Many ghost shrimp keepers have often asked me if their ghost shrimps are edible or not. Though the question is a bit weird, I think it is a valid one. So, here’s what I have found after doing some research:
Yes, ghost shrimps are edible. They are safe to eat but not worth the effort.
Now that you know ghost shrimps are edible, should you try them out? Is it really worth the effort? Read the rest of the article to find out.
Not Worth The Effort
Though ghost shrimps are safe to eat, practically, eating them is not worth the effort. You’ll get very little amount of meat from each ghost shrimps. Ghost shrimp’s body is mostly gooey inside. So, hardly any meat that we can eat!
There are much better ways to dispose of ghost shrimps if you want.
Used As Feeder Shrimps
Ghost shrimps are perfect for using as feeder shrimps. If your tank has lots of ghost shrimps and you are thinking of ways to dispose them, eating them is not the way I’ll prefer. Use the ghost shrimps as feeder fish or make fish food out of them!
Many monster fishes like Arowana, Sting ray, Discus, Cichlids, etc. will love to hunt and eat the ghost shrimps. Ghost shrimps can be very cheap live feeder options for these fishes. They contain a rich amount of protein and other minerals.
If you don’t have any monster fishes to feed ghost shrimps, make fish food out of them.
How To Prepare Fish Food With Ghost Shrimps?
It is extremely easy. The ingredients of the fish food will depend on what type of fish you want to feed. Most fish foods contain a portion of protein, a portion of vegetables and flavoring.
For protein, along with other fishes, you can use the ghost shrimps. Just chop up the shrimps and put them in the food processor. You can also use other proteins like salmon fishes, beef heart, etc.
For vegetables, the choices are endless. I’ll recommend to include spinach, carrot, peas, etc.
For flavoring, use a few cloves of garlic. Mix everything in a food processor.
Lastly, use some sheets of gelatin so that the food gets a semi-solid form! After the food has properly formed, cut it into small pieces and feed to your fishes.
How To Cook?
If you want to cook and eat the ghost shrimps, you’re most welcome to try them out. Cook them like any other shrimps. First, get rid of the outer shell, you can’t eat that. Clean if there is any spine on the back of the shrimps.
After the ghost shrimps are thoroughly cleaned, you can fry them in deep oil and enjoy! You can also use them as flavorings to any other dishes!
Conclusion
So, now you know if ghost shrimps are edible or not. Though they are safe to eat, I’ll not recommend you to cook them. Practically, it is not worth the trouble.
You’ll be far much better off if you use the ghost shrimps as feeder fish or make fish food using them.
