I bought a few ghost shrimp the other day after reading that they make good cleaners, but now I'm finding some sites online that say they might eat small fish. The smallest thing I have is neon tetras, or maybe my male guppy. Are my ghost shrimp going to eat them? I sort of don't see how they would, but the internet has me worried now...
Ghost Shrimp
- Thread starter ryanoh
- Start date
More information I guess so I don't sound so impulsive. I read that these shrimp made a good addition to community tanks with small fish that couldn't eat them. I got a few since they were only cents at my LFS and I needed something to clean up some algae on my plants. I know they're sold as feeders, so I was doing some research to see if I could expect them to be eaten when I purchase German Blue Rams in January. The answer to that seems to be a maybe, but I found some info that I didn't see before that said that ghost shrimp can eat some small fish, and someone went as far as to say "I was afraid for my bolivian rams at feeding time." I don't really see how ghost shrimp could do any damage at their size, but I wanted to ask for some personal experience and decide if I need to get rid of them or not. What do you guys think?
Fishkeeping: Results may vary.
If they guy was afraid for his Bolivians he was high as a kite. Your neons might be slightly possible and your guppies may get a fin clipped or two, but I personally doubt it. I know they're supposed to be the more aggressive shrimp, but some of the stories I hear about are a bit over the top.
IMO wait for Paige as she's actually kept them.
If they guy was afraid for his Bolivians he was high as a kite. Your neons might be slightly possible and your guppies may get a fin clipped or two, but I personally doubt it. I know they're supposed to be the more aggressive shrimp, but some of the stories I hear about are a bit over the top.
IMO wait for Paige as she's actually kept them.
Your ghost shrimp will definitely rule feeding time, but not to the extent that they'll actually go after other fish, even the little ones. Even my 5" featherfin catfish steers clear of the ghosties at feeding time, but I've never seen them actually go after another fish other than a male betta. I had ghost shrimp in a 5gal with a male halfmoon betta and the ghosties decimated his fins. However, in a larger tank where the fish can get away from the ghosties, there shouldn't be a problem.
Yeah, that's how I ran across the articles about it in the first place. I'm getting a pair of GBR in about a month and I was trying to find out of I should expect the shrimp to be eaten when that happens. So far I've got that that should depend on the personality of the fish, just like everything else.