Ghost shrimp set up/maintenance

[Dan Friday]

Need help setting up /maintenance of a ghost shrimp tank for feeding Fu Man Chu lionfish.Thanks for any help!

 

[lion king]

Doesn't need to anything fancy, it can be a small tank 5-10g or even one of these hard plastic containers(no bpa). A sponge filter, these guys are scavengers, so they are not picky. Maybe something for them to climb on rather than each other, they'll use the sponge filter and I added a couple of square sponge blocks connected with a piece of pvc. No need for any heater or cooling, although they do seem to last longer in cooler vs warmer water. Maintenance is nothing, really when you think of it or smell it(you can tell if you are getting an ammonia spike). Water change or a few drops or 2 prime to knock down the ammonia. I feed them various marine micro pellets and flake foods, and dose the tank water with vita-chem. I pull the ghosties I'm feeding that day and will then dose that container with Brightwell aminomega occasionally. Let's check out that bad boy, my fu turned 6 years with me the beginning of this year.

 

[Dan Friday]

Wow 6 congratulations,hope mine makes it that long !Thanks for info I’ll try to send picture of him he has some size to him 4-5” but doesn’t leave rockwork much

 

[Dan Friday]

 

[Lionsreef]

After keeping a ghost shrimp tank for almost a year to feed by dwarf lionfish, I recently decided to bring home ghosties from the local petco and freeze them immediately. Now i just pull a couple out every evening, thaw in some RODI water and feed him from a feeding stick. Works perfectly and now I no longer have to mess with removing dead ghost shrimp from the feeder tank daily.

 

[Dan Friday]

After keeping a ghost shrimp tank for almost a year to feed by dwarf lionfish, I recently decided to bring home ghosties from the local petco and freeze them immediately. Now i just pull a couple out every evening, thaw in some RODI water and feed him from a feeding stick. Works perfectly and now I no longer have to mess with removing dead ghost shrimp from the feeder tank daily.

 

[Dan Friday]

Thanks for reply that’s how I have been doing it plus I soak them in selcon before feeding to my Fu Man Chu . Hopefully it will convert to frozen some day

 

[lion king]

Thanks for reply that’s how I have been doing it plus I soak them in selcon before feeding to my Fu Man Chu . Hopefully it will convert to frozen some day

I wouldn't be so consumed with converting this guy to a dead only diet. Believe me or not, and you likely won't; these guy just don't live long on a dead only diet. Whether it be something nutritionally they miss from a dead diet, or the lack of stimulation from not hunting; a predator needs enrichment in a captive environment. I've seen time and time again within a couple/few months; they just wither away and die, or stop eating the dead food after a while and die. By this time most hobbyist have created a tank environment where live food isn't possible, or the lion for what ever reason won't even hunt anymore. I hope you the best either way.

 

[Subsea]

Live healthy gut cavity bacteria increase fish immune system.

@Paul B had it right about bacteria 40 years ago.

 

[Dan Friday]

Live healthy gut cavity bacteria increase fish immune system.

@Paul B had it right about bacteria 40 years ago.

 

[Dan Friday]

Are live black worms a good option for Fu Manchu lionfish ?Marine betta??

 

[lion king]

Are live black worms a good option for Fu Manchu lionfish ?Marine betta??

I wouldn't think so, it would take so many to get enough. the ones that hit the bottom or rocks will quickly die and pollute your tank. Ghosties and small live bearer fish like guppies and/or mollies are your best bet. Now that my fu is getting older, i don't think he sees the ghosties as well, and he has stopped taking anything dead at all. So I have to give him live fish. I'm fortunate to have a lfs with a large freshwater section, that has 2 for tuesday sales and always molly babies. The last couple of weeks I've been feeding him the fancy guppies, I'm getting them for a buck a piece, he's eating 4 a week. I can get 10 molly babies for a dollar when they have them. Even the small feeder guppies are good, just please stay away from rosies and goldfish.

 

[Subsea]

I have adjusted mollies to marine systems. Marine algae is loaded with trace minerals and Omega 3. IMO, fresh water mollies or no better than goldfish for a marine predator.

 

[smartwater101]

Believe me or not, and you likely won't; these guy just don't live long on a dead only diet.

Are there any articles/studies that have gone into this? Genuinely curious.

 

[Subsea]

I wouldn't be so consumed with converting this guy to a dead only diet. Believe me or not, and you likely won't; these guy just don't live long on a dead only diet. Whether it be something nutritionally they miss from a dead diet, or the lack of stimulation from not hunting; a predator needs enrichment in a captive environment. I've seen time and time again within a couple/few months; they just wither away and die, or stop eating the dead food after a while and die. By this time most hobbyist have created a tank environment where live food isn't possible, or the lion for what ever reason won't even hunt anymore. I hope you the best either way.

Predator prey response is an important behavioral instinct that is coded in dna. Just because fish eats protein does not make for a healthy fish.

@smartwater101
It is easy to see “lethargic behavior” in a marine predator when he loses the “hunt instinct”.
Your question should be goggled

PS: first hit

https://dcmp.org/media/5892-marine-predator-prey-relationships

https://marineandthedolphins.weebly.com/predator-prey-relationships.html

 

[smartwater101]

It is easy to see “lethargic behavior” in a marine predator when he loses the “hunt instinct”.
Your question should be goggled

PS: first hit

https://dcmp.org/media/5892-marine-predator-prey-relationships

https://marineandthedolphins.weebly.com/predator-prey-relationships.html

I was genuinely curious and you seemed well versed on the subject. That's why I asked. Neither of your links even remotely address your claim.

I'm searching for "predator-prey", "hunting instincts", and similar. I'm trying to find some info and, more importantly, how it applies to the health of an animal in captivity. Not finding any real studies (or even articles) but I'll keep googling.

 

[Subsea]

@smartwater101
To be frank, I don’t need articles to know the facts of what I said. As a hunter and a fisherman for most of my 70 years, I have observed what I described on numerous occassions. My 25 year reef set up has some wisdom learned during that process, but sorry, no published articles.

I suggest you talk with the staff at a large public aquarium that houses specific predators. I am sure their would be records at that level. Good fortune on your quest.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/2...m-on-top-with-30g-ecosystem-mud-macro.421526/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/wet-salty-for-christmas-2017.428100/

 

[lion king]

Are there any articles/studies that have gone into this? Genuinely curious.

I've found through the years papers online that present themselves as scientific and stuff, when it comes down to it they are really from people just like us. Anyone can be an expert online. I'm just sharing my experience that encompasses alot of research over 3 decades. Dwarf lions have a very high mortality, the greatest success I have seen is when they are at least being offered live prey on a regular basis. I have never seen any live longer than several months on a dead only diet. For what ever reason they just don't live long on a dead only diet, it's easy to search and find the long list of post about dwarf lions not eating, and believe me they mostly all end badly.

That doesn't mean you may not have success, you may find a post here or there with people that have their dwarf lions on a dead food only diet for years. But that would be a few out of thousands, I have never met anyone in person who has. You'll also find the warnings about feeding fresh water fish to these guys, mollies live and breed in sg 1.017 in the wild and from my experience mollies and gut loaded ghosties will keep your lions happy for a decade or more. That beats the purist who can't even keep them alive for more than a few months. Just sharing some of my experience, I'm not an expert.

But if you want to keep dwarf lions, and maybe haven't had success in the past. And would really like to, maybe consider the commitment to feeding them a live diet, and give it another try.

 

[Nep2nRevision3]

I'm jumping in here a bit late, but definitely gained some insight. Thanks to all contributors. I recently purchased a 4 1/2" purple Rhinopias frondosa (weedy scorpionfish). I've been feeding saltwater ghost shrimp (gut packed w/calanus and Hikari Marine S) and grab a few peppermint shrimp (gut packed the same) and my friend seems fat and happy. It's fascinating to watch him hunt. The lfs that I purchased him from has recommended trying to convert him to dead/frozen food, but I think I'm going to stay with live. It just seems to make sense to me. This animal wouldn't feed on dead food in its natural setting even if it landed in front of him, gotta wonder why. May try the mollies at some point but I have no lfs that sells feeders (to be honest, no lfs that's truly "local") so I travel about 1 1/2 hrs one way and pick up the live shrimp about once every 2 weeks. Keeping them in a 10g w/a sponge filter, changinging water between batches. So if anyone is still following this thread, I would be interested in their input, lion king in particular. I have a 4o breeder that used to be my frag tank, now is void of all but a few pieces of live rock. I've found a seller on ebay that sells saltwater ghosties in 250 lots. Do you think the 40 would be adequate sizewise to house 250 ghosties (getting fewer every 2 days)? Also, could I house a few feeder mollies in the same tank?

 

[Nep2nRevision3]

Side note: The ebay supplier I mention above hasn't replied to a message I sent 4 days ago. Does anyone use a reputable supplier of saltwater ghost shrimp that they could pass along. I would greatly appreciate it.