what sort of tank should I breed them in? a 10 gallon with java moss sound
good? what sort of lighting would I need to put over it then? what sort of
filtration? what sort of temp? If the babies are so small wouldn't I vacuum
them out when I do a water change? What should I feed them...and last of
all the only store here that I know of that sells ghost shrimp sells ones
that after awhile get green little sacs under their abdomens...I assume
those are eggs? Does this mean they are freshwater?


"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
you can try it out though, around here ghost shrimp go for $.20 each so
$2
isn't really that big of an investment...

Heck, buy five or six and wait awhlie. You'll soon have more than you
know
what to do with.

that said I can't really imagine a ghost shrimp being predatory except
for
perhaps the smallest of fry possible...

They can kill livebearer fry. A fish as large as a neon tetra will
probably be
safe...if it's healthy. And be careful, sometimes macrobrachium shrimp
get
mixed in with ghost shrimp. They look similar, but have bigger claws, and
are
much more predatory.

also, has anyone had success breeding ghost shrimp?

Try to keep them from breeding. They're worse than guppies. I bought
five a
couple of years ago, and in a few months, I could've opened my own bait
shop.

There are only a couple of "tricks." One is that both brackish and
freshwater
shrimp are sold as ghost shrimp. For breeding, you want the freshwater
kind.
Freshwater ghost shrimp carry their babies until they are miniature copies
of
their parents, so you don't have to deal with weird larval stages or
anything.
Unfortunately, it's not easy to tell freshwater from brackish ghost
shrimp, so
you may be stuck with trial and error. (I have heard that if you see
females
with eggs, they are likely freshwater, but I don't know how true that is.)

The second trick is iodine. Ghost shrimp tend to turn white and die after
a
few weeks unless you put a little iodine in the water. Get the kind sold
as a
supplement for marine tanks, and put in one drop with each water change.

Other than that, raising ghosties couldn't be easier. Put some java moss
in
the tank, maybe, for the babies to hide in. And leave the detritus in the
tank; don't vaccum it out. Feed them ordinary flake fish food, and you'll
soon
be up to your neck in shrimp.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

what sort of tank should I breed them in? a 10 gallon with java moss sound
good? what sort of lighting would I need to put over it then? what sort of
filtration? what sort of temp? If the babies are so small wouldn't I vacuum
them out when I do a water change? What should I feed them...and last of
all the only store here that I know of that sells ghost shrimp sells ones
that after awhile get green little sacs under their abdomens...I assume
those are eggs? Does this mean they are freshwater?


"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
you can try it out though, around here ghost shrimp go for $.20 each so
$2
isn't really that big of an investment...

Heck, buy five or six and wait awhlie. You'll soon have more than you
know
what to do with.

that said I can't really imagine a ghost shrimp being predatory except
for
perhaps the smallest of fry possible...

They can kill livebearer fry. A fish as large as a neon tetra will
probably be
safe...if it's healthy. And be careful, sometimes macrobrachium shrimp
get
mixed in with ghost shrimp. They look similar, but have bigger claws, and
are
much more predatory.

also, has anyone had success breeding ghost shrimp?

Try to keep them from breeding. They're worse than guppies. I bought
five a
couple of years ago, and in a few months, I could've opened my own bait
shop.

There are only a couple of "tricks." One is that both brackish and
freshwater
shrimp are sold as ghost shrimp. For breeding, you want the freshwater
kind.
Freshwater ghost shrimp carry their babies until they are miniature copies
of
their parents, so you don't have to deal with weird larval stages or
anything.
Unfortunately, it's not easy to tell freshwater from brackish ghost
shrimp, so
you may be stuck with trial and error. (I have heard that if you see
females
with eggs, they are likely freshwater, but I don't know how true that is.)

The second trick is iodine. Ghost shrimp tend to turn white and die after
a
few weeks unless you put a little iodine in the water. Get the kind sold
as a
supplement for marine tanks, and put in one drop with each water change.

Other than that, raising ghosties couldn't be easier. Put some java moss
in
the tank, maybe, for the babies to hide in. And leave the detritus in the
tank; don't vaccum it out. Feed them ordinary flake fish food, and you'll
soon
be up to your neck in shrimp.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Where do you get the Iodine? I should probably do that.

The LFS. Or Big Al's. I use Kent Marine Iodine. It's sold as a supplement
for sal****er fishtanks.

Since you have such a large tank, you should add more than a drop with each
water change. Maybe half a capful. It doesn't take much. (The dose listed on
the bottle, which is much higher, should be safe, but since the stuff is kind
of pricey, why use more than necessary?)


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Where do you get the Iodine? I should probably do that.

The LFS. Or Big Al's. I use Kent Marine Iodine. It's sold as a supplement
for sal****er fishtanks.

Since you have such a large tank, you should add more than a drop with each
water change. Maybe half a capful. It doesn't take much. (The dose listed on
the bottle, which is much higher, should be safe, but since the stuff is kind
of pricey, why use more than necessary?)


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

what sort of tank should I breed them in? a 10 gallon with java moss sound
good?

Yes, that should be fine. Though of course, the bigger the better. The bigger
the tank, the more ghost shrimp you can raise.

They do need hiding places, for when they molt. Caves, driftwood, etc. A few
pieces of slate propped up on one end, or even a saucer, upside down and
propped up on one end. If you have a lot of java moss or other plants, that
will probably be enough. If you can set up a planted tank for them, that would
be ideal (but not necessary). They'll also be fine with any tankmates that
they can't eat, or that can't eat them.

what sort of lighting would I need to put over it then? what sort of
filtration? what sort of temp?

They aren't picky. I've raised them in planted and unplanted tanks, with the
whole range of light that goes with that. More filtration is better. They
don't mind current. They'd probably even be okay without a heater, since
they're North American shrimp. (Though I have mine in your typical tropical
community tank.)

You do want to make sure that, whatever filter you have, the shrimp can't get
sucked into it. I have a foam prefilter over the intake of mine.

If the babies are so small wouldn't I vacuum
them out when I do a water change?

You do have to be careful. The babies, once they are free-swimming, are mostly
likely to be in the java moss or detritus on the bottom of the tank. Don't
vaccuum that.

What should I feed them..

Anything. They will be fine on plain old flake. They also eat blackworms,
algae, peas, etc. They especially like Wardley Shrimp Pellets. (Cannibals!)
Basically, a ghost shrimp will eat anything it can catch or scavenge. No
special food is needed for the babies. They eat the same thing as the parents.

and last of
all the only store here that I know of that sells ghost shrimp sells ones
that after awhile get green little sacs under their abdomens...I assume
those are eggs? Does this mean they are freshwater?

Yes, those are eggs. It probably does mean they are freshwater.

Once the eggs hatch, they will be clear, not green. If you look really
closely, you'll see the tiny baby shrimp. The mother will continue to carry
the babies under her tail for quite a while after that. Eventually, she'll
drop them, and you may see the babies swimming around the tank, looking just
like their mom only much, much smaller. Total gestation is about four weeks
(probably faster with higher temperature).

Shrimp in general are extremely sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, much more so
than fish. So be sure the tank is cycled before you put the shrimp in.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

what sort of tank should I breed them in? a 10 gallon with java moss sound
good?

Yes, that should be fine. Though of course, the bigger the better. The bigger
the tank, the more ghost shrimp you can raise.

They do need hiding places, for when they molt. Caves, driftwood, etc. A few
pieces of slate propped up on one end, or even a saucer, upside down and
propped up on one end. If you have a lot of java moss or other plants, that
will probably be enough. If you can set up a planted tank for them, that would
be ideal (but not necessary). They'll also be fine with any tankmates that
they can't eat, or that can't eat them.

what sort of lighting would I need to put over it then? what sort of
filtration? what sort of temp?

They aren't picky. I've raised them in planted and unplanted tanks, with the
whole range of light that goes with that. More filtration is better. They
don't mind current. They'd probably even be okay without a heater, since
they're North American shrimp. (Though I have mine in your typical tropical
community tank.)

You do want to make sure that, whatever filter you have, the shrimp can't get
sucked into it. I have a foam prefilter over the intake of mine.

If the babies are so small wouldn't I vacuum
them out when I do a water change?

You do have to be careful. The babies, once they are free-swimming, are mostly
likely to be in the java moss or detritus on the bottom of the tank. Don't
vaccuum that.

What should I feed them..

Anything. They will be fine on plain old flake. They also eat blackworms,
algae, peas, etc. They especially like Wardley Shrimp Pellets. (Cannibals!)
Basically, a ghost shrimp will eat anything it can catch or scavenge. No
special food is needed for the babies. They eat the same thing as the parents.

and last of
all the only store here that I know of that sells ghost shrimp sells ones
that after awhile get green little sacs under their abdomens...I assume
those are eggs? Does this mean they are freshwater?

Yes, those are eggs. It probably does mean they are freshwater.

Once the eggs hatch, they will be clear, not green. If you look really
closely, you'll see the tiny baby shrimp. The mother will continue to carry
the babies under her tail for quite a while after that. Eventually, she'll
drop them, and you may see the babies swimming around the tank, looking just
like their mom only much, much smaller. Total gestation is about four weeks
(probably faster with higher temperature).

Shrimp in general are extremely sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, much more so
than fish. So be sure the tank is cycled before you put the shrimp in.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/