10 points for anyone who can answer this question plz help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

Question

I don't know whether to get a bamboo shrimp (also called an asian filter shrimp, a wood shrimp, and a fan shrimp) or a ghost shrimp! Is a ghost shrimp or a bamboo shrimp better?!? Which one is better at cleaning the tank of detritus and rotting food and f***s. Do either of them eat algae? How big do they get? Which one of them is easier to take care of? Are either of them compatible with guppies, platies, mollies, tetras, loaches? How about with angelfish, bala sharks, red tailed sharks, and tiger barbs? Are there any standard community or semi-aggressive fish that they particularly don't get along with. Is there some unique or important thing to keep in mind when taking care of either shrimp? Which one is better? As much info on bamboo and ghost shrimp as possible!!!! Thank you!!

Answer 1

i'd go w/ ghost shrimp...they're way cheaper and do clean almost anything...if it doesn't work out sell the shrimp on craigslist and get a pleco or an algae eater of some sort

Answer 2

Your Answer:

Ok, this is going to be a very long answer and I will give you some websites to do your own researching at the bottom.

If I were you, I would go with the bamboo shrimp. They are soooo much easier to take care of. With that, I think the bamboo shrimp is better.

I would say that the bamboo shrimp and the ghost shrimp are neck and neck when it comes to rotting food and f***s. I think that the bamboo shrimp eats algae off of the plants and substrate and I think the ghost shrimp does the same.

The bamboo shrimp get 2.5" average and the ghost shrimp get about five cm.

Here are some quick stats:

Common Name:

American freshwater glass shrimp, American freshwater ghost Shrimp, American freshwater grass shrimp

Scientific Name:

Palaemonetes paludosus, possibly several populations or subspecies

Size:

around 5cm

Temperature:

will tolerate a wide range of temperatures, but best kept at 70°F-78°F

Water Parameters:

Needs alkaline water over the long run. Should not be kept in acidic water over the long run.

Food:

fish food (flake, pellets etc), hair and string algae, "anything edible"

Origin:

North America

Larval Development Type:

Abbreviated: Larval planktonic stage only lasts a few days before larvae metamorphose into post-larvae (miniature shrimp) and assume a benthic lifestyle. Freshwater ghost shrimp larvae do *not* need brackish water for this process and develop into post-larvae and adult shrimp in complete freshwater

They are compatible with the first group of fish but I think that every fish execpt the angelfish in the second group isn't compatible for a couple reasons.

1. the bala shark grows 13 inches and might try to eat it

2. The red tailed sharks grow 6 inches (might eat ghost shrimp probably not bamboo shrimp).

3.Tiger barbs are fin nippers and might try to take a chunk out of both types of shrimp.

They are a very peaceful fish that gets along with any other community fish. They particularly don't get along with ciclids or any other large fish. The bamboo shrimp need live plants but I'm not sure about the ghost shrimp.

Here is some info on the ghost shrimp.

Origin The range is from Alaska to El Estero de Punta Banda, Baja California

Maximum Size: The male shrimp is 3 inches long and the female is 2 inches long.

Care: They do well in warmer temperatures, though they can survive in waters that are as cold as the upper 50 degree Fahrenheit range. It has been observed that in very warm temperatures, Ghost Shrimp become much more active, and they have been reported to become so aggressive as to attack fish in warm temperatures. In cooler temperatures, they are quite peaceful and it is the Ghost Shrimp who are in danger of fish attacks. Shrimp should have some plants to hide in, particularly if they are kept with fish that might eat them.

Feeding: In an aquarium, Ghost Shrimp will feed on soft algae in tanks and any fish food that falls to the bottoms of their aquarium. They have been known to do well on flake fish food, as well. In the wild on the other hand ghost shrimp will feed on detritus in the mud that collects on the fine hairs on its legs. The hairs of the third maxillipeds scrape the prospective food off the legs and pass it forward to the mouth. It also receives food by digesting microorganisms from the mud that goes through its digestive system.

Breeding: They are easy creatures to breed, the females carry their pink eggs on the underside of their carapace, they should be moved into a seperate tank if you wish the babies to survive, the young are too small to catch and so you must move the female while she is still carrying the baby ghost shrimp. It is essential to provide plenty of plants or other small hiding places in the aquarium for the young Ghost Shrimp. After the babies have hatched, the parent Ghost Shrimp should be removed. In order to successfully raise the young, they should be fed on baby brine shrimp, in addition to liquifeed (fry) food or minute algae.

Sexing: When of adult size the males will be approximately one whole inch bigger than the females, the females may also be carrying pink eggs on their undersides.

Here is some on the bamboo shrimp (I refer to them as rock shrimp).

As aquatic pets, Rock shrimp can often require extremely low maintenance in a large enough and mature tank. They are filter feeders which collect microorganisms resulting from the waste produced by other inhabitants of the aquarium, and as such they are absolutely harmless to all tropical fish, because they have fans in place of claws.

Rock shrimp require a water current to filter feed, so they can only be recommended for tanks with aquarium filters in them. These shrimp usually climb objects to reach filter outlets, where they find the strongest water flow. When planning on keeping Rock shrimp, position rocks and/or tall-growing plants close to the tank's filter outlet to help them feed.

In the wild they eat phytoplankton and zooplankton, but most of the time aquariums under 10 gallons or aquariums that have been set up for less than 6 months do not contain enough of these foods to feed Rock shrimp. If a Rock shrimp is observed trying to scavenge for food on the substrate using its fans, this is a sign there is not enough food in the water. In such cases, they should be fed the algae wafers sold for plecos, which they eat after the wafer dissolves in the water, small Daphnia, newly hatched brine shrimp, or finely ground up flake food, once it softens and disintegrates. A good way to feed these foods is mixed with water in a syringe or pipette, squirting the mix into the fans of the shrimp.

However, feeding Rock shrimp flake food and pleco wafers can result in a negative effect on the aquariums water chemistry, as any food missed by the shrimp pollutes the water, and this can be especially noticeable in small tanks. For this reason it is recommended great attention be paid to the aquariums ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels when feeding Rock shrimp like this.

Rock shrimp are invertebrates and as such must moult periodically in order to grow, this can sometimes be induced by water changes. During the time a rock shrimp is moulting, even a fully grown shrimp is very weak and at risk of attack and damage from small fish like the betta and larger fish alike. During moulting it is good practice to provide somewhere the shrimp can hide from any tank mates.

Hope this helps!