When keeping ghost shrimp, you must select tankmates with great care. Ghost Shrimp are tiny and defenseless. They lack claws or any other means to defend themselves against predators. Bigger tank mates can bully or eat ghost shrimp.
The majority of ghost shrimp are peaceful. These shrimp like to live together in small or large groups. But, there should be enough space in the aquarium for each to have some alone time. If there are too many ghost shrimp in one area with not enough space, they will act aggressively.
Ghost Shrimp need to live in tanks with lots of places for them to hide. If you want your shrimp to be happy, put some aquarium plants in their tank. The plants give them places to hide, feed, and safely scan the tank.
19 Best Ghost Shrimp Tank Mates
The most important thing to remember is that you need to choose non-aggressive tank mates for your ghost shrimp. With that said, these are the best ghost shrimp tank mates:
Chili Rasbora
The chili rasbora – also known as the mosquito rasbora – is a tiny (and colorful) rasbora species. Chili rasboras are beautiful creatures. They should be an excellent addition to a shrimp tank and will not cause any problems for shrimp.
Most rasbora fish are hardy if they have the right food. They need food that stays in the middle of the water column. The food needs to be small enough to fit in their mouths.
Guppy Fish
Guppies are another peaceful fish that is also easy to keep with shrimp. Due to their size, they are unlikely to cause much of a problem for all but the tiniest shrimp fry. Adult ghost shrimp are usually about the same size as guppies. That means that they will get along well together as the guppy won’t try to eat them.
Endler’s Livebearers
Endlers are small fish that can live in tanks with ghost shrimp. These are colorful fish and will look good in your aquarium. Endlers are docile fish that will not cause any issues for your shrimp.
Bristlenose Plecos
One type of pleco that you can keep in a ghost shrimp tank is the Bristlenose Plecos. They will not eat your ghost shrimp, but they will eat dead shrimp in the aquarium. Bristlenose plecos are good for eating algae in tanks. They stay small, so they can go in any tank that is 25 gallons or more. Bristlenose plecos do best with driftwood in the tank. They eat any algae in the aquarium, but you still need to feed them wafers made of algae to provide a balanced diet.
Celestial Pearl Danios
Celestial pearl danios (also known as galaxy rasboras) are beautiful fish that don’t bother adult shrimp. But they might eat baby shrimp. The species also feed in the middle of the water column. So you need to provide fish food that floats throughout your entire water column long enough for them to feed.
Clown Pleco
The clown pleco is a fantastic variety of pleco that has an eye-catching brown and gold pattern. They are a shy species. They hide a lot when you first add them to your tank. Sometimes, weeks pass by, and you won’t see them. You will start to see them more often as they get used to their new home.
Driftwood is quite crucial to their health and well-being. Clown plecos love it! It aids in the breakdown of food in their stomach. If you don’t have any driftwood, they’ll be depressed and will likely die. The clown pleco grows to only a few inches in length, so you may put one of them in any aquarium that is at least 25 gallons.
Cherry Barbs
These striped fish like to be together. Cherry barbs make a beautiful addition to any aquarium, and you should raise them in groups of six or more.
Hatchetfish
Hatchfish eats from the surface of the water and are not a problem for ghost shrimp. They can die if you don’t feed them enough floating food even if there is plenty deeper in the tank. They are cool-looking fish because of their body shape. They need an aquarium that is 20 gallons or bigger.
Kuhli Loaches
Kuhli loaches are a type of peaceful, eel-like fish. They make a good pet for any aquarium that is big enough to hold them. Kuhil loaches are not likely to attack adult ghost shrimp, but they might eat a baby if it swims close enough. If you already have a stable population of ghost shrimp, then Kuhil loaches will not make much difference in their growth.
Zebra Loach
Nerite Snails
Nerite snails are an entirely peaceful type of snail. They don’t hurt anything else in your aquarium except for algae. They eat algae most other fish won’t, including hair algae and black beard algae.
But, there are some disadvantages to consider. They will leave infertile eggs all over the place. These eggs will never hatch because they need brackish water. You will have to remove them.
Nerite snails are also quite the escape artist. If they don’t like the water in your tank, they will crawl up to the top of your tank and find a way out. Use a lid to stop their escape.
Mystery Snails
Another good ghost shrimp tank mate is mystery snails. Mystery snails come in different colors and look good excellent against any aquascape. These snails lay eggs above the waterline and, unlike nerite snail eggs, they do hatch. You can remove the eggs if you don’t want any more snails. They aren’t algae eaters, but they will clean up uneaten fish food.
Corydoras Catfish
Corys are hardy fish for their size and are perfect pets for freshwater community tanks. Caring for cory catfish is easy and they don’t bother other fish, snails, or shrimp.
Otocinclus Catfish
The only type of fish that is 100% suitable for a ghost shrimp tank is the otocinclus catfish. They won’t harm the adult shrimp. They won’t eat baby shrimp. Otos are easy-going and calm, so they’ll get along with your shrimp and other peaceful tank mates.
Red Cherry Shrimp
Other species of shrimp can live with ghost shrimp. Cherry shrimp are easy to take care of. They come in many colors like red, blue, and gold. These shrimp get along well with each other.
Bamboo Shrimp
Bamboo shrimp are filter feeders. They have hands shaped like mitts—these shrimp feed by catching food with their ‘mitts’ from the water. If you see them feeding on the ground, you need to give them more food. Fine flakes and other small food particles that float below the water column are good choices.
Vampire Shrimp
Vampire shrimp are like bamboo shrimp. They are both filter feeders and have the exact food requirements. They are different in that they come in different colors. The most notable is the beautiful blue color of the vampire shrimp. These shrimp get along well with ghost shrimp.
Amano Shrimp
Amano shrimp are an excellent pet to put in your aquarium. They will eat algae and leftover food. These shrimp spend most of their time scavenging for food. Amano shrimp are tough and can live for a long time if they survive the first few weeks in your aquarium.
Asian Gold Clam
Asian Gold Clams have shells that are gold, light brown, or tan. The shell is different from other more spherical freshwater clams because their shells are oblong. They are peaceful and won’t bother your ghost shrimp.
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