Ghost shrimp are a fun way to try keeping your first aquatic invertebrates. They are hardy, though not long-lived. But how easy are they to feed? What do ghost shrimp eat – and how often do you need to feed them?
What Do Ghost Shrimp Eat in the Wild?
Ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus) also go by grass shrimp, glass shrimp, or feeder shrimp. Found in the Southeastern United States, they are common in freshwater and brackish environments.
Ghost shrimp spend most of their time hiding among thick plant growth. A strategy that serves two purposes. For one, glass shrimp are a favored source of food for all kinds of predators. Fish, crabs, crayfish, birds, aquatic mammals, and people all hunt for them.
And the second reason is that ghost shrimp food is most abundant where plants grow. These shrimp are detritivores and scavengers.
Biofilm that grows on plants forms a large part of their diet. Ghost shrimp also eat plankton suspended in the water column.
Zooplankton like fish fry and tiny crustaceans are their favorite since they are both larger and easier to catch. Phytoplankton is microscopic and requires filter-feeding organs to capture, which ghost shrimp don’t have.
Ghost shrimp aren’t predators. They can’t even attack animals their own size as they have claws made for delicate plucking but not grasping or pinching.
They will eat animals whenever they can, however. Because ghost shrimp are scavengers. Dead fish and other aquatic life are a huge part of their diet. You will often find thousands of ghost shrimp living under the piers or along beaches where fishermen clean their catch.
What Does a Ghost Shrimp Eat in an Aquarium?
Since ghost shrimp eat anything organic they are ideal additions to fish tanks. Leftover food that your fish miss will be sniffed out and eaten by them.
The long, sensitive antennae of ghost shrimp ensure that even if flakes fall in between gravel grains they won’t be lost for long. Ghost shrimp then use their long claws to pluck food out.
Besides leftover flakes and pellets, ghost shrimp also eat biofilm. Aquatic biofilms grow everywhere, even inside of your fish tank. It is rich in bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and other microbial life. If you’ve ever touched an interior tank surface and found it slimy, you found healthy biofilm.
Best Ghost Shrimp Food
The best ghost shrimp diet in an aquarium is aquatic biofilm and prepared foods like flakes and pellets. Algae wafers for shrimp are another favorite food, though the wafers need some time to soften up first.
Ghost shrimp don’t have teeth so they won’t be able to chew on a hard wafer very well. A larger shrimp may try to pick it up and run with it. Stealing it away from the others until it softens enough for easy eating.
Fresh and frozen food give ghost shrimp much needed protein and fat. They will eat brine shrimp, bloodworms, and even live tubifex worms. When they eat red foods like bloodworms or fish flakes, you’ll see their stomachs turn red in response. Their transparency is excellent camouflage in most cases. Bright red foods are rare in nature.
Do Ghost Shrimp Eat Snails?
Ghost shrimp won’t eat snails. Even a small snail is too large to be eaten by a ghost shrimp. Snails also have their shells as an added layer of defense.
Ghost shrimp will eat a dead or dying snail, however. Which is not a bad thing; snails decay fast upon death. Even one dead snail may cause a measurable increase in your ammonia levels. Ghost shrimp eating a dead snail will ensure less of it decays and pollutes your tank.
Some snails will eat ghost shrimp though. Assassin snails (Clea helena) are a carnivorous species of snail. They are so named because they feed on other snails. For the most part. They are opportunists and sometimes try for prey their own size.
Ghost shrimp are small enough for an assassin snail to overpower. A very old, sick, molting, or dying shrimp may be caught by them. But healthy ghost shrimp have nothing to fear.
Do Ghost Shrimp Eat Algae?
Ghost shrimp do eat algae. They aren’t as good at eating algae as algae eating fish or nerite snails. But algae is a part of the biofilm that grows in a healthy tank.
They won’t eat brown or red (staghorn+black beard) algae, however. Nor will ghost shrimp eat green spot algae or green water algae. Green filamentous (hair) algae is the one kind ghost shrimp eat since it grows long enough to be chewed on. Shrimp don’t have sucker mouths or other organs for rasping tougher kinds of algae off rocks or glass.
If you really want an algae eating shrimp then look at the amano shrimp (Caridina multidentata). They will eat all kinds of algae and are kept in planted tanks as dedicated algae eaters that won’t harm live plants.
Feeding Shrimp Vegetables
Since ghost shrimp eat anything they will also eat terrestrial vegetables. A piece of carrot, lettuce, spinach, or other table scraps won’t be wasted if given to your shrimp.
Vegetables are a good source of calcium, which keeps their shells hard. You do need to parboil vegetables first. Softening them enough that your shrimp will be able to eat it.
Place it inside of the tank tied to a bit of string. Or clipped into place using a magnetic feeding clip. The ghost shrimp will smell it out and then race over, covering it as they eat.
When they seem to be done, remove any remaining vegetables. These decay fast and will pollute the tank if left for longer than a day.
How Often To Feed Shrimp?
Ghost shrimp are opportunists and don’t have a fast metabolism. If your shrimp are eating leftovers that your aquarium fish miss then you might not need to feed them at all.
If your shrimp aren’t getting flakes, pellets, and biofilm, then offer them food every other day. Look at their stomachs, which are visible through their translucent carapace. If they have no food, the stomach will be invisible when it’s empty.
The best time to feed ghost shrimp is at night. They will learn to feed during the day if that’s when you offer food. But they are more comfortable when the lights go out since they are prey animals. A small pinch of flakes or a piece of an algae wafer is all you need to offer them.
Conclusion
Ghost shrimp are easy to feed since they will eat anything organic. Fish food, algae wafers, vegetables, biofilm, zooplankton, algae…They will even scavenge corpses for food.
FAQs
Cherry shrimp will eat brine shrimp. But that should not be their main source of food. These shrimp are biofilm specialists and should be fed a powdered shrimp diet made from dried bacteria. Brine shrimp, flakes, etc, are more of a high-protein supplement.
Ghost shrimp sometimes eat each other, but never other healthy individuals. They will eat sick and dying shrimp. Usually they wait until the other shrimp is dead but if your ghost shrimp are hungry they may start eating sooner.
