6 replies to this topic

[Leo1234]

What plants are ghost shrimp usually found on? I was thinking american vals, but I want to make it a biotope and don't know if they are naturally on vals. I don't know exactally where the ghost shrimp are from since I will be buying them from a local fish store. I assume they are one of the east coast species. My light will most likely be a T-8 though I might get an LED.  Thanks

[UncleWillie]

I can't comment on Val, but I'd say you're pretty safe with any NA native plant to fill your biotype.  In the past year I've found them latched onto everything from emergent plants, floating, and submerged plants - Am. lotus, torpedo grass, Justicia americana, various Potamogeton sp., Ceratophyllum demersum, and of course all the exotics (parrot feather, alligator weed, Salvinia, water hyacinth, etc.).  I even find them away from veg like in undercut banks and rootwads and clumps of leaf litter.

[gzeiger]

When I lived in SC I commonly caught them on Val, Elodea, Anacharis, Ceratophyllum and Cabomba. Basically every plant in their range. I caught them less frequently in the val, but as likely as not that's because of my unwillingness to be aggressive with the net in that habitat for fear of damaging the plants. The only plants that didn't seem to harbor them in large numbers were the various Nuphar, which aren't very aquarium appropriate anyway. Even then I suspect that's only because the deeper water growth habit and less dense structure made shrimp on the lilies vulnerable to the ubiquitous sunfish.

 

If you can grow val that will give you the best looking aquarium. Floaters like water hyacinth or water lettuce are probably the next best for the shrimp, but are a bit ugly when viewed from the side. Anarcharis and Ceratophyllum are easy to grow and reasonably good shrimp habitat, and look reasonably good when grown densely.

 

Whatever moss you can grow, native or otherwise, also makes good habitat for them. They're quite happy in captivity with just a pile of driftwood and/or leaf litter if you like that look.

[mattknepley]

Ditto what gzeiger said. The limiting factor seems not to be type of vegetation, but winter temps. In my part of the upstate I have never found a grass shrimp, but an hour south of me has a stream chock full of 'em. I think that is just enough change in latitude and altitude to allow them to thrive.

[Michael Wolfe]

My experience matches uncle Willie. Except I will say 'yes' to Vals. I've seen em there for sure in some of those Pteronotropis stonei spots in Georgia.

[gzeiger]

I also said val is good habitat for them, just not good fishing.

[HelenGreene]

Ghost Shrimp must keep in a tank with heavy plants which make them to hide easily from its target fishes. Fine-leaved plants, such as hornwort, cabomba and milfoil are good choices.

 

Helen Greene

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