Ghost shrimp

Overview

The ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus) is a freshwater shrimp from the southeastern United States, also called glass shrimp because its body is almost completely clear: you can watch its digestive tract at work, and sometimes only a few colored dots give away where it is.

It is sold cheaply and in bulk, often as feeder stock, but it is an interesting animal in its own right: active, curious and a good scavenger. It is very hardy and a fine way to start with invertebrates. Be aware that cheap batches sometimes include other genera, such as Macrobrachium, which have long claws and are far more aggressive.

Care and tank setup

It is tough and adapts to medium or hard water, but it won't forgive copper or dirty water.

• Tank: 10 gallons (40 L) or more for a group, with plants, wood and rocks to hide in while molting.
• Lid: recommended; they climb and may jump if they dislike the water.
• Acclimation: drip acclimate. Many losses happen in the first few days due to shipping stress.
• Copper: toxic, as for all shrimp.
• Quarantine: since many come from feeder suppliers, keep them separate for a few days.

It is peaceful toward fish but opportunistic: it eats fry and dwarf shrimp babies and may pester tiny fish while they sleep. It does well with small to mid-sized fish that won't see it as prey. Large fish (cichlids, big gouramis) will hunt it. Check for long claws on the second pair of legs: that animal is probably not a Palaemonetes.

Feeding

An omnivore and scavenger. It eats leftovers, detritus, soft algae and small invertebrates. Offer shrimp food or sinking wafers, crushed flakes and occasionally frozen foods like brine shrimp or daphnia. A well-fed ghost shrimp is bolder and hunts other animals' babies less. Don't overdo it: uneaten food rots between the plants and quickly degrades water quality.

Breeding

It breeds in fresh water. The female carries greenish eggs under her tail for 2-3 weeks, and tiny larvae hatch and swim in open water. Raising them takes a separate tank with no filter intake to suck them up and very fine food (infusoria, spirulina powder). In a community tank they almost never survive.

Compatible tank mates

Species from our database that share water parameters, size and temperament with the Ghost shrimp. Calculated from the data in each profile.

Check the compatibility of your whole tank →

What not to keep it with

Popular species you shouldn’t house with the Ghost shrimp, and why.

• Tiger barb: eats shrimp
• Betta fish: eats shrimp
• Common goldfish: eats shrimp
• Discus: incompatible temperatures, eats shrimp
• Angelfish: eats shrimp
• Yellow lab cichlid: eats shrimp
• Clown loach: eats shrimp
• Oranda goldfish: eats shrimp

Recommended equipment

What you need to keep the Ghost shrimp healthy, checked against Amazon stock.