Quick I was trying to catch ghost shrimp for fishing and I took them home in a livewell and they had babies...

ISpeakForTheSeas

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drawing.PNG
this is my drawing of what it looks like
Yeah, my guess is some kind of pod (though I doubt any of us would be able tell you which kind without a super close up, clear photo or two).
 

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I'll try. how would I take care of it?
It depends on the exact species, but generally you’d feed them phytoplankton like Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis, or Isochrysis galbana in the right quantities (if I recall correctly the recommended amount is typically right around 10^5 phyto cells per ml, but I’ll need to check again to be sure, and it may vary by species).
 
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Amethyst

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It depends on the exact species, but generally you’d feed them phytoplankton like Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis, or Isochrysis galbana in the right quantities (if I recall correctly the recommended amount is typically right around 10^5 phyto cells per ml, but I’ll need to check again to be sure, and it may vary by species).
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also we just got a 10 gallon tank for the shrimp and filled it all the way with a filter, a very long air stone, lights, and 3 inches of sand. I love these shrimp they love to mess around and play in the bubbles and they have excavated like 1/4 of the tank and have dug little homes for themselves
 

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also we just got a 10 gallon tank for the shrimp and filled it all the way with a filter, a very long air stone, lights, and 3 inches of sand. I love these shrimp they love to mess around and play in the bubbles and they have excavated like 1/4 of the tank and have dug little homes for themselves
Keep me updated on how they do long term - I don’t think I’ve heard of someone keeping these before, so I’m curious how they’ll do for you (and I’m curious if my food recommendations will turn out to be good for these guys or not, as my recommendations there are really an educated guess).

Also, if you haven’t already, make sure the tank is cycled for the shrimp (if you haven’t cycled it, then I’d suggest getting some Fritz Turbostart 900 bottle bacteria and adding 2-3 times the recommended amount for a 10 gallon tank to be safe - this is an instant cycling method used by Dr. Reef, so it is confirmedly safe and effective). Similarly, I don’t know how much you know about keeping a saltwater tank, but I’d say to make sure that 1 ) you know what to test for water quality-wise and how to test for it, and 2 ) you know how to safely adjust the water’s quality as needed (mostly people use water changes and filtration to maintain good parameters). Anyway, as long as you can maintain good water quality, I expect the shrimp (and anything else you decide to keep, if anything) will do fine - good luck, and enjoy the shrimp!
 
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Keep me updated on how they do long term - I don’t think I’ve heard of someone keeping these before, so I’m curious how they’ll do for you (and I’m curious if my food recommendations will turn out to be good for these guys or not, as my recommendations there are really an educated guess).

Also, if you haven’t already, make sure the tank is cycled for the shrimp (if you haven’t cycled it, then I’d suggest getting some Fritz Turbostart 900 bottle bacteria and adding 2-3 times the recommended amount for a 10 gallon tank to be safe - this is an instant cycling method used by Dr. Reef, so it is confirmedly safe and effective). Similarly, I don’t know how much you know about keeping a saltwater tank, but I’d say to make sure that 1 ) you know what to test for water quality-wise and how to test for it, and 2 ) you know how to safely adjust the water’s quality as needed (mostly people use water changes and filtration to maintain good parameters). Anyway, as long as you can maintain good water quality, I expect the shrimp (and anything else you decide to keep, if anything) will do fine - good luck, and enjoy the shrimp!
I have had a tiny goldfish tank from a fair but that is it idk anything about tanks
 
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Amethyst

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the tank is full of fresh clean sea water from the ocean does it still need to be cycled?
 

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yes it still needs to be cycled. the turbo start stuff ispeakfortheseas referenced contained bacteria that will break down ammonia (which will come from the waste of the shrimp). Ammonia is toxic to fish and any animal and will kill it. These bacteria break down the ammonia into nitrite and then to nitrate. Ocean water doesn't contain the bacteria. Sand from the ocean could but there is no telling. So to be safe you should still use the turbo start and make sure the tank has the necessary bacteria to break down the ammonia from your shrimp waste. Hope that helps!
 

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Well, I’ll try to be simple with this then.
the tank is full of fresh clean sea water from the ocean does it still need to be cycled?
To my knowledge, yes

Basically a tank that is cycled has bacteria established in it that breakdown harmful waste (Ammonia) and convert it to not so harmful waste (first to Nitrite, then to Nitrate). This bacteria is generally found on substrate (rocks, sand, etc.) rather than in the water is my understanding, so the water alone wouldn’t cycle the tank (though people do use live rock from the ocean to cycle their tank without issue). Without it being cycled, a tank can build up harmful waste and kill the inhabitants of the tank. That said, normal cycling methods take a long time, and would be less than ideal since you already have things living in the tank. So, I’d recommend getting a one ounce bottle of Fritz Turbostart 900 (you can find this for like $15 online) and just adding the whole thing to your tank - that should take care of the cycling.

Now, what to test for. Basically, table 1 below shows most of what you’d want to keep an eye on, and the only thing to really watch for from table 2 is Nitrate. Both tables give good suggestions for what range the different parameters should be kept within. That said, you mentioned that you collect natural seawater and use that, so I imagine you probably won’t need to monitor things too heavily as long as you do regular water changes (hopefully someone will correct me on this if I’m wrong). Since you already have a system for temperature, I’d guess you would mostly just need to keep an eye on Ammonia (there shouldn’t be any Ammonia in your tank), Nitrate, and Phosphate (I’ve heard these can cause issues for invertebrates if they get too high). To be safe, I’d suggest keeping an eye on Calcium, Alkalinity, and pH as well (I doubt any of these will give you issues or go out of their recommended ranges as long as you’re changing the water regularly, but if calcium and/or pH drop too much it can cause problems with shell growth, molting, etc. for your shrimp).
Table 1. Parameters critical to control in reef aquaria.

1653832206307.png


Table 2. Other parameters in reef aquaria that aquarists may want to control.

1653832215704.png
Most people suggest Salifert, Redsea, or Hanna brands for testing parameters - Hanna is electronic and more expensive (and people recommend against their calcium tester, though the rest are good). API is cheap, but it’s strongly recommended against because it’s also not very good for saltwater testing.

To keep the parameters in their proper ranges, you can generally get by with just filtration and water changes, but some people use dosing (typically for tanks with lots of coral that use up a lot of the parameters) or refugiums/algae reactors too (these use up Nitrate and Phosphate to help keep the levels from rising too high). If you need help keeping parameters in range, I’d look through some threads here on Reef2Reef or make a new thread about it in the “New to Saltwater & Reef Aquariums? Post Here” forum here on Reef2Reef and ask for advice.



Anyway, TLDR summary here: every tank needs to cycle - I would cycle yours using one ounce of Fritz Turbostart 900. I’d get Salifert or Redsea test kits for Ammonia, Nitrate, Phosphate, Calcium, Alkalinity, and pH. Use the tables in the quote above to determine if these parameters are in acceptable ranges or not, and do water changes as necessary to keep them in acceptable ranges if they are not (see the paragraph above this one if you need more help with the parameters).
 

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Well, I’ll try to be simple with this then.

To my knowledge, yes

Basically a tank that is cycled has bacteria established in it that breakdown harmful waste (Ammonia) and convert it to not so harmful waste (first to Nitrite, then to Nitrate). This bacteria is generally found on substrate (rocks, sand, etc.) rather than in the water is my understanding, so the water alone wouldn’t cycle the tank (though people do use live rock from the ocean to cycle their tank without issue). Without it being cycled, a tank can build up harmful waste and kill the inhabitants of the tank. That said, normal cycling methods take a long time, and would be less than ideal since you already have things living in the tank. So, I’d recommend getting a one ounce bottle of Fritz Turbostart 900 (you can find this for like $15 online) and just adding the whole thing to your tank - that should take care of the cycling.

Now, what to test for. Basically, table 1 below shows most of what you’d want to keep an eye on, and the only thing to really watch for from table 2 is Nitrate. Both tables give good suggestions for what range the different parameters should be kept within. That said, you mentioned that you collect natural seawater and use that, so I imagine you probably won’t need to monitor things too heavily as long as you do regular water changes (hopefully someone will correct me on this if I’m wrong). Since you already have a system for temperature, I’d guess you would mostly just need to keep an eye on Ammonia (there shouldn’t be any Ammonia in your tank), Nitrate, and Phosphate (I’ve heard these can cause issues for invertebrates if they get too high). To be safe, I’d suggest keeping an eye on Calcium, Alkalinity, and pH as well (I doubt any of these will give you issues or go out of their recommended ranges as long as you’re changing the water regularly, but if calcium and/or pH drop too much it can cause problems with shell growth, molting, etc. for your shrimp).

Most people suggest Salifert, Redsea, or Hanna brands for testing parameters - Hanna is electronic and more expensive (and people recommend against their calcium tester, though the rest are good). API is cheap, but it’s strongly recommended against because it’s also not very good for saltwater testing.

To keep the parameters in their proper ranges, you can generally get by with just filtration and water changes, but some people use dosing (typically for tanks with lots of coral that use up a lot of the parameters) or refugiums/algae reactors too (these use up Nitrate and Phosphate to help keep the levels from rising too high). If you need help keeping parameters in range, I’d look through some threads here on Reef2Reef or make a new thread about it in the “New to Saltwater & Reef Aquariums? Post Here” forum here on Reef2Reef and ask for advice.



Anyway, TLDR summary here: every tank needs to cycle - I would cycle yours using one ounce of Fritz Turbostart 900. I’d get Salifert or Redsea test kits for Ammonia, Nitrate, Phosphate, Calcium, Alkalinity, and pH. Use the tables in the quote above to determine if these parameters are in acceptable ranges or not, and do water changes as necessary to keep them in acceptable ranges if they are not (see the paragraph above this one if you need more help with the parameters).
you're just out here giving a killer crash course on saltwater tank keeping. i love it
 
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Well, I’ll try to be simple with this then.

To my knowledge, yes

Basically a tank that is cycled has bacteria established in it that breakdown harmful waste (Ammonia) and convert it to not so harmful waste (first to Nitrite, then to Nitrate). This bacteria is generally found on substrate (rocks, sand, etc.) rather than in the water is my understanding, so the water alone wouldn’t cycle the tank (though people do use live rock from the ocean to cycle their tank without issue). Without it being cycled, a tank can build up harmful waste and kill the inhabitants of the tank. That said, normal cycling methods take a long time, and would be less than ideal since you already have things living in the tank. So, I’d recommend getting a one ounce bottle of Fritz Turbostart 900 (you can find this for like $15 online) and just adding the whole thing to your tank - that should take care of the cycling.

Now, what to test for. Basically, table 1 below shows most of what you’d want to keep an eye on, and the only thing to really watch for from table 2 is Nitrate. Both tables give good suggestions for what range the different parameters should be kept within. That said, you mentioned that you collect natural seawater and use that, so I imagine you probably won’t need to monitor things too heavily as long as you do regular water changes (hopefully someone will correct me on this if I’m wrong). Since you already have a system for temperature, I’d guess you would mostly just need to keep an eye on Ammonia (there shouldn’t be any Ammonia in your tank), Nitrate, and Phosphate (I’ve heard these can cause issues for invertebrates if they get too high). To be safe, I’d suggest keeping an eye on Calcium, Alkalinity, and pH as well (I doubt any of these will give you issues or go out of their recommended ranges as long as you’re changing the water regularly, but if calcium and/or pH drop too much it can cause problems with shell growth, molting, etc. for your shrimp).

Most people suggest Salifert, Redsea, or Hanna brands for testing parameters - Hanna is electronic and more expensive (and people recommend against their calcium tester, though the rest are good). API is cheap, but it’s strongly recommended against because it’s also not very good for saltwater testing.

To keep the parameters in their proper ranges, you can generally get by with just filtration and water changes, but some people use dosing (typically for tanks with lots of coral that use up a lot of the parameters) or refugiums/algae reactors too (these use up Nitrate and Phosphate to help keep the levels from rising too high). If you need help keeping parameters in range, I’d look through some threads here on Reef2Reef or make a new thread about it in the “New to Saltwater & Reef Aquariums? Post Here” forum here on Reef2Reef and ask for advice.



Anyway, TLDR summary here: every tank needs to cycle - I would cycle yours using one ounce of Fritz Turbostart 900. I’d get Salifert or Redsea test kits for Ammonia, Nitrate, Phosphate, Calcium, Alkalinity, and pH. Use the tables in the quote above to determine if these parameters are in acceptable ranges or not, and do water changes as necessary to keep them in acceptable ranges if they are not (see the paragraph above this one if you need more help with the parameters).
Thanks I know what to do
 
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Uhm, one of my shrimp died. I have 6 shrimp, 3 males and 3 females. They are never aggressive to each other and their claws are weak, even the male claws with their outrageous size. The shrimp never pinch me when I catch them, they kinda just stand there. I don't think they would attack each other but one time I saw a male with his giant claw attempt to pinch a female to get her out of one of the holes in order to take her place.
The dead shrimp in question was floating at the top of the tank when I got home this evening, it was okay before I left 3 hours prior. I looked at it closely as it was dark out and I used the light of the tank to inspect the dead shrimp, it's shell was split on the back where the head connects to the body. It sort of looked like it was split twice, like it might have died while molting but why would the new shell split on the back too? I am wondering the cause of death and which one it was and I decided to come here.
Note: it was a 10 gallon tank
 

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Uhm, one of my shrimp died. I have 6 shrimp, 3 males and 3 females. They are never aggressive to each other and their claws are weak, even the male claws with their outrageous size. The shrimp never pinch me when I catch them, they kinda just stand there. I don't think they would attack each other but one time I saw a male with his giant claw attempt to pinch a female to get her out of one of the holes in order to take her place.
The dead shrimp in question was floating at the top of the tank when I got home this evening, it was okay before I left 3 hours prior. I looked at it closely as it was dark out and I used the light of the tank to inspect the dead shrimp, it's shell was split on the back where the head connects to the body. It sort of looked like it was split twice, like it might have died while molting but why would the new shell split on the back too? I am wondering the cause of death and which one it was and I decided to come here.
Note: it was a 10 gallon tank
Generally, with issues like this it's a good idea to post pictures (and/or videos) of the issue under white lighting, and to post your water parameters (as water parameters are often tied to issues in the tank, and the pictures can sometimes help with diagnosing an issue).

Suggested parameters to post:
Temperature:
pH:
Salinity / specific gravity:
Ammonia:
Nitrate:
Phosphate:
Copper:
Other:

That said, this seems (in my very unprofessional opinion) like it was probably some sort of molting issue, so here are some things that are commonly associated with bad molts in shrimp:
- Water Quality issues
- Improper diet
- Tank/tankmate issues (aggression, overcrowding, insufficient filtration, etc.)
- Water changes that change the parameters too much/too fast

With that in mind, in addition to listing the parameters suggested above, I'd also ask:
- What are you feeding the shrimp?
- Is the tank too crowded with six of them in there? (I'm not an expert, but I know the shrimp you're keeping get pretty large in the wild, so, depending on the size of the shrimp you're keeping, six of them may be pushing it for a 10 gallon tank.)
- What filter do you have with the tank?
- Do you have any rock or other bio-media in the tank?
- Is the air-stone the only aeration in the tank?
- How do you do water changes for the tank?


Hopefully someone with more experience with shrimp will know what happened for sure and chime in for you, but, if not, the above is a good place for us to start troubleshooting with.
 
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Amethyst

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Generally, with issues like this it's a good idea to post pictures (and/or videos) of the issue under white lighting, and to post your water parameters (as water parameters are often tied to issues in the tank, and the pictures can sometimes help with diagnosing an issue).

Suggested parameters to post:
Temperature:
pH:
Salinity / specific gravity:
Ammonia:
Nitrate:
Phosphate:
Copper:
Other:

That said, this seems (in my very unprofessional opinion) like it was probably some sort of molting issue, so here are some things that are commonly associated with bad molts in shrimp:
- Water Quality issues
- Improper diet
- Tank/tankmate issues (aggression, overcrowding, insufficient filtration, etc.)
- Water changes that change the parameters too much/too fast

With that in mind, in addition to listing the parameters suggested above, I'd also ask:
- What are you feeding the shrimp?
- Is the tank too crowded with six of them in there? (I'm not an expert, but I know the shrimp you're keeping get pretty large in the wild, so, depending on the size of the shrimp you're keeping, six of them may be pushing it for a 10 gallon tank.)
- What filter do you have with the tank?
- Do you have any rock or other bio-media in the tank?
- Is the air-stone the only aeration in the tank?
- How do you do water changes for the tank?


Hopefully someone with more experience with shrimp will know what happened for sure and chime in for you, but, if not, the above is a good place for us to start troubleshooting with.
we are feeding them fish flakes until the food comes in because that is what someone did on youtube.
for water changes I take out water from the tank and add fresh sea water, I added alot more sand and there are bits of sea weed floating around and little organisms.
Most of them are small with 2 big ish ones and 1 big male, I added a baby Dungeness crab like about an inch to my tank it is really cool I found it and I think it likes it here.
I have the Tetra 5-10 gallon filter changing the filter every time it gets pretty dirty.
Sometimes I find these rocks with holes at the beach with like a clam or 2 in them and water blowing in and out of the holes, is that good for the tank if I add one of those if I find another?
I have a big I think 12 inch air stone and 2 bubblers blowing into it with an air tube adapter and it has twice the bubbles.
I have like 5 inches or more of sand so they can really burrow and I cant see them most of the time I added a few more and they are doing just fine.
The shrimp like to play with each other and I always find at least 1 playing in the bubbles at all time like they just sit there with there tails in the bubbles and run around then jump in the bubbles and it pushes them up and they do it again.
I will post the parameters when the kits come in and will post pictures later of the dead one it is pretty deflated now.

I think I mentioned everything
 
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We now have the chiller up and running at 55 degrees. But we looked it up and it never really ever gets that cold here and my baby Dungeness crab is pretty sluggish because of the cold and the ghost shrimp look just fine, is there a way to let them survive long term at temperatures suitable for other crustaceans too? Because they seem pretty hardy and they have been surviving at like 60 or higher all this time and in their natural habitat here is also like 60 or something.
 

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We now have the chiller up and running at 55 degrees. But we looked it up and it never really ever gets that cold here and my baby Dungeness crab is pretty sluggish because of the cold and the ghost shrimp look just fine, is there a way to let them survive long term at temperatures suitable for other crustaceans too? Because they seem pretty hardy and they have been surviving at like 60 or higher all this time and in their natural habitat here is also like 60 or something.
The shrimp should be pretty hardy temperature wise (they can handle a wide range), but 55 should be pretty much ideal for them, and 55 should be absolutely perfect for Dungeness Crabs (65 is considered the max temp for them, with 50-57 as the ideal temp). I’d guess something else is going on if your crab is sluggish, and it’s probably food or water quality related.

With the clam rocks, the clams would probably die shortly after being added (probably within a few days to a few months, depending on the species), so I personally wouldn’t bother.
 
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The shrimp should be pretty hardy temperature wise (they can handle a wide range), but 55 should be pretty much ideal for them, and 55 should be absolutely perfect for Dungeness Crabs (65 is considered the max temp for them, with 50-57 as the ideal temp). I’d guess something else is going on if your crab is sluggish, and it’s probably food or water quality related.

With the clam rocks, the clams would probably die shortly after being added (probably within a few days to a few months, depending on the species), so I personally wouldn’t bother.
oh ok
 

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