When pregnancy comes knocking down your home aquarium, it’s your sole duty to take care of your pet.
Similarly, if your female ghost shrimp is pregnant, you must keep them in the safest tank environment.
But why so?
Female ghost shrimps are known to reproduce more often than any other aquatic pet.
So, why give special attention every time they get pregnant?
Ghost shrimp is a sensitive species that require good care and maintenance for proper breeding.
This extra care is why shrimp keepers get nervous as soon as they discover their ghost shrimps pregnancy.
But then this leads to silly mistakes by trying too many things at once.
But the secret essence here is to follow the basics.
So, keeping this in mind, I’ll use this post to share only the basics you should follow.
Can Cherry Shrimp and Ghost Shrimp Live Together?
Can Betta Live With Cherry Shrimp?
How can I tell if my ghost shrimp is pregnant?
These 3 signs scream – Your Ghost Shrimp is pregnant. If you’re still confused, here’s the complete explanation behind these pregnancy signs.
White or Light Green Dots Under the Tail
You can identify female Ghost Shrimp bearing a nest of hatching eggs by the presence of white dots underneath the fin.
When your Ghost Shrimp develops during her pregnancy, you’ll notice the white dots on her abdomen increasing significantly and becoming more opaque.
As the female Ghost Shrimp has a thin shell, you can see her eggs at a glance. It’s one of the many fascinating things you see when observing pregnant Ghost Shrimp.
Consistent Leg Fanning or Splaying
A competent Fishkeeper always notices every little change in their pet, including how pregnant Ghost Shrimp stretch their legs. This action is believed to ferment the eggs and maintain constant heat.
Some aquarium owners assume pregnant Ghost Shrimps are uncomfortable, leading them to stretch their legs to lighten the load of the eggs forming within their bodies.
Obvious Weight Gain
Female Ghost Shrimps reach maturity at a fractionally bigger than male ghost shrimps. Even so, they will probably mature more significantly.
Like an increased hunger and hunting activity, this is a solid that confirms your ghost shrimp’s pregnancy.
Can Cherry Shrimp and Ghost Shrimp Coexist Peacefully?
What does a pregnant ghost shrimp look like?
Here’s what a pregnant ghost looks like:
How Many Babies Do Ghost Shrimp Have?
On average, a female Ghost Shrimp can carry 8-85 eggs beneath her tail.
On average, a female Ghost Shrimp can carry 8-85 eggs beneath her tail. Here, the chances of making it through fertilization, pregnancy, and delivery drop drastically.
Typically, 5-75 shrimp juveniles are discharged into your fish tank yearly.
A female Ghost Shrimp can lay anywhere from 8-30 fertilized eggs on a relatively smaller scale. Then, after every 30–40 days, a female ghost shrimp lays another nest of eggs to be fertilized.
A young Ghost Shrimp has to fight off its mother’s breastfeeding urges for a while to get the nutrition it needs to mature.
How to Care for Pregnant Ghost Shrimp?
Keeping A Suitable Environment
First, make sure there is adequate housing for pregnant ghost shrimp.
The health of male and female ghost shrimp must be of utmost importance as the shrimp they produce depends significantly on the conditions in which they live.
A sustainable setting involves much more than providing a clear home aquarium.
Prerequisites for a comfortable setting include keeping in mind the following:
Balanced Water Parameters And Temperature
Ghost shrimps require specific water heat conditions and chemistry, especially pregnant ghost shrimp. The entire ecosystem could collapse if the tank’s temperature or other conditions aren’t maintained properly.
When tank parameters deviate from their optimal levels, the habitat becomes extremely undesirable for expected ghost shrimps. At this point, they become anxious and fearful. They are distracted and unable to focus on reproducing. Keeping the perfect temperature and other variables constant at this hour is vital.
Ghost shrimp thrive under the following Parameters and temperatures:
Temperature
Ghost shrimp thrive between 68 and 82 °F. Nonetheless, 70–80 °F seems to bring out their greatest activity levels.
I strongly recommend an aquarium thermostat to measure your home aquarium’s temperature accurately. It’s inexpensive and incredibly dependable. In addition, the digital display makes it easy to monitor the tank’s condition at any time.
pH
pH, or potential for hydrogen, is your home aquarium’s unit of acidity/basicity. If the pH value is below 7, the substance is acidic; above 7, it’s at the base.
And the recommended range to keep a pregnant Ghost shrimp is somewhere between 7 to 8.
I suggest using an EASYTEST Aquarium Test Strip if you require to test the pH level. This test comes with 6-in-1 testing of your shrimp tank:
Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and many other water qualities are all quantifiable with this comprehensive test kit. As a result, the purchase is guaranteed to be beneficial for aquarists.
Besides, if you’re struggling, here’s how you can maintain the pH of your home aquarium.
gH
General hardness, abbreviated GH, refers to water’s dissolved magnesium and calcium. The GH level must be between 5 and 8 ppm to maintain an environment conducive to ghost shrimp.
kH
Carbonate alkalinity is often abbreviated as “KH.” This value represents the rate at which the pH can decrease or increase. For best results, keep the KH concentration in the water where your ghost shrimp are between 5 and 8 parts per million.
You can check your shrimp tank water’s GH and KH levels with EASYTEST Aquarium Test Strips. You don’t need to purchase a second test kit.
TDS
TDS is an abbreviation for “total dissolved solids,” which describes the number of solutes in a solution. Ghost shrimp can thrive in a TDS range of 150–200 ppm.
Pregnant shrimp thrive and feel their best when environmental conditions are kept within ideal parameters. If you can’t achieve perfection in balancing the definitive limits, at least strive to keep the limit ranges stable.
Good Tank Mates for Pregnant Ghost Shrimp
Maintaining a healthy habitat for pregnant ghost shrimp requires suitable tank mates. So, when keeping them alongside ghost shrimp or pistol shrimps, pregnant ghost shrimps will never get threatened. Pregnant ghost shrimps in the tank tend to avoid company and stay in the shadows.
Numerous reports exist claiming large fish pursuing and devouring ghost shrimp. Pregnant shrimps worry the most about being assaulted if their tankmates aren’t tranquil and dependable. If you’ve placed them with the worst tank mates, there will be no haven for them to raise their young in peace.
Pregnant ghost shrimps shouldn’t be exposed to conditions like this. It’s also clear that having compatible tank mates is crucial for maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Ghost shrimps are more at ease in an aquarium with other shrimp of a similar size and disposition.
In my experience, you should keep them for their maximum activity. The good thing is neither one has ever attacked or hurt the other.
But if you want only peaceful community fish in a community tank, I’ve compiled a list of recommended and undesirable tank mates for ghost shrimps.
Here’s the complete list:
| Best Tank Mates | Worst Tank Mates |
|---|---|
| Small Tetras | Angelfish |
| Dwarf suckers | Cichlids |
| Small rasboras | Discus |
| Snails | Fishes with a large mouth to gulp the shrimp in a single instance |
| Other shrimp species | Any aggressive fish such as Barbs, Mollies, Serpea Tetra, Betta, etc. |
Heavily Planted Tank
Plants in an aquarium play an essential part in maintaining the tank atmosphere properly. Plants recycle the waste products of the fish species, such as CO2 and ammonia, into usable oxygen. Furthermore, it establishes a balanced ecology within the aquarium that also aids in sustaining a positive and enjoyable atmosphere for the fish.
When keeping live plants in a shrimp tank, you can use them to regulate the Parameters of the water. And once your fish tank is in your control, pregnant ghost shrimps find good places to reproduce.
Furthermore, if you’re confused about which plants to add, here’s a list of the 10 best aquarium plants for new aquariums.
Baby Shrimp Care and Feeding
Because of their narrow jaws, baby shrimp must eat very delicate foods.
Infusoria are a close fit and easier to digest for the first week or two.
Some shrimp farmers have had better luck by placing java moss mops in the shrimp tank, where they enhance the growth of algae that the shrimp larvae can eat.
Try some liquid fried food for a change.
These are some of the best meals to give your baby shrimp during their first week:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would you do that? It would be best never to do this with your pregnant grass/ghost shrimps.
TBF, there are multiple factors in play. However, the common causes behind their sudden death include imbalance, frequent water changes, overfeeding, etc.
It would be best if you always kept them in at least a 10-gallon shrimp tank with a separate sponge filter. And also, make sure to keep the tank temperature above 70 °F.
Once fertilization is complete, you should wait another 3 weeks for the female ghost shrimp’s pregnancy.
I assume that pregnant shrimp becomes much less active than usual, as their natural inclination is to fan their eggs constantly, which oxygenates them and prevents them from dying.
Parting Thoughts
If you’re handling your ghost shrimp’s pregnancy for the very 1st time, it’s okay to panic.
However, instead of rushing things down on taking care of pregnant ghost shrimps, take a long breath and follow the basics as mentioned in this post.
That’s all for now.
Despite taking care of your pregnant ghost shrimps, if you need help, feel free to contact us via the comments below.