Ghost Shrimp

[Orito]

Hi folks;

I bought 2 ghost shrimp today (like 76 cents), and got them in with my betta, Entei. At first, he just watched them, but a minute ago, he got close, and one of them latched onto him. He flipped out, and swam fast and the shrimp fell off, and now he seems to try to sneak up on them, but just watches. Is there going to be any issues here, or is he just learning about them?

Thanks in advance.

P.S.
I got to admit, I laughed pretty hard when the shrimp grabbed him.

[mkayum]

Originally Posted by Orito

Hi folks;

I bought 2 ghost shrimp today (like 76 cents), and got them in with my betta, Entei. At first, he just watched them, but a minute ago, he got close, and one of them latched onto him. He flipped out, and swam fast and the shrimp fell off, and now he seems to try to sneak up on them, but just watches. Is there going to be any issues here, or is he just learning about them?

Thanks in advance.

P.S.
I got to admit, I laughed pretty hard when the shrimp grabbed him.

Be careful with those "shrimps", I had a group of them but they attacked my poor betta and they were ripping his fins and chewing on it. . I removed them immediately and put them in my 20 gallon tank. They haven't bother my bamboo shrimp & fish. My betta recovered and is doing okay.

But the ghost shrimps were wary of my bamboo shrimp. lol.

anyway keep eye on your betta and the shrimps. They'd be okay as long your betta understands not to be near them lol.

[Orito]

Yeah, Entei has pretty much left them alone since that encounter.

[LittleWatty]

They've done that once to Sonas, as far as I've seen. Every once and a while, they'll be buzzing around at the surface, trying to get on the lily leaves, and will lad on top of his head. Sonas just kind of makes a "whatever" face until the shrimp swims off again. I have seen them try to nibble at his fins though, so like mkayum said, keep an eye out.

[Orito]

I was checking up on them bi-hourly, but it seems they pissed Entei off. Pip and Pop are dead. Pop is completely gone, but Pip was half eaten. I, of course, removed him.

Atleast Entei and Blueberry are seeming to get along.

[wombatgirl]

The ghost shrimp I have in with Jayne are afraid of him, but I think he's eaten like 2 of them (started with 5, I'm down to 2, and I know one just showed up dead one day, so I removed him).

I'm about to put Gimli in with some large shrimp, but he's pretty aggressive and fast, so I'm not worried. Not that I won't be watching with an eagle eye tho!

[aokashi]

yeah... some "ghost shrimps" are actually macrobrachiums in disguise...

[LittleWatty]

I just looked that up, and my god, those things are giant!

[Orito]

It would seem that macrobrachium as children look similar to ghost shrimp. The only thing I was able to find that distinguishes them is their claw size, and their activity (tending to swim more). If that's the case, one of my ghost shrimp was rather active, and macrobrachiums are aggressive, so that could explain Entei's behavior.

Of course, this information was gained by browsing the internet, so take it with a grain of salt. I figure next time I'm by the store, I'll pick up shrimp that I know can't be confused... If there is such a species.