New to Ghost Shrimp

[Mushu_17]

I haven't been here in a while, and alas! I return with Ghost Shrimp! I bought four Ghost Shrimp (2 males, and 2 females) that I'm keeping in my 5gal tank. It's cycled and everything. I'm posting this mainly because I have a few questions considering these cute creatures.

1) How often should I feed them? (I'm feeding them Hikari Algae Wafers, they're the large size. I dunno, someone told me there's smaller wafers too. Should I break it into pieces so there's one for each shrimp? Or let them nibble on one?)

2) How often do they breed?

3) How many can 1 female have?

4) What does it mean when they arch their back? (Earlier before I fed them I found one of my females arching her back under a plant. She straightened out when I accidentally scared her.)

5) How often do they shed?

You don't have to, but I would appreciate it if you could answer by number. It's just easier to see.

BONUS: I currently have 2 Mollies, 2 Platies, and the 4 Ghost Shrimp in my 5gal, is that too much? It's the maximum I plan on putting in there.

Thank you!

[Oldfishlady]

Welcome back......
Ghost shrimp are pretty neat little critters and fairly easy to care for, however, you fish may eat your baby shrimp once they are released unless you have some really good hiding places like java moss or other types plants that are hard for the fish to get into, also keep the nitrate level low as shrimp are sensitive to high nitrates.
Ghost shrimp also have a short life span of 1-2 years and will turn milky colored a week or so before they die.

1) I would not feed the shrimp anything, they will find left over food from the fish and other stuff to help keep your tank clean, too much food can cause your nitrate to rise as well.
2) mine stayed berried non stop, but I think it is usually about every 30 days or so they drop shrimplets but not 100% sure.
3) numbers vary and I have never counted mine but mainly because they drop so fast and the shrimplets are so small it is hard to say.
4 and 5) they arch their back to clean themselves and to aid in the shedding of the exoskeleton, again I have never really noticed how often they do that.

When they shed leave the exoskeleton in the tank for them to eat, they need the minerals to help them make a new one, also when they shed they are soft and the fish can kill them unless they have a good place to hide.
Your stocking is at its max IMO and as long as you do the needed water changes all should be fine, do you have live plants?

[Oldfishlady]

Also, how about some pic......would love to see some up dated shots of your tank

Hopefully someone else will post with more exact answers to your question I know mine are kind of general......

[Mushu_17]

Thank you for remembering me Oldfishlady. Well, how could you not? I only asked like 20 questions before, lol! I would show you pictures, but I just tried and right now they don't want to go from my camera to the computer for some weird reason.

I really need to work on getting more greenery. So far I have a little Anarchis floating on top and one Anubias in there. What are plants that you recommend that I could stock my 5g tank since I have Platies, Mollies, and Ghost Shrimp? I'd ask about my Betta's tank, but she seems to like the Anarchis alone.

[Oldfishlady]

What are your watts per gallon (wpg) on this tank and how old are the bulbs?

[Mushu_17]

The Anubias plant I bought at a pet shop about 3-4 months ago. It's healthy, and has been producing a new leaf every 4-5 weeks or so. The Anarchis I took off from my betta's tank (because that's where I'm growing it) about 2 weeks ago.

I have no clue about the wpg (thanks for explaining what it meant by the way), I'll have to check. You mean just the light watt, right?