# Pregnant Ghost Shrimp? What Do I Do?



## BaltimoreGuy (Dec 23, 2009)

It is pregnant, and the shrimp shouldn't eat their babies unless they are dead is the only time I seen a shrimp eat another one. They beta will for sure eat the babies and probably torment the parent too.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

My betta is peaceful and gets along with Ghost shrimp, he only chases them when he sees them moving and that is not often. Even when he does the shrimp are too fast and he gets bored as soon as they make their first attempt at vanishing away, if you dont believe me here is one munching on his tail lol 










Maybe I will attempt to raise them in another tank I have a spare 1G and a spare 5G I could use!


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## drx (May 1, 2015)

The problem with ghost shrimp are they have a larvae stage and with out knowing the exact type it's hard to say what they will need green water most likly or like shrimp fry food. The Betts will have a good snack if kept in there. In a immature tank it will be hard as there isn't the bio film buil up. They will need to be dead about every 3 hours small amounts. Also your going to need a doing filter or a pre filter. Even the survival rates arnt good.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

Darn I will not try then, I just checked the cup this morning and the 5-7 eggs she laid are gone maybe she ate them? She is the only one in the cup too, maybe I will just put her in my tank and let my Betta eat them as long as it does not make my tank a mess. She will survive after giving birth??


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## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

Ghost shrimp are easy to raise. They don't need any special feeding. IME, they are even easier to breed than cherry shrimp. Though they are tolerant of brackish water, they don't require it. 

I just kept them in my planted community tank, and they about took over. Every rock and leaf had antennae sticking out from behind it. I'm sure fish got some, but they bred fast enough that it wasn't an issue.

They may need a bit of iodine. Add a drop of Kent Marine Iodine or Iodide with water changes, especially if you notice they are turning white and dying. 

The babies might still be there in the cup. They are very small and hard to see when first hatched.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

Good info thank you, does the iodine remove metals? 

I certainly do not want them to take over lol I did drop her into my 5 gallon planted tank, if those eggs hatched where did the eggs go? Would the babies consume them as food? 

There is just her and that other shrimp in this tank, so if more emerge I will know they made it


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## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

Iodine is something they need to molt properly. If they don't get enough, they die trying to molt. (You can tell when ghost shrimp are about to molt because they turn an opaque white.)

Molting is also an important part of breeding. The male can only mate with the female for a few hours after she has molted, when her exoskeleton is still soft.

She will carry her green eggs around for a few weeks (exact time depends on temperature). When the eggs hatch she will disperse the tiny babies around the tank. They will develop quickly and turn into little versions of their parents. 

The babies do consume their yolk sacks, but it might also be that the mother dropped the eggs before they were ready, because of the stress of being captured and transported. She may have eaten them.

An established planted tank should have enough food for baby shrimp. A handful of java moss will provide hiding places as well as surfaces for them to graze.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

How much do I add, will it harm my precious Betta? Great info here! 

Within an hour of putting her in my tank she has become a healthier clear color! I have gravel so hopefully they can hide in the gravel, also within 20min of putting the other one in my tank yesterday its stomach turned green so it went to work immediately eating algae which is great, but the females eggs do not appear green if anything dark purple.


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## Yukiharu (May 3, 2014)

Don't worry too much about additives if your ghost shrimp have been doing well in there for a long time.
I use ghost shrimp as invert testers and my batch had babies in the tank before I removed them; I now have at least 6 baby ghost shrimp in with my amanos.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

Well the smaller ones tend to die in my tank, so I would not say they do great. I bought 3 and they lasted a month, one turned cannibal and ate everything in sight I had to smash him with a hammer because he was eating my Bettas tail.

I do want Amanos or Cherries if I can find them, but for now this is all I can find locally they help clean up the tank I don't really feed them. The one that went cannibal I fed NLS to, maybe feeding the shrimp NLS makes them drop their appetite for algae?


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## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

Kent Marine Iodine or Iodide is a supplement sold for saltwater tanks. It's safe to use in freshwater at the same dose as listed on the bottle for marine tanks, but many people use a half-dose, or just a drop with water changes. Freshwater shrimp don't need a lot.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

Can I use regular medical iodine?? 

One of them already molted in that tank, probably will not be a big deal but I cant find out why they never last more than a month.


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

They might be getting eaten in the tank why they don't last, they molt and are very delicate, and delicious for fish and easy prey.

You can get a food from Petco - Hikari Crab Cuisine or online made to feed to shrimp, not the "shrimp" pellets made out of shrimp, but foods like Hikari Shrimp Cuisine, Shirakura Ebi Dama Shrimp Food, Fluval Shrimp. That can be fed to the inverts and it has complete and necessary nutrients for molting and wellness. 

When moving the shrimp to drop the babies into a cup, don't feed fish food, any food for that matter. It turns to ammonia fast and can kill off shrimp. 

Cherry shrimp are easy to breed, but will be eaten by fish so not always a good match. 

Amano shrimp (shrimp are scavengers) like meaty foods as well as algae and left over foods and stuff in the substrate. They would be a better choice for a community tank for a longer term occupant. Though again depends on tankmates.

I also was enthused long ago about Ghost shrimp babies but it didn't work out. Some shrimp sold as Ghost shrimp are Grass shrimp and explains why they make it and others don't. Ghost shrimp have a sharp angle on their back. Whereas the Cherry shrimp and Grass Shrimp (a general term for many varieties from different geographical areas.) have an curved arched back.


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## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

I would not recommend using regular medical iodine.

Ghost shrimp and grass shrimp are both terms used for many different species from many different areas. Most are _Palaemonetes_ species. Some are brackish water shrimp, which explains why some people claim they need brackish water to breed. Though the species all look similar, the brackish water species need a lot more time to develop through their larval stages. Freshwater ghost shrimp spend very little time as larva.

These days, most shrimp sold as ghost shrimp are _Palaemonetes paludosus_, which can breed happily in either fresh or brackish water. I believe they are farmed down in Florida, not wild caught, so it's less of a crap shoot than it used to be.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

I have a bunch of unused Hikari freeze dried blood worms I have no use for, also frozen SanFran cubes in a variety pack I am sure they would love the frozen food. How often do I feed them? Do I just check to see if their stomachs are always full?

It has been several days now and the pregnant shrimp is doing well I think it even molted, the eggs are turning more of a lime color closer to green now. She has been grazing the tank happily being left alone for the most part, I am curious to see what happens! 

So either use crab/shrimp food or add marine iodine.


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## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

Don't feed more than they'll eat in 2-3 hours.

Ghost shrimp eat just about anything. They're also pretty good at scavenging for themselves.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

So can I feed once a week?


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

That kind of food turns to ammonia pretty fast. Do some testing so you get a feel for how it affects your water parameters when you feed.

A little bit every 2-3 days should be good.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

*So I am not sure what happened, I have been watching her closely the eggs got greener and greener. Then one morning I woke up to this, weird thing is all her eggs are missing that entire section looks blown off. This is not the work of my Betta and I can't see the other shrimp doing this? Did she give birth? *


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

So sorry to see that. The eggs could have been eaten after death as well. Any issues with water?


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

Water is perfect, other shrimp is fine. I am willing to bet the eggs were eaten if not my Betta will eat the baby shrimp for sure, he loves live worms.


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

Yeah, circle of life thing. They could hide for awhile. Cholla wood is great hide outs for the little shrimp.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

Is it common for the mother to die after giving birth at all? Is it like a bumble bee sting where they loose part of their body and die?


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## randym (Sep 20, 2015)

I've heard that in the wild, ghost shrimp live only a year, and die after spawning. I don't think it's necessarily immediately after spawning, though.

And I don't recall ever seeing this happen in my tank.

However, they will drop their eggs under stress, so if she was dying (or molting), she may have dropped her eggs.

Or they may have hatched. The larva are tiny and transparent. Very, very hard to see. I basically never saw babies until they were little shrimp.

The larvae actually look very much like the adult shrimp. Only they are straight, without that bend in the body the adults have. They also have slight yellowish tinge.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

Good info, I think I caught it slightly after it happened. I grabbed the body to dispose of with my tongs and it still barely twitched so it was not fully dead. I never got any iodine, and my other shrimp I noticed has been spending a lot of time where she died and it stomach appears a little bit green so I think he is eating the eggs the bastard haha.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

*I am not sure what the deal is, I found the other one dead. They only last a month and I never have any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate readings so I am ruling out the water...I noticed he got darker and did not have anything in his stomach the last few days I thought he was getting ready to molt because there is food in there. Maybe that marine iodine is really needed and it died molting? My Betta leaves them alone after they make a breakaway he looses interest, however it appears its missing an eye? I am not sure if they are all being harassed or if there is a deficiency, does not encourage me to try Cherry or Amano shrimp if my Ghosts die after a few weeks. *


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

Look at them and see if you see any worms in them next time, it is a parasite.

Feed them Food made specifically for dwarf shrimp (not shrimp pellets made from shrimp) For a less expensive food, try Hikari Crab Cuisine. It has minerals for molting and health.

Have you ever used medicine with containing copper or Malacite Green?


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

No I do not medicate my tank, the only thing I know is Algecide kills them because of the copper. 

Would the parasite be coming in on them already or something living in my tank that does not bother my Betta?


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## Yukiharu (May 3, 2014)

What's your gH and kH?


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

I have never monitored gH & kH they are not in my API master kit, but my pH is about 7 even from the tap. 

Are those more important with inverts??


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## Yukiharu (May 3, 2014)

gH is extremely important. Without enough calcium and magnesium, a shrimp cannot form a new shell for a molt. Are you using softened water?


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT2rP6BFmmk

I have seen these in shrimp for sale in tanks at lfs.

They can come into the tank inside the shrimp. Not too sure but I think they can infect other shrimp.

Would Euthanize the shrimp can also be brownish worm, not to be confused with their intestine /poop line.

Scholarly info  but they use invertebrates for their life cycle, so in regards to people not too much to worry about maybe but shrimp hosts will die.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/horsehair-worms/

This one is just for fun more assorted info about parasites and zombie critters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so8ScD6m1MI


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

I checked the link out and I did not see anything of that nature in it, I would have picked up on that I watch them digest food. I do have harmless tiny white worms and tiny jittery waterbug things that move very fast but when I say small I mean extremely small. 

Sounds like my water is the problem, I am not using softened water just conditioned tap water using Prime. Then daily Excel and weekly Flourish.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

Would the marine iodine have anything to do with the gH/kH?


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## AutumnSky (May 19, 2012)

I can't actually answer no about the iodine, but I don't think so.

Running water softener water on tanks isn't really recommended due to the additive(s), so that is a good thing you aren't using that. 

The little fast moving bugs might be daphnia aka water fleas.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

Until I get this right with Ghost shrimp I will not try any other shrimp, I will buy the right food for them and see how that goes. I will need to learn more about water perimeters not sure which is more important; iodine or gH?


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## Yukiharu (May 3, 2014)

gH would be the easiest to measure, and iodine supplements may be necessary after that.
Without calcium shrimp cannot form shells and literally shred apart when molting.


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

I will expand my test kit - my LFS has Amano shrimp for the first time in 6 months I want to grab some but fear they will die. 

This bottle should last a long long time right?


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## Teebo (Jul 15, 2015)

*Okay so today was the first time in 6 months that my LFS got Amano shrimp in! It is very rare to be able to even get any if you can catch a batch, so I bought 3. I acclimated them and they said the Amano is generally a bit more hearty than a Ghost and they certainly look it! They move much faster than Ghost shrimp do, and can jump higher I am afraid of them jumping right out of my tank I have already witnessed one jumping up and getting stuck to the glass above the water surface. They are more social in behavior almost schooling but much more squirrely then Ghost shrimp, they will not let my Betta get anywhere close before FLYING away even faster than Ghost shrimp did but even those allowed the Betta to be near them...one of the Amano shrimp is very scared and over reacts to my Betta and I think he is already stressing himself out because he has red lines and is turning pinkish compared to the others I think he needs to just chill out and get used to my tank the other 2 seem fine but this one practically jumps out of my tank every time it swims by my Betta. Do these shrimp shed/molt just like the Ghost or less frequently?? *










*I checked 2 major pet stores and neither had any dwarf shrimp food, not even crab food unless I was suppose to buy terrestrial crab food or something. I will have to buy food for my shrimp online, I did look for the marine iodine and I bought it. Also I am not sure if the iodine was suppose to add calcium or WHAT it is suppose to do and I do not know how much to add yet so I will not. Oh and yes the strong suggestion for the need of calcium made me scoop up (made by the same brand) "liquid calcium" while I was there as well this should be good right?? Also do not know how much to add either so I will not, between these two I should not need any special food or do I?*


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