The Complete List Of Live Fish Foods

[jadedragoninbc]

on 12/15/2009 Very helpful resource. Thank-you.

[FrazzledNanny]

on 3/3/2009 Well written article. Thanks for the easy to follow tips. 5*

[eliptica]

on 2/16/2009 I had some shrimp once but for some reason my fish ate them. thanks for sharing

[LissaK]

on 2/12/2009 Wow I've never heard of ghost shrimp...speaking of shrimp, that sounds so tasty right about now, yum! ^.^ lol

[Addonis]

on 2/12/2009 great work 5*