Should I buy it?
Ghost Shrimp
Palaemon paludosus (trade group)
Also known as: glass shrimp, grass shrimp, feeder shrimp
Cheap and hardy with a misleading peaceful label. Species-only or with robust community fish. Never with cherry shrimp or nano tetras.
Ghost Shrimp tank mates · 40L tank size hub
semi-aggressive · beginner care
Sources & confidencemedium · partially verified · beginner: caution
Typical care sources — trade names for this fish get mixed up, so verify the ID before you buy. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
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.
Common mistakeMixing ghost shrimp with cherry shrimp because 'both are just shrimp' is how keepers invent missing neocaridina after every moult. Ghost shrimp often eat smaller shrimp. Keep ghosts in their own scavenging crew or with robust fish that ignore them — not as janitors in a cherry colony.
Top things that go wrong
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
- Shrimp & snails. Not compatible with cherry, amano, or any small dwarf shrimp colony. Will pick off shrimplets and harass adults 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.Myth: ghost shrimp are harmless cleanup crew that coexist with cherry shrimp in any community. Reality: many ghosts prey on smaller shrimp at moult, and the trade name can mean different animals — do not stock them as safe janitors on a neocaridina colony.
- 2.Mixed-species trade name. Two ghost shrimp from different shops can be different animals with different aggression levels.
- 3.Added to a cherry shrimp tank to 'top up shrimp numbers'. The ghosts pick off shrimplets and the cherry colony stalls.
- 4.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.
- 5.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.
- 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
- 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 listed yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- 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.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
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.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Ghost Shrimp
No unconditional “safe” tank mates are listed for Ghost Shrimp — this shortlist has CAUTION pairings that need specific conditions and RISKY pairings to avoid. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Amano Shrimp, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami, Guppy, Harlequin Rasbora. Avoid (RISKY): Cherry Shrimp. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
None listed. Use the pair checker before mixing.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
No safe-mate list on this record yet. Use the fish index to find species with similar care, then run a pair check before you buy.
Behaviour and temperament
Ghost shrimp are listed semi-aggressive relative to smaller shrimp even when they look peaceful toward fish. Individuals vary by source and shop stock. Stress shows as hiding and losses after moults when mixed with cherries or kept alone without cover.
What sets them off
- hunger
- low cover
- smaller tank mates
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper; stressed or crowded individuals can still test fins.
Predation: May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still needs room so its working space does not overlap the next fish.
Planted tanks: good — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- A group of five or more scavenges film and wafers among plants and hardscape.
- Night activity and scavenging are normal ownership, not instant illness.
- Sudden cherry-shrimp disappearances after adding ghosts mean predation, not mystery filter intakes.
- A lone ghost in a bare tank usually needs cover and food film first.
- Risk concentrates on smaller shrimp and soft-bodied prey at moult.
- Toward robust fish they are usually ignored scavengers, not tank bullies.
- Remove ghosts from cherry colonies at the first missing moult victim.
- Quarantine new 'ghost' stock — trade names are not a single species guarantee.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
medium
Diet
omnivore
Ghost shrimp are opportunistic omnivore scavengers that take biofilm, wafers, and leftover foods. A spotless sterile nano with no supplemental food starves them once the easy film is gone. Feed small sinking foods, keep a group of five or more, and never treat them as a filter replacement.
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.
- 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
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
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:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: medium · 2 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
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.
Featured compatibility checks
Curated pair pages for Ghost Shrimp. Each opens a full verdict — not just a list label.
Common questions about Ghost Shrimp
- How big do Ghost Shrimp get?
- Ghost Shrimp adults reach about 4 cm. Shop fish look smaller; stock for the adult length.
- What size tank does Ghost Shrimp need?
- 40L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 50L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Ghost Shrimp aggressive?
- Ghost shrimp are listed semi-aggressive relative to smaller shrimp even when they look peaceful toward fish. Individuals vary by source and shop stock. Stress shows as hiding and losses after moults when mixed with cherries or kept alone without cover.
- What is the most common mistake with Ghost Shrimp?
- Mixing ghost shrimp with cherry shrimp because 'both are just shrimp' is how keepers invent missing neocaridina after every moult. Ghost shrimp often eat smaller shrimp. Keep ghosts in their own scavenging crew or with robust fish that ignore them — not as janitors in a cherry colony.
- What fish can live with Ghost Shrimp?
- This profile currently has no curated unconditional safe-mates shortlist for Ghost Shrimp. Other species may still return GOOD in the pair checker, so check the exact pair rather than treating this shortlist as exhaustive. Amano Shrimp, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami, Guppy are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid Cherry Shrimp (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.