Killer Shrimp

[myenigmaself]

This is more informative than anything. I recently purchased a little over a dozen red cherry shrimp in the hopes of breeding them for puffer treats and maybe local resale. They were in an almost species only tank, the only other inhabitants being snails and two ghost shrimp. Everything I read said the red cherry shrimp and ghost shrimp should peacefully co-exist.

Unfortunately this advice was incorrect. Over the last three weeks the number of shrimp I've seen has steadily decreased, but I haven't seen any carcasses. Then a couple days ago I saw my big ghost (the female, much bigger than the RCS) with red in her belly. My tank is segmented into two sections, both accessible to the RCS but only one to the ghost shrimp (the opening to the other side is too small for the ghost shrimp). There are still a couple RCS on the side that didn't have the the ghost shrimp, but every single RCS that was in with the ghosts is gone.

My only conclusion is that, even though I didn't catch them red-handed, the ghost shrimp were eating the RCS. Lesson learned. I've since gotten rid of the ghost shrimp and I'm going to order another batch to see if I have better luck.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

The shimp could be dying naturally and being eaten. It seems hard to believe but it could be a possibility.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Unfortunately, 'ghost shrimp' is used for quite a lot of species, some of which are not even able to live in freshwater. You might have gotten a species that will actively predate.

I have ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus, I think) and they get along fine with the others except for being very pushy when it comes to food. I mean, literally pushy; They shove the others away. I wouldn't put it past them to eat a dying shrimp, however, even though I've never seen them do so.

 

[myenigmaself]

They looked just like the ones pictured under the species thread:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/198395-ghost-shrimp/


I'd be inclined to think they died of natural causes and were just scavenged, except for the fact that it seems to be only the ones in with the ghosts that disappeared, and I haven't noticed any behavior that would lead me to believe any of them are sick. They were all active and feeding and looked great, until they disappeared!

I think I'm gonna take another run at it, sans the ghost shrimp. I'll be sure to let you know how it works out.