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I have been reading about Ghost Shrimp and they sound really interesting. I would like to keep them but I have a couple of questions that I would like answers that come from experience more than "book answers". I would like to keep just the Ghost Shrimp by themselves, and possibly get fish later if I feel the need to do so. I will be purchasing a 10 or 14 gallon tank for them.

My first question is how long will they live? I have read that they live 1-2 years, but I have heard stories about them only living for a couple of months.

How many should I keep in a 10/14 gallon? I was thinking 6-8, can I get more?

What kind of fish have you kept with Ghost Shrimp successfully? A couple of my thoughts where a group of Neon Tetras or a Betta. I think the Neons would be ok, but I am not sure about the Betta.

What kind of substrate should I use, is one better than another?

Thanks for your help!

I had a few in a 10 for a while, I think they ended up lunch to someone ...I also had one with a betta and it did end up as lunch.
Neons may be ok, but neons have their own risks.

In a 10 you could keep a lot, they're not overly heavy waste producers. My tank had basic pea gravel, bigger than standard aquarium gravel since I'd gotten it at a landscaping shop. Was a bit big for the shrimp but they seemed to do ok. If you're setting it up just for the shrimp you may want to consider the more standard sized aquarium gravel.

If you give the shrimp plenty of places to hide, they may be able to fit in with really small fish. I'm thinking of the smallest of tetras, or even raspboras may work. Most shops I've seen usually sell them as feeder shrimp, but I quite liked mine in their own right. Was really funny to see them turn green on the inside after eating peas .


Good luck

^_^

Being that ghost shrimp produce little waste and actually eat wast to help keep a tank clean, you could probably go with about 1 per gallon to 10-14.

As for substrate, ghost shrimp are tiny little creatures with tiny legs, so the finer the substrate the easier it will be for them to move around, even though they can swim.

Just about any fish that cannot eat ghost shrimp can be kept with them, I have never kept them with a betta but I have kept them with neons and they do fine. Completely ignore eachother.

Depending on where you buy them they might die very quickly once getting to your tank because many stores keep them as feeders. If you can get some to live, they will probably breed and if you can keep your baby shrimp alive they will probably live a long life if cared for properly.