Should I buy it?
Ghost Shrimp
Palaemonetes paludosus
Typical trade / ID note: Palaemonetes paludosus and related Palaemon species (mixed trade name)
Also known as: glass shrimp, grass shrimp, feeder shrimp, Glass shrimp, Grass shrimp, Feeder shrimp
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on typical aquarium care sources; trade names can be ambiguous, so details may vary between setups. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
Cheap and hardy with a misleading peaceful label. Species-only or with robust community fish. Never with cherry shrimp or nano tetras.
Best for
Species-only or large robust community tanks where their semi-aggressive label is understood and no smaller shrimp are present.
Avoid if
You keep cherry shrimp or any nano shrimp. Ghost shrimp prey on smaller neocaridina.
Top things that go wrong
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. Predation risk toward smaller tank mates. The figure that matters is the adult mouth size against the adult prey length, not the juvenile sizes in the shop.
- Shrimp & snails. Not compatible with cherry, amano, or any small dwarf shrimp colony. Will pick off shrimplets and harass adults during moults.
Common mistakeMixing ghost shrimp with cherry shrimp assuming both are 'just shrimp'. Ghost shrimp eat the smaller neocaridina, especially during moults.
Mixed-species trade name
'Ghost shrimp' covers several species across Palaemonetes and Palaemon, sometimes mixed in the same tank at the wholesaler. Adult size and aggression vary between species, so a ghost shrimp from one shop is not the same animal as one from another shop.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Mixed-species trade name. Two ghost shrimp from different shops can be different animals with different aggression levels.
- 2.Added to a cherry shrimp tank to 'top up shrimp numbers'. The ghosts pick off shrimplets and the cherry colony stalls.
- 3.Sold as a neon tetra tank mate at 4 cm shrimp size. A ghost shrimp will pin and eat a small or stressed neon overnight.
- 4.Cheap, hardy, and not what they look like on the label. Five ghost shrimp in a 40L species tank work. Five ghost shrimp added to a cherry shrimp colony eat the cherries over months. A ghost shrimp with a neon tetra in a 20L is a bad bet for the tetra.
About this species
Ghost shrimp are clear-bodied freshwater shrimp sold cheaply as feeders or as starter shrimp. The peaceful label on most labels is wrong. Ghost shrimp will harass smaller shrimp, pick off shrimplets, and occasionally take down adult neon tetras at night.
- Amano Shrimp40L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Mystery Snail40L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Assassin Snail30L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Blue Dream Shrimp20L min · same group, similar adult size
- Cherry Shrimp20L min · same group, similar adult size
- Malaysian Trumpet Snail20L min · same group, similar adult size
- Nerite Snail20L min · same group, similar adult size
- Bamboo Shrimp80L min · same fish family
No reverse lookups on file yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease60
- Peacefulness20
- Community fit0
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness76
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Match temperature and pH overlap with every tank mate, then verify adult size and group rules on pair pages — Fishori is biased toward boring, survivable plans.
Tank mate intelligence
Use the "Often compatible" lists as a shortlist, not a stocking plan. Always run the pair tool and check the footprint of your actual tank first. Verify behaviour for Ghost Shrimp against your own reading before you buy.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Ghost Shrimp + Corydoras Catfish
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Ghost Shrimp is semi-aggressive: stable in a calm tank, pushy with weaker fish when stressed or crowded. Treats any fish small enough to fit in its mouth as food. Mouth size at adult length matters, not the prey's listed adult size.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- hunger
- low cover
- smaller tank mates
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Predation risk toward smaller tank mates. The figure that matters is the adult mouth size against the adult prey length, not the juvenile sizes in the shop.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still claims a working area in the tank. Give it room to settle without overlapping the next species' patch.
Planted tanks: good — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Chasing one individual repeatedly, torn fins on tank mates, or food theft every feed.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
medium
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Not compatible with cherry, amano, or any small dwarf shrimp colony. Will pick off shrimplets and harass adults during moults.
Five or more in a 40L species tank. Mixed-species sale means a small group settles aggression on tank mates rather than on each other.
Breeding behaviour depends on the species. Research before you buy a mixed-sex group of this fish.
- A species-only tank or a community of mid-size robust fish (corydoras, harlequin rasboras). Skip nano tetras and cherry shrimp.
- Plant cover and hides. Ghost shrimp are stressed in open tanks and that stress reads as aggression toward tank mates.
- Acceptance of a short lifespan (often under a year) and limited breeding.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 40L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 5 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 18–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth gap for this species.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 40L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 160L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 18–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Ghost Shrimp does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 18–28°C and pH 7–8:
Profile status: partially verified · Evidence tier: medium · 2 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Aquarium Co-Op. Ghost Shrimp Care
Primary: retailer care guide acknowledging the semi-aggressive behaviour and mixed-species trade name.
- Practical Fishkeeping. Ghost Shrimp Profile
Secondary: covers the predation risk against small fish and the trade-name ambiguity.
Evidence notes
- Trade-name shrimp mixed at the wholesaler means a ghost shrimp from one bag can be Palaemonetes paludosus (peaceful enough for a community), and the next can be Macrobrachium or a larger Palaemon (much more aggressive). The variation matters.
- Ghost shrimp do breed in freshwater, but the larvae are demanding and most aquarium colonies fail at the larval stage. Treat them as a finite stock rather than a self-sustaining colony.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.