Breeding Ghost Shrimp (Palaemonetes Paludosus) In The Aquarium

Location

This species lives in freshwater reservoirs (rivers, streams and lakes) with lot of plants in southern states of the US (Florida, Louisiana, Texas and California).

Body description

The shrimp has transparent body and carapace with delicate colour dots. There is yellowish-orange spot on the middle of the telson. Colour of the species can change together with changes of the environment, so it can easy disguise. The species has big, bulging and widely spaced eyes and 5 pairs of the walking legs. Female is larger than male. She has also a characteristic green "saddle" just behind her head. This species molts in order to grow.

Characteristics and temperament

It is very active species - it is busy all the time. Then it digs little burrows in a substrate, or it cleans their, or it feeds, or it cleans its body. And so over and over again. When we keep this species in a general aquarium with its natural predators then it is active in the night. It hides among the plants or in its burrow during the day. This species is more active in warmer water. Then it can be also aggressive but it feeds smaller shrimps, their larvae or fish fry regardless of the water temperature. The species has milky body when we have bad conditions in aquarium or when the shrimp is sick. This is a signal that milky shrimp will shortly die. Then we should check all water parameters.

Aquarium decoration

This species prefers clean water without heavy metals and nitrogen compounds. The water should be oxygen-rich with gentle flow and we should systematic do a partial water changes. The aquarium should include a soft substrate (sand or very fine gravel), hiding-places among roots, stones, rocks, pots or coconut shells, natural plants. We shouldn't keep these shrimps with fish which feed crustaceans, bigger fish and smaller species of shrimps.

Breeding

This species reproduces sexually. Matured female is ready to reproduce just after her molt and before hardening her a new carapace. The male recognizes ready to breeding female the direct physical contact. He rubs against her. Then male connects with female and he deposits his sperm inside her. She doesn't lay eggs immediately. She can lay the eggs within a few hours without male. Then the eggs are fertilized externally by female. Next she puts fertilized eggs under her abdomen in her pleopods until their hatching. She fans the eggs her uropods and she shifts their in her pleopods all the time. The eggs have black dots - eyes - just before their hatching. The larvae strats feeding immediately after hatching. This is complete metamorphism. The larvae reaches completely sexually mature and they look like adults after another 3 transformations. We don't need to transfer this species to a separate tank with brackish water during the breeding. The species reproduces easily but feeding the larvae is difficult. It needs a special food otherwise it starves and dies. We should feed the larvae highly fragmented algae or artemia.