Ghost Shrimp

[kmhort]

Does anyone know if you can breed those little ghost shrimp like you find at Walmart?
I am looking for some feeders for my frog, but at 12 cents a piece, she could eat at least a dollar a day.

Any info would be appreciated.

[Azhael]

I've heard mix info on these...some say they are dead easy to breed, others say it's a bit tricky.
I would strongly recommend you to try cherry shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda) instead. They breed incredibly fast and are the easiest thing to keep.

[kmhort]

Thank You! You guys are great!

[Wyomingite]

Most of the ghost shrimp available commercially belong to the genus Palaeomonetes, and are fairly easy to breed. Females carry the eggs on their legs 'til they hatch, and the "shrimplets" have an initial benthic phase during which they require very small food. If yer lookin' to raise them quickly in quantities large enough to use as feeders, an infusoria culture is a must. The various Neocaridina and Caridina sp. do breed faster and the offspring are larger initially, but broods often tend to be smaller, and they are usually much more expensive than glass shrimp. Cherry reds, bumblebees, tiger shrimps, Amanos, etc. can go for anywhere from $1.00 to $4.00 apiece or more. In addition, incorrect water conditions are devastating. Some do best in hard water, some in soft water, and won't survive long, let alone breed, if the conditions are incorrect. Finally, some species, such as the Amano shrimp (Neocaridina japonica) require brackish water to induce spawning.

If ya do buy any of these lookin' to start a feeder culture, an hour or so on the web will give ya a species that will breed well in the water conditions you have. If yer like me, yer not gonna want to spend a lot of time preppin' water for feeders. Also, if you do proceed along these lines, I would reccomend buying from an on-line resource rather than a retail store, regardless of whether the local source be a local fish store, a local pet store or a chain pet store. Most shrimp shipped for sale in retail outlets are older shrimp past their prime, the odds are slim that you're gonna be able to establish a breeding colony from these. Most on-line dealers guarantee younger shrimp from which you'll be able to start a self-sustaining colony.

Another option ya may want to consider, which is far less hassle, IME, are gammarus, a.k.a. scuds, side swimmers, freshwater shrimp. These are actually amphipods rather than true shrimp, but will breed pretty much without any effort on yer part, in any water conditions, even in conditions where they are continually being predated. Just give 'em a little bit of detritus and non-toxic water conditions, and they'll take care of the rest. I always collect and start my own cultures, but they can be bought on-line for cheap.

Anyways, probly more info than ya wanted...

WYite

[Azhael]

I tried culturing gammarids and i failed miserably...
Among the species of fresh water shrimp commonly available, most sources say red cherry are the easiest. I acquired a group of 25 a couple of months ago and now i have LOTS and LOTS of new shrimp. So far i´ve had two generations. They grow very fast if conditions are ideal and food is plentiful, and start breeding rather young.
As long as you have decent water conditions, all they need is a cycled tank java moss and bit of food every now and then to explode in numbers.

[kmhort]

Thanks again for all the great info. I went to Wiki and read some of the articles about how to raise shrimp and understood most of it, but there were some things I didn't quite understand. Will have to do some more research before I start this adventure. I found several breeders on aquabid that had reasonable prices, so now I just have to read some more. I don't really understand the part about the cycled tank, but will do more reading.

Thanks again for the help. I need all the help I can get!

[Kurt]

When you first set up an aquarium it is devoid of any bacteria. So when you start putting fish, or in your case, shrimp into the tank there is no bacteria to break down waste and absorb the ammonia and nitrite that develops from this. With time the bacteria will begin to develop and bring ammonia and nitrite levels down to safe levels. Once a bacteria table is established the tank is consider to be cycled. On average this can take up to a month to happen.

[kmhort]

Thanks Kurt, that was kinda what I was thinking, but wasn't sure. Now, at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot, what if I use well water or water out of my creek. I live 13 miles out in the country and have nice sandy creek in my front yard. Would that water already be "cycled"? I would like to expedite the process if possible. I am afraid if I wait four weeks it will be too cold to ship the little guys.

[Azhael]

Creek water might be inadequate depending on the characteristics of the land. Also, arguably you would risk introducing patogens (creeks are usually inhabited by gammarids which are vectors for many parasites and patogens).
If you want to speed the process, use plants, decoration, substrate or a filter from an already stablished tank. If you don´t have any, maybe some friend has and can give you something to use.

Anyway, if you make daily partial(20%) water changes and clean regularly, you should be able to keep the shrimp in the tank while it cycles.

[Wyomingite]

Thanks Kurt, that was kinda what I was thinking, but wasn't sure. Now, at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot, what if I use well water or water out of my creek. I live 13 miles out in the country and have nice sandy creek in my front yard. Would that water already be "cycled"? I would like to expedite the process if possible. I am afraid if I wait four weeks it will be too cold to ship the little guys.

No, in either case, well water or creek water. Kurt is referring to the bacteria Nitrosomonas sp. and Nitrobacter sp. These are substrate dwellers and any suspended in the water column are negligible, so using water from a well or creek will not give you "pre-cycled" water. In addition, wells often pull from aquifers that are relatively devoid of organic matter, have high carbonate hardness, and a high pH. The chemistry can be a little overwhelming for someone just learnin', and is temperature dependent as well, so I'll greatly over-simplify and simply say that ammonia is far more toxic at a higher pH (8-8.5+) than at a pH of 7 (neutral) or lower.

Azhael is correct in methods to speed up the cycling process. Depending on the size of the culture vessel (the larger the better as the ammonia and nitrites will be diluted), water changes will likely be able to keep concentrations of ammonia and nitrites down while the tank is cycling, esp. since shrimp excrete very little ammonia due to their size and metabolism. I'm not sure what Azhael was referring to with "cleaning". I agree you will want to vacuum out any uneaten food or dead plant material daily, but do not rinse or scrub the substrate or other surfaces with anything but tank water. That is where the bacteria are colonizing. Myself, I would advise against keeping livestock in a tank that is uncycled. Ammonia is toxic at 1 ppm and nitrites are toxic at 0.1 ppm. If ya insist on it, consider getting a simple box filter or small hang-on-back filter and putting something like Ammosorb in it to minimize the ammonia during the cycling.

The ideal set-up for culturing shrimp for feeders is a 5 or 5 1/2 gallon tank with 1/2" of sand, a small sponge filter, a small piece of driftwood and a clump of java moss. Cycle it first, add your shrimp, feed them every day and change 20% of the water once a week. Been doin' it for 26 years. Ya can try cyclin' the tank with livestock in it, but IME it's easier, cheaper and less frustrating to be patient and do it right the first time.

WYite

[whiteroses91]

I breed red cherry shrimp and yellow shrimp. I have tried ghost shrimp, but they suck! lol It's hard to breed them and I am very experienced in breeding. If you are intrested in getting some, send me a message and I would be more than happy to help you get a tank set up for the little things. The cycled thing is real simple. They sell chemicals, to stablize the water, for you can use the good bacteria off of rocks, from another tank to get it going. (the rock method is what we used for our most recent yellow shrimp tank).

[kmhort]

Maybe I'll try again. I tried to set up a tank a couple of months ago, but something wasn't right. I got some ghost shrimp at Wal mart and with in five days they all died.
So, I haven't tried again.
Maybe, since the weather is getting warmer I will give it another go!( Not sure if that will make a difference, I bought a heater to put in the last one.)

Thanks for your help.

[whiteroses91]

I would fill the tank with water, rocks, ect. and let sit for a couple weeks or more, with a filter running. They sell chemicals, to stabalize the water, but I wouldn't suggest using them, seeing as shrimp are sensitive to water conditions.
Red cherry shrimp are a drawf shrimp and seem to be easy to breed. With only shrimp in a tank, a dozen should turn into 50 in a matter of weeks.
I would go to a pet store (like PetLand) for your ghost shrimp. Most places sell feeder ghost shrimp for 100 for like $10-15. Dwarf shrimp should probably be purchased from a person online, because they run between $3-4 each at the store, while online you can get them around $1.50 each.
If you know anyone with a fish tank, steal a handful of rocks from their tank and wrap it in a piece of panthose. As long as their tank is well established and they don't have fish death, everything should be okay. Drop the "package" in the tank and let it sit. If you're in a hurry, this method gave me a shrimp safe tank in a week and a half.
Feel free to message me, if you need any help.