Shop for tanks for aquatic pets online or at a pet store. Go with a tank that has a secure lid. Believe it or not, ghost shrimp can jump out of the water and escape! If you have an existing aquarium and want to add shrimp to it, keep in mind shrimp don’t do well with most fish species. Unless you’re raising the shrimp to feed your fish, keep them in a tank with other shrimp, snails, and docile fish, such as Cory catfish.

For a larger tank, go with an external aquarium filter with a sponge cover over the intake. That way, shrimp won’t accidentally get sucked into the filter. If you go with an external filter for a larger tank, choose one that changes 3 to 5 times the amount of water in your tank per hour. If you’re not sure which product to buy, head to the pet store and ask an employee for recommendations. [2] X Research source

Keeping live plants in the tank can also help oxygenate the water.

Ghost shrimp are sensitive to chemicals, dust, and debris, so be sure to rinse away any impurities before lining the tank. Add the gravel to the tank gently to avoid damaging the glass.

You could also put a cave or other decorative hiding spots in your aquarium. In addition to leafy aquatic plants, consider adding moss to the tank. Moss is low maintenance and will provide food for your shrimp.

Look online or at your local pet store for an aquarium heater and thermometer. The right heater depends on the size of your tank. A 50-watt heater should do the trick for a 10 gallon (38 L) tank. For other sizes, use this calculator to determine the wattage your heater needs: https://aquariuminfo. org/volumecalculator. html.

Then, after 1 to 2 weeks, test for nitrites. Look for nitrite levels to spike, then drop after a few days to 0 ppm. When nitrite levels drop, nitrate levels should increase. After 2 to 8 weeks, ammonia and nitrite levels should stabilize at 0 ppm, and nitrate levels should be under 2 ppm. Cycling the tank encourages healthy bacteria to grow. These bacteria consume ammonia and nitrite, which are toxic to ghost shrimp and other aquatic pets.

After adding the shrimp and water to the bowl, it should only be about half full. There needs to be enough room to add more water, so choose a large enough bowl.

Gravity will siphon water through the tube from the tank into the bowl. Monitor the water flow and, if necessary, tighten the rubber band to slow the drip. Allow water to drip into the bowl for about 30 minutes to slowly acclimate the shrimp to their new water’s chemistry.

Don’t just dump the water from the bowl into your tank, especially if you’re adding the shrimp to an existing aquarium. Water from the pet store may contain parasites and bacteria that could contaminate your tank.

Ghost shrimp will also munch on waste, algae, and other matter in the tank.

If you feed your shrimp store-bought pellets, check the instructions for the recommended amount to feed your pets. Watch your shrimp as they eat. Since their bodies are translucent, you’ll be able to see food make its way through their digestive systems!

Make sure the water temperature is around 75 °F (24 °C). If you’re only keeping shrimp in the tank, you shouldn’t need to do much more maintenance than water changes. However, if there are larger fish in the tank, periodically remove waste with a siphon vacuum or brush. Test your tap water before adding it to the tank. It should be free of heavy metals and chlorine, and ammonia and nitrite levels should be 0 ppm. If necessary, treat your water with a dechlorinator, which you can buy at the pet store, or use bottled or filtered water.

Unless you’re using your shrimp as food, fish species you should definitely avoid include oscars, arowanas, cichlids, angelfish, discus, and Triggerfish. If you want to add shrimp to your existing aquarium and don’t care if some get eaten, add at least 20 to the tank. The shrimp will be more resilient if their numbers are stronger. If you’re using the shrimp as food, it’s wise to establish a colony in a separate tank to replenish the population in the main aquarium. [13] X Research source

The water’s pH, or acidity level, should be neutral. If the pH isn’t between 6. 0 and 8. 5, purchase an aquarium tank amendment at the pet store. Treat the water according to your product’s instructions. If the ammonia or nitrite levels are over 0 ppm, do a 30% water change, remove any visible waste, and consider applying ammonia neutralizing drops to the water. If you have a friend who owns a healthy aquarium, you could also add gravel from their tank to yours to introduce beneficial bacteria.