What Are The Ideal Tank Mates For Ghost Shrimp?

Ghost shrimps are very peaceful and delicate creatures. They don’t harm or attack any mates around them, but they do get attacked sometimes if you don’t have the right tank mates for them. Here are some of the ideal tank mates for ghost shrimps:

• Dwarf suckers 
• Small tetras 
• Small rasboras
• Snails
• Small barbs
• Cory catfish
• Other types of shrimps
• Any fish that is not aggressive or territorial

As ghost shrimps are very small most of the time they cannot defend the attacker and get physically harmed. Shrimplets sometimes get killed and eaten too by other species.

This is why, for keeping them alive and letting them survive properly, good tank mates are very important. In this article, I will be giving some ideal tank mate names and other related information of those species that you can keep with ghost shrimps.

So, if you are confused about which tank mates are ideal, please go through this whole article! 

Ideal Tank Mates For Ghost Shrimps Include: 

Good Tank Mates	Bad Tank Mates
Other shrimp species	Discuss
Dwarf suckers	Cichlids
Small rasboras	Discus
Small Tetras	Angelfish
Snails	Fishes with a large mouth to gulp the shrimp in a single instance

Now, I am going to list them one by one and provide other necessary information about them: 

Dwarf Suckers 

Care Level: Low 

Maximum Size: 2 Inches

Behavior: Relatively Peaceful

Dwarf suckers are very peaceful and small species like ghost shrimps. They are very easy to look after and their maintenance is easy too. 

They are amazing algae eaters thus you will see them gazing around algae most of the time. That is how they play a big role in cleaning the tank. 

Dwarf suckers are widely available in the market. They are highly recommended to keep with ghost shrimps as they are peaceful species and mind their own business. 

Small Tetras 

Care Level: Low

Maximum Size: Less Than 2.5 Inches

Behavior: Peaceful

Tetras are hardy schooling fishes and they are ideal for every type of tank. They are small in size and their maintenance is very easy. By nature, tetras are not aggressive and easily mix with other species. 

Tetras live and mostly roam around in the mid to upper range of the tank. Thus ghost shrimps can peacefully live in the bottom area. 

There are many types of tetras. But the best ones for a ghost shrimp tank are: 

• Neon tetra
• Ember tetra

Tetras should be kept in a group of at least 15-20 to thrive without any stress. But if you have a small tank then don’t forget about the bioload. 

Small Rasboras 

Care Level: Moderate

Maximum Size: About 2 Inches 

Behavior: Relatively Peaceful

Rasboras are peaceful and hardy schooling fishes like tetras. They also live and roam in the mid and upper areas of the tank. They need clean water and a little bit of care to survive properly. 

There are many types of rasboras but you have to choose the small ones for keeping with ghost shrimps as the small ones seem more peaceful. 

The best ones to keep with ghost shrimps are:

• Harlequin Rasbora
• Phoenix Rasbora

Like tetras, rasboras also should be kept in a group of 8-10 members to thrive without any stress. They will not fight or cause any harm to any species so you can keep them with ghost shrimps without worrying. 

Snails 

Snails are the most peaceful species and the best for keeping with ghost shrimps. They roam around very little and will mind their own businesses. 

There are many types of snails and the small ones are always recommended to keep with ghost shrimps. Some ideal snail types for ghost shrimps are: 

• Assassin snail
• Malaysian trumpet snail
• Nerite snail
• Gold mystery snail
• Bumblebee snail

You don’t have to take care of shrimps at all. You just have to make sure the temperature and water parameters are in balance. They also don’t require any special food. They will live happily eating uneaten food bits and algae from your tank. 

Small Barbs 

Care Level: Moderate

Maximum Size : 3 Inches

Behavior: Relatively Peaceful 

Small barbs are good to be kept with ghost shrimps. They don’t need too much maintenance and, easy to take care of. All you need to do is keep them with peaceful tank mates in a good environment. 

There are many kinds of barbs but not every type is suitable to keep with ghost shrimps. The best options are: 

• Cherry barbs 
• Hexagon barb
• Gold barb

These are small in size and peaceful like ghost shrimps. You have to keep a group of barbs in your tank together. 

Cory Catfish

Care Level: Moderate

Maximum Size: 2.5 Inches

Behavior: Peaceful

Cory catfish are small in size and very peaceful species. Their care and maintenance are easy as well. Maintaining the water parameters and tank environment besides normal feeding is good enough for their survival. 

They are hardy schooling fishes like tetras and rasboras. So, it is recommended to keep a group of them together in a tank. 

Cory catfish are bottom dwellers. But don’t worry they will mind their own business and live happily with other peaceful species. 

Small Guppies 

Care Level: Low 

Maximum Size: 2.5 Inches 

Behavior: Medium Peaceful 

Guppies are freshwater fishes and very easy to take care of. Many like to keep guppies as ghost shrimps tank mates. 

But, only the small guppies can be kept with ghost shrimps as tank mates because guppies are not very peaceful. There have been cases where guppies tried to harm fishes that are smaller in size. 

So, if you want to keep guppies with ghost shrimps make sure you are keeping the smaller ones. Also, you have to maintain caution in this case. Make sure you have enough hiding places for your ghost shrimps in the tank. Besides this, regularly try to feed the guppies so that they don’t chase your ghost shrimps. 

Tank mates to avoid for ghost shrimps 

As I mentioned, aggressive and big fishes that have big mouths are not good to keep with ghost shrimps. I am listing some below that you should avoid totally if you want to keep your ghost shrimps alive and stress-free:

• Angel fish: Angle fishes are aggressive and sometimes get very territorial. They can eat any fish or small fish they can catch. There have been many cases where ghost shrimps were attacked and killed by angel fish.

• Discus: Like angelfish, discus is also very territorial and attacks if any species comes in its way. Small species are always harmed by discus.

• Cichlids: Cichlids are known for being aggressive and territorial behavior. They are not ideal as tank mates for small species and ghost shrimps.

• Betta Fish: Bettas are not as good as tank mates. They like to live alone, thus attack the other tank mates in the tank.

• Mollies and swordtails: Both of these fishes get very big and can gulp up ghost shrimps in one try. And most of the time chase ghost shrimp to kill or harm them.

• Goldfish: Goldfishes are very territorial. They get very aggressive and attack species that comes in their way. Small tank mates are always harmed and attacked by goldfishes.

• Turtles: turtles may seem very peaceful but they are not at all. There have been many cases where they attacked medium sized species. In front of turtles, ghost shrimps are nothing, so it is better to not keep them with turtles.

• Oscars: Oscars are very aggressive and temperamental. They are only suitable for a few tank mates. So, never think of keeping Oscars with ghost shrimps if you don’t want to see all of them dead.

• Axolotl and Gourami: These fishes get very big with time. These can eat up ghost shrimps in one try or harm them easily. Thus these are forbidden to keep as ghost shrimps tank mates.

Small Fish That Can Eat Ghost Shrimps

Big fishes do harm and can kill ghost shrimps but there are some small fishes too that can kill ghost shrimps. I am listing below some small fishes that you should never think of keeping as ghost shrimps tank mates. 

These can get very aggressive and temperamental even though very small in size. So, never think as they are small they can be ideal as tank mates for ghost shrimps:

Scarlet Badis 

Even though very small in size, scarlet badis can be very aggressive. They can chase ghost shrimps and attack without any reason. 

Goby fish 

Goby fish are also territorial and aggressive. They are not good tank mates for ghost shrimps even though small. 

Ember tetra

As I already mentioned, not all tetras are good for keeping with ghost shrimps and ember tetra is one of them. So, never think of keeping them with ghost shrimps. 

Sparkling gourami 

Even though sparkling gourami is a type of gourami, but they are not peaceful towards their tank mates. So, even though they are small they are forbidden to keep with ghost shrimps. 

Why Are Good Tank Mates So Important? 

Good tank mates are important if you want to keep your ghost shrimps alive and survive for a long time without getting stressed and killed. Ghost shrimps are peaceful and very sensitive. They need a very peaceful environment to survive happily.

If you don’t have good tank mates, ghost shrimps can be chased or attacked. This makes ghost shrimps stressed and they feel very unsafe in the tank. if this continues you will see your ghost shrimps jumping out of the tank. 

And if you still don’t separate the ghost shrimps from that tank, they can die from stress. So, even if you give your ghost shrimps the best environment possible, if they get eaten or die of by their tank mates or die of stress, the environment will be of no benefit. 

This is why you have to ensure everything around them on how they need it for making the tank suitable. And good tank mates are very important for keeping the environment suitable besides keeping the water and the parameters in balance. 

Making The Tank Safer For Ghost Shrimps 

• Always keep a group of ghost shrimps together in a tank. They feel safe and secure when there are plenty of them in the tank. If you only keep 2-3 ghost shrimps they may get stressed because they will feel unsafe. At least a group of 10 ghost shrimps is recommended to keep together in a tank. 
• No matter how peaceful tank mates the ghost shrimps have, if they don’t find enough hiding places they may stress out. That is why keep the tank heavily planted and decorate it for making enough hiding spots for the ghost shrimps. 
• You can use rocks, cholla wood, driftwoods with lots of holes in it. Decorating with these you can make good hiding places for ghost shrimps. 
• If you have other tank mates, keep them in your observation soon after you put those in the tank, and make sure the ghost shrimps are not being chased. 
• Feed the tank species properly with the right amount of food so that the other tank mates don’t chase or fight for food with the ghost shrimps. 
• Ghost shrimps are the safest when kept in a shrimp only tank. I will highly recommend you to keep ghost shrimps in a separate tank if you have this option. 

Conclusion 

Now that you are at the end of this article, you’ve got a clear idea about the ideal tank mates for ghost shrimps. Also, I listed the species you should avoid as ghost shrimps tank mates too. 

Now that you are fully aware of the good and bad tank mates, I hope you will be choosing accordingly. If you are able to choose the ideal tank mates for the shrimps, you will see your ghost shrimps the most active and living the fullest.