How to Breed Ghost Shrimp

Ghost shrimp, also called glass shrimp, are small, transparent shrimp commonly sold as aquarium pets or fish food. While several species are referred to by the same name, they can all be cared for in the same basic way. If the shrimp are kept in a comfortable environment with no predators, they can breed rapidly.

Steps

Preparing a Good Breeding Environment

1. Purchase a large fish tank. Your fish tank should hold about 1 gallon (4 L) of water for each shrimp.^[1] No matter how many you have, ghost shrimp will be most comfortable in at least 10 gallons (40 L) of water.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • If you have to keep your shrimp in a tank smaller than 10 gallons (40 L), allow 1.5 gallons (6 L) or more for each shrimp to make up for the small space.^[2]
   
   
   
   


2. Purchase a second tank for breeding. The hardest part of breeding ghost shrimp is keeping the young shrimp alive. If you let the eggs hatch in the same tank as the adult shrimp, the young could be eaten by the adults. This second tank doesn't need to be as large as the first, but a larger tank will give the young shrimp the best chance at survival.^[3]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


3. Use any filter for the main tank, and a sponge filter for the breeding tank. Filters are necessary to keep aquarium water clean. Most filters suck the water in to clean it, but these can kill the tiny ghost shrimp young. Use a sponge filter instead to avoid this possibility.^[4]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • If your tank is larger than and contains fish as well as shrimp, you should use a hang-on or canister filter to provide better cleaning. Never use anything besides a sponge filter for the breeding tank.
   
   
   • If you don't want to buy a sponge filter, you can cover your filter's water intake with a sponge or a piece of nylon stocking.^[5] Alternatively, if your filter intake is too weak to suck in adult shrimp, you can disconnect the filter before the young hatch and replace 10% of the water volume in the tank every day until the young are fully grown and you can turn the filter on again.^[6]
   
   
   
   


4. Install an air pump in each tank. Like most aquarium pets, ghost shrimp need air pumped through the water in order to breathe. Without an air pump, the water will run out of oxygen and the shrimp will suffocate.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


5. Cover the bottom of each tank with sand or gravel. Sand or light gravel will keep the shrimp transparent, while dark gravel will cause them to develop small specks and make them more visible.^[7] Pick any color and type you like.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • For additional detail in setting up a freshwater aquarium, see this article.
   
   
   
   


6. Fill the tanks with appropriate water. Many places treat tap water with chlorine, so treat it with a dechlorinator or chloramine remover to make it safe for animals. At the very least, leave it out for 24 hours before adding the shrimp so some of the chlorine will evaporate.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


7. Keep the water at 65-82º F (18-28º C). This is the broad range of temperatures ghost shrimp are comfortable in, but many people prefer to stick near the center of this range.^[8] Put a thermometer in the tank to check the water temperature, and use an aquarium tank heater if you keep the shrimp in a cold room.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


8. Add live plants and hiding places. Ghost shrimp feed off the debris that falls from plants, but you can keep them with just store-bought food if you'd prefer not to deal with plants. Aquarium plants with fine, thin leaves are the best to use, such as hornwort, cabomba, and milfoil. ^[9] If kept in a tank with other fish, small flower pots or other containers should be placed upside down to provide hiding places only the shrimp can enter.^[10]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • For best results, give your plants about a month to stabilize the chemical levels in the tank. Sudden changes in nitrogen levels or other chemicals could kill your ghost shrimp.
   
   
   • See this article for instructions on planting aquarium plants.
   
   
   • Adding plants to the breeding tank in advance is strongly recommended, as plant debris is one of the few foods small enough for the shrimp young to eat. Many people use Java moss in their shrimp breeding tank, which may trap food debris to help the young shrimp eat.^[11]
   
   
   
   

Caring for Adult Shrimp

1. Buy high quality shrimp for pets, and feeder shrimp if you're breeding them as animal food. "Feeder shrimp" are bred to produce high numbers of young, but they tend to be more fragile and have shorter life spans.^[12] Well treated ghost shrimp should live for a couple of years, and will be much easier to care for and breed.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • The seller should know which type of ghost shrimp he sells. You can also guess based on the living conditions: if the shrimp are kept in a cramped space without many plants, they are probably feeder shrimp.
   
   
   
   


2. Introduce the shrimp to the new water slowly. Float the bag of water with the shrim inside on top of the tank's water. Every 20 minutes, dispose of 1/4 of the water from the bag, then replace it with water from the tank. After you've done this three or four times, pour the bag out into the tank. This lets them adjust to the temperature and chemical change slowly.^[13]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


3. Feed the shrimp tiny amounts of fish food. Shrimp are active scavengers, but while they can live off algae and plant debris if required, you should encourage reproduction by giving them a minuscule daily allotment of fish food. A single crushed pellet a day can sustain six adult shrimp.^[14]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • If you keep other fish in the tank, use sinking pellets, since the shrimp will not be able to compete for floating food with larger animals.
   
   
   
   


4. Change the water once every week or two. Even if the water looks clear, chemicals could be building up that prevent the shrimp from thriving. Change 20-30% of the water every week for best results. Make sure the water temperature of the old and new water is the same to avoid stressing the aquarium's inhabitants.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Changing 40-50% of the water every other week may also work, especially if the tank doesn't have many fish or shrimp for its size.
   
   
   
   


5. Be cautious about adding other fish to the tank. Almost any medium to large fish will eat ghost shrimp, or at least spook them enough to make breeding difficult. If you want a more varied tank, add snails and small fish only.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • If you have decided not to use a breeding tank, do not include any fish at all in the single tank you have. The adult shrimp will already eat many of the young shrimp; with additional predators, not many young will survive to adulthood.
   
   
   
   

Hatching and Feeding the Young Shrimp

1. Check that you have both males and females. Adult female ghost shrimp tend to be much larger than males. The size difference is significant, so you should be able to tell the difference easily once your shrimp are full grown.^[15]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • You don't need equal numbers of each. One male for every two females is plenty.^[16]
   
   
   
   


2. Look for females carrying eggs. If you've cared for your ghost shrimp properly, the females should produce eggs every few weeks at least. These are bunches of 20–30 tiny green-grey eggs attached to the females' legs. These legs, or "swimmerets", are short limbs attached to the lower body of the female, so it may look like the eggs are attached to the female belly.^[17]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Look from the side of the tank for the best view, and get someone with sharp eyesight to help you if the babies are hatching before you see the eggs.
   
   
   
   


3. After a few days, transfer females carrying eggs to the breeding tank. Give the males a chance to fertilize the eggs, then transport the females. Use a net to catch the females and quickly move them to the prepared breeding tank without other shrimp or fish. Move the breeding tank nearby and transfer directly if possible; females have been known to drop their eggs when stressed, so don't make the transfer prolonged.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


4. Wait 21–24 days until the eggs hatch. Keep checking on the female to watch the progress of the eggs. Near the end of the process, you might be able to see tiny black dots within each egg: these are the baby shrimps' eyes! When the eggs finally hatch, the female will swim upwards and flick the young off of her legs a few at a time.^[18]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Don't disturb the female if you see her flicking the young away, as they need to be deposited within an hour in order to feed. She may take a while to do this, since in the wild the young have a better survival rate if she deposits them in different places.^[19]
   
   
   
   


5. Transfer the female back to the main tank. After she is done depositing the hatched young, move the female back to the other tank. The parent is no longer needed in the young shrimp's life, and in fact may attempt to eat her children.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Once the young shrimp are alone and moving about on their own, you may not even be able to see them, as they are extremely tiny when newly hatched. Continue to add food to the breeding tank for three weeks even if you don't see them.
   
   
   
   


6. Feed them small amounts of specialized tiny food. For the next week or two, these shrimp will float around in the larvae stage, and have extremely tiny mouth parts. Your breeding tank should already have plenty of plants and algae to provide debris small enough for them to eat, called "infusoria". You should still supplement this with any of the following types of food, but remember the shrimp only need tiny amounts:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Storebought "rotifers" food, baby brine shrimp, microworms, or powdered spirulina algae are all suitable for young ghost shrimp.^[20]
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
   
   
   • You can buy "fry food" intended for young fish, but be sure to select powdered fry food suitable for "egg layer" sized animals.^[21]
   
   
   • Strain small pieces of egg yolk through a fine mesh strainer if you don't want to use storebought food.^[22]
   
   
   • Java moss may help trap food for young shrimp to eat, but don't add or remove plants while larvae are in the tank, as it could disturb the chemical balance of the water.
   
   
   
   


7. Feed them the same food as regular shrimp once they've grown legs. The surviving larvae will enter the juvenile phase, and look just like miniature adults. AT this point they can feed off regular food, although you may want to crush pellets and other large food items to help them out.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


8. Transfer the shrimp back to the tank once fully grown. The shrimp will grow all their legs and develop into miniature versions of the adults after 1 to 2 weeks.^[23] After 5 weeks, they will be fully grown and can be transported back to the other tank.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • If you have a younger batch of eggs or larvae in the breeding tank, move the larger shrimp out after 3 to 4 weeks.
   
   
   
   

Troubleshooting

1. Don't transfer the females if it causes the eggs to fail. Transferring the females to the breeding tank can stress them out and interfere with the adult's and eggs' growth. If the females drop the eggs or die after transfer, alter your main tank instead to take care of the young there:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • Remove any fish from the main tank. Since you won't be using your breeding tank after all, you can move them there, altering the plant composition if necessary to suit the species.
   
   
   • Turn off or cover the filter. If your filter has a water intake pipe, it will suck in and kill the young shrimp. Cover the intake with a sponge or piece of nylon stocking, or turn it off and clean the water manually by replacing 10% of it every day until the young are grown.
   
   
   • Accept that some young shrimp will be eaten by the adults. You can reduce the chance of this happening by using a spacious tank, but it will be difficult to avoid.
   
   
   
   


2. Keep watching if the young shrimp won't eat. The floating larvae may not eat much directly after hatching. If they are still ignoring their food the next day, you should try a different food immediately, as they can starve quickly.^[24]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


3. If all the shrimp die after putting them in the tank, use different water or introduce the shrimp more slowly. You may need to use tap water treated with a dechlorinator, or even bottled water. Do not use rainwater or local river water unless ghost shrimp live in the river you took it from.^[25]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   • You should never pour the bag of water with the shrimp directly into the tank. See Caring for Adult Shrimp for instructions on introducing your shrimp.
   
   
   • You may also want to purchase an aquarium test kit to test the characteristics of your water. See the Tips section below for the correct pH, dH, and chemical levels for ghost shrimp.
   
   
   
   

Tips

• If you keep track of your tank's levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates, keep these as close to zero as possible for better breeding.^[26]


• If you track pH or acidity levels, keep them between 6.3 and 7.5. dH, a measurement of water hardness, should be between 3 and 10.^[27]

Warnings

• Make sure the shrimp are not in cold water as it can freeze them.

Things You'll Need

• Two aquarium tanks


• Sponge filter or covered intake filter


• Java moss and other plants

Related wikiHows

• Take-Care-of-Ghost-Shrimp


• How to Set up a Five Gallon Fish Tank

Sources and Citations

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