# Ghost shrimp aggression, is it founded?



## Lee04 (Feb 11, 2012)

Recently I've been reading a lot about ghost shrimp, and they are sometimes considered aggressive. 
Other times, they are said to be quite docile.
There seems to be many species of "ghost shrimp," for example, consider the photos below...
(photos belong to the individuals credited)

This one is called _Palaemonetes vulgaris_:
The "hands" seem able to harm other shrimp, yet it so closely looks like the next example.











This one is called _palaemonetes paludosus_:










When first starting aquariums, I housed them with dwarf shrimp and recall no aggression. 
Actually, it seemed as if they were gentle and maybe even wary of the dwarfs.

So, then I have to ask: is it only certain species of ghost shrimp that are aggressive, instead of all? 
Should we eliminate the idea of housing these with dwarf shrimp, or still consider it? 

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

After you watch shrimp for a while, you get to know what "mode" they are in sometimes. One day just after I sat in front of the tank, I noticed one in the "hunt" mode. I looked around him and saw a RCS which seemed to be trying to escape but having a hard time being mobile. A fairly sure sign that it had just molted. Shortly after this I watch the Ghost shrimp catch and eat the RCS.
They smell when a shrimp molts and go after that smell.


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## Lee04 (Feb 11, 2012)

Do you have a picture of the shrimp? I'd love to determine if there is a specific species of "ghost shrimp" that attacks (at least more than others, if indeed they all do).


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

I'm not certain the one labelled P. paludosus is actually P. paludosus. P. paludosus have characteristic red spots on the tail and sometimes legs. Aggression is determinant on individuals. I've observed that females tend to be more aggressive than males. Like some people are jerks, others can be nice. Same for shrimp.


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## Absolut Talent (Feb 5, 2014)

I have had several ghosts in my tanks, never seen them act aggressive to any other shrimp


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## Aplomado (Feb 20, 2013)

A friend had a ghost shrimp eat a cherry.

He said you could see the pink color in it's stomach afterwards.


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

Yes, one of my female ghosts ate a cherry. Since it was a supreme red cherry, it's stomach was supreme red!








Just about to finish up!


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

Yea there are many shrimp that look like ghost shrmp that ate sold under the same name. Some species are known to be much more aggressive theb others. I didnt knownthiswhen I first started and had put sime in my puffer tank thinking the dwarf puffer could fend for himself, the shrimp ended up chasing the puffer and caused him to jump from the tank


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## Lonestarbandit (Feb 7, 2013)

Lee04 said:


> Recently I've been reading a lot about ghost shrimp, and they are sometimes considered aggressive.
> Other times, they are said to be quite docile.
> There seems to be many species of "ghost shrimp," for example, consider the photos below...
> 
> ...


 
Any time I saw my ghosts eat another shrimp it was already dead.
Have 4 in my cherry tank to clean up deaths and for variety.
Haven't seen them pursue even the babies.


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

There are also whisker shrimp, which are usually sold as ghost shrimp but get much larger and are aggressive. 
If you're looking for some contrast, how about an amano or two? They're gentle giants, I believe. 
Also, bamboo shrimp are a filter-feeding (if shy) option for larger tanks.


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## Lee04 (Feb 11, 2012)

Solcielo lawrencia, Thank you for the clarification, I will change the photo! 

lamiskool, Sorry on the puffer! I wish there was a guide to individual traits for each species. I really like these shrimp, but I'm cautious. 

Lonestarbandit, Ive observed the exact same. Housed dozens of ghosts with a fire red colony, and they would leave each other alone. I did notice that before a dead fire red shrimp started turning white/pink, it was being eaten on. Maybe this could cause some people to think that it is being eaten alive?

Betta132, I didn't know about whisker shrimp! Once I bought a "ghost" for the mere fact that it was older than the others. I couldn't figure it out, why it was so different, why it grew more...it must've been a whisker shrimp. For the record, it seemed to get along with my ghosts.


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## Lee04 (Feb 11, 2012)

Here is a Whisker shrimp (left) and "ghost" shrimp (right):
(image from aqualandpetsplus .com)


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## Solcielo lawrencia (Dec 30, 2013)

Yeah, the changed picture looks like P. paludosus.


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## ljapa (Jul 23, 2013)

I had ghost shrimp housed with my RCS. They were from PetSmart and looked like the picture Solceiolo Lawerncia posted. 

I never saw aggression, except for one time. I definitely saw them chewing on shrimp that were dead. The one instance of aggression I saw, a ghost stalked and caught a juvenile RCS. 

Once the ghosts had all given up their ghosts, I saw my colony increase. So, I'm betting there was much more predation than I witnessed. That said, it was not a problem. RCS are pretty prolific.


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