How Much Do Ghost Shrimps Cost?

Before you start keeping ghost shrimps, you may wonder how much do ghost shrimps cost. I did some research as well about the cost before buying ghost shrimps for my tank and thought of sharing it:

Ghost shrimps can cost around $1 to $3 per piece. The price mainly varies on the shrimp’s quality, shop type, and male/female ghost shrimps. 

Ghost shrimps cost less than the other available shrimps in the market. Let’s dig into the topic more to get detailed ideas about the factors and the costing of ghost shrimps. 

Some Stores You Can Buy Ghost Shrimps From

Shop names	Price range (per piece)	Available online/local store	Size of ghost shrimps(maximum)
PetSmart	$ 0.39- $ 1	Local store only	1.2 inch
LiveAquaria	$ 1.89- $ 2	Online store only	1.5 inch
Amazon	$ 1.60- $ 2.50	Online store only	1.5 inch
eBay	$ 1.20- $ 2	Online store only	1.5 inch

These are some of the well-known stores you can look into if you are searching for ghost shrimps. Before buying, make sure you do research by yourself to make sure the stores are reliable. 

Factors That Determine The Cost Of Ghost Shrimps

Some of the major factors that determine the cost of ghost shrimps are: 

• Ghost shrimps quality
• Online or local fish store
• Male/female ghost shrimp

Let’s take a deep look into the factors now:

Shrimp’s Quality 

Depending on the ghost shrimp’s quality the cost per shrimp can differ. Many fish stores have great quality ghost shrimps and you can tell that looking at those. 

Ghost shrimps are transparent and you can see everything in their body. Transparent ghost shrimps are the best quality ones. The more transparent the ghost shrimps, the higher the cost.

You will find many fish stores that sell ghost shrimps. But not every store will have the best quality ghost shrimps. The normal quality ghost shrimps will cost a little less. 

Ghost shrimps that are not fully transparent or have freckles in their body are sold at a low rate per shrimp. Most of the fish shops sell these types of ghost shrimps. So, you have to search a lot to get the good quality ones for your tank. 

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Online Or Local Shop

There are two sources you can buy ghost shrimps from and those are online fish stores and local fish stores. You can choose any source depending on your time and place. However, both of these have some pros and cons. 

Let’s compare both of these sources: 

Local Fish Stores

If you are lucky enough, you can have some local fish stores near you that sell ghost shrimps. As ghost shrimps have no grade the only thing you have to look for is the quality. If you have a lot of fish stores near you the prices will vary depending on the quality. 

There are also many big retail stores that sell ghost shrimps. Some of the well-known retail stores are: Petco and PetSmart. There are many more national and international pet chain stores that sell ghost shrimps. 

If you search near your area you will find some fish stores for sure. And if there is only one store near you, they will sell those at a higher price than the normal price. 

Pros: 

• You can examine the ghost shrimps before buying
• You can ensure the quality 
• Higher survival rate if the ghost shrimps are of good quality
• You can bargain if it is not a fixed price store

Cons: 

• The quality can be lower compared to a professional breeder

Online Fish Stores 

Most of the time people nowadays buy shrimps online and there are many reasons why they choose this source. 

One of the main reasons for choosing an online store is you do not have to go in person to get it. They will come and deliver it to your doorstep. So, if you don’t have enough time to go and find, online stores are a good option.

You can also search for good quality ghost shrimps easily seeing reviews of people. There are many well-known online stores that sell ghost shrimps such as Amazon, eBay, Flip Aquatics, The shrimp Farm, etc. 

The cost per shrimp can be higher or lower than local stores and they will ask for the shipping or delivery charge.

Pros: 

• A large collection of good quality ghost shrimps
• They will deliver to you and it saves your time
• No hassle of finding stores here and there
• You can order from professional breeders 

Cons: 

• You won’t be able to examine the shrimps before buying
• Can take a long time for shipping if you order internationally
• Poor packaging can kill the ghost shrimps
• Lower survival rate if shipping takes too much time

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Male/ Female Ghost Shrimps 

The price per piece of female ghost shrimps can be a little bit higher than the male ghost shrimps. Sometimes you will see many shops selling female ghost shrimps carrying eggs too, and the price per piece can be higher than the other ghost shrimps. 

Female ghost shrimps can carry eggs. They reproduce more often if kept in a good environment thus female shrimps can be higher in price than male ghost shrimps. However, the difference in the price is not that big. 

You have to buy male and female both for your tank. And buying a group of them is always recommended because they feel secure if there are plenty of them in the tank together. 

Things To Keep In Mind While Buying Ghost Shrimps 

While Buying From Local Stores

• Check the shrimps properly before buying any. Try to find transparent ghost shrimps as transparent ones are the good quality ones.
• Only get those that seem active and healthy. Active and healthy shrimps will roam around the tank and graze on algae. 
• If any shrimp seem sick in the tank, don’t buy any from that tank. 
• Before buying compare the quality and price of the ghost shrimps with other available stores near you. Never hurry while buying ghost shrimps. Always check and take time to examine. 

While Buying From Online Stores 

• Before ordering from any website make sure its trustworthy and reliable. Check reviews of other customers or get suggestions from near ones who bought ghost shrimps online. 
• Order from a website that takes less time to deliver. If the delivery time seems too long it is better not to order from that page.
• Nowadays many reliable online stores offer Guaranteed Live Arrival. Also, some may ship 20% more on the total order you made. This is to make up for any lost shrimp during the shipping. Both of these are great signs of a reliable brand. 
• Never buy from any website that doesn’t have any feedback or customer review section. 

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Conclusion 

Ghost shrimps are relatively cheaper compared to other shrimps. So those who want to keep shrimps but have a low budget can easily get ghost shrimps for their tank. I included almost everything you need to know about the cost and other factors related to this.  

I hope this article helped you with every information related to ghost shrimps costing.