Ghost shrimp and aquatic newts??

[donia]

Has anyone tried keeping ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes species I think) with aquatic newts? I've got ribbed newts (P. waltl) and they really love their food. Would be great to give them something to hunt around for and a bit more variety in their diet. Also, the shrimp are scavengers, so can help keep the tank clean

I've seen a few references to people doing this on this forum, but would be grateful for more info and experiences!!

Or any other combinations people have tried as a food source?

 

[merk199]

Ghost shrimp are relatively easy to breed. Get a tank add some substrate like eco complete or pool sand. Plant with java fern, and java moss, and feed. Keep the water relatively clean and stable and in no time you should start to have some breeding. I have heard that ghost shrimp in the US are notorious for carrying disease and such. So I probably would not feed the ghost shrimp for at least 2-3 months.

Regards
Rick

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Truthfully, they will end up as food. Any "cleaning" benefits are limited, as they too produce waste. I find them useful for dealing with thread algae and certain freshwater worms and chironimid larvae that thrive in my tanks. They are a good snack for large aquatics once and a while.

As a disease vector, Rick is correct. It is possible.

But part of Standard Good Husbandry Practices is a minimum 30 day quarantine for most feeder animals.

 

[Bellabelloo]

I decided to add some cherry shrimp to my guppy breeding tank, with the intention of adding them to my axolotl tank as live food . They have bred extremely well, but I find it nearly impossible to catch them as they move far faster than I do. The ones I do catch then proceed to leap out of the net .

 

[merk199]

I have used a glass mason jar and added food to it and when the shrimps enter the jar, then I cover the opening with my net. I also have used my net to herd them into the jar with success as well. Just some ideas...

 

[donia]

awesome, so there's no problems with having newts and shrimp together then! I'm happy for the shrimp to end up as food, as that's why I want them in there anyway. Are they pretty self sustaining? As in do the shrimp reproduce quickly enough to keep up with newt feeding and normal mortality?

How about any other critters that could live in an aquarium? I've read a bit about black worms, but also read they can alter the waters' chemistry.........

I've just noticed loads of copepods in the tank, which should be great if my newts start to breed!!

 

[merk199]

If you are looking for a sustaining population of shrimp to feed you will have to breed them in a seperate tank from the newts....

 

[donia]

Why do they have to be separate? Do filters interfere with their young? I've got a spare small tank anyway, so keeping them separate wouldn't be a problem, but thought it would be easier to keep them all together!

 

[Bellabelloo]

Its likely that the newts may eat the shrimp. I keep mine in a separate tank with the feeder guppies. I then just add some every now and then ..in my case to the axolotl.

 

[merk199]

The newts or the axies or whatever you are looking to feed will eat the shrimp you are tryingg to breed. A seperate tank can be as little as two gallons. Though 5 gallons seems to be the size most of my friends use with success.

 

[Hardwarehank]

I found a good way to trap shrimp is to take a standard pop or water bottle and cut the top off right where the taper ends. Then take the top portion and invert it back into the bottle. Take some food for bait and eventually the shrimp will crawl in on their own. Be careful not to use this in your newt tanks, they'll crawl in themselves and suffocate.

Edit: Tried to ascii up an example but the formatting kept getting messed up.