Ghost shrimp
Sold cheaply as live food and as an algae eater, and it is neither reliably. It is a larger, more predatory shrimp than the dwarf species, it will take fry and it will occasionally take a sleeping fish — and 'ghost shrimp' in a shop tank routinely covers several unrelated species.
Quick profile
- Scientific name
- Palaemon paludosus
- Adult size
- 3–5 cm (1.2–2 in)
- Lifespan
- 1–1.5 years
- Temperature
- 18–28 °C (64–82 °F)
- pH
- 6.5–8
- Hardness
- 5–20 °dGH
- Minimum tank
- 40 L (11 US gal)
- Minimum length
- 45 cm
- Swimming zone
- Bottom
- Social
- Loose group
- Diet
- Scavenger
- Overall confidence
- low confidence
What keeping this species involves
Tolerant of a wide temperature and hardness range and cheap to obtain. What is unreliable is what arrives: stock sold as feeders is often poorly held and short-lived.
Still and slow fresh water with dense vegetation, including lakes, ditches and swamps.
Identity and names
- Common name
- Ghost shrimp
- Scientific name
- Palaemon paludosus
- Family
- Palaemonidae
- Order
- Decapoda
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Also sold as
- glass shrimp, riverine grass shrimp, Palaemonetes paludosus, feeder shrimp
- Former or synonymous names
- Palaemonetes paludosus
Name ambiguity
Long traded and published as Palaemonetes paludosus. The authority now treats Palaemonetes as a synonym of Palaemon, so the accepted combination is Palaemon paludosus; both names remain searchable and the shop label will say the old one.
Adult size and growth
3–5 cm (1.2–2 in)
Typical lifespan in an aquarium: 1–1.5 years. Almost every animal sold in a shop is a juvenile, so the tank has to suit the size in the first line rather than the size in the bag.
Water and tank requirements
Larger and more mobile than a dwarf shrimp, and needs planted cover to retreat into while moulting.
| Requirement | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 18–28 °C (64–82 °F) | Stability matters more than hitting an exact figure. |
| pH | 6.5–8 | A stable pH outside the ideal band is usually better than an unstable one inside it. |
| General hardness | 5–20 °dGH | Check your supplier's published figure before choosing species. |
| Minimum volume | 40 L (11 US gal) | A floor, not a recommendation. |
| Minimum footprint | 45 cm long | Larger and more mobile than a dwarf shrimp, and needs planted cover to retreat into while moulting. |
| Water flow | low | Match the outflow to this rather than to the filter's rating. |
| Lid required | Recommended | Reduces evaporation and prevents accidents. |
| Structure | Dense planting and cover. A moulting shrimp is defenceless and must be able to hide. |
Behaviour
- Swims in open water more readily than dwarf shrimp do.
- Picks at surfaces and at anything drifting past, using the front limbs.
Telling males from females
Females are larger and carry visible green eggs under the abdomen.
Feeding
An opportunist rather than a dedicated algae grazer. It will eat prepared food in preference to algae every time.
- Diet type
- Scavenger
- Staples
- Sinking foods, Detritus and biofilm, Blanched vegetables
Breeding
- Strategy
- Larval development in fresh water, with a planktonic stage
- Difficulty
- challenging
- Parental care
- carries eggs
Unlike the dwarf shrimp, the young are free-swimming larvae that need very small food and are usually eaten or filtered out.
Tankmates and compatibility
Assessments are derived from stored traits by the compatibility engine, with the reasoning shown. A verdict is a statement about probability, not a guarantee — individual temperament can override it.
| Towards | Risk | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Small fish | low | Anything that fits in the mouth is at risk once this species reaches adult size. |
| Adult dwarf shrimp | none | Cover reduces losses but rarely prevents them where the risk is high. |
| Shrimplets | high | Determines whether a shrimp colony can grow rather than merely persist. |
| Snails | low | Applies to snails you wanted as well as snails you did not. |
| Long or trailing fins | none | Fin damage is an entry point for secondary infection. |
| Plants | none | Tough species such as Anubias and Java fern survive most grazers. |
Assessed pairings
Any pair in the catalogue can be assessed with the compatibility checker.
Welfare considerations
Points where the way this species is commonly sold or kept differs from what it actually needs.
- 'Ghost shrimp' is a trade name rather than a species. Tanks sold under it can contain several Palaemon species with different adult sizes and temperaments.
- Sold as feeder stock and often held in poor conditions before sale, so losses in the first fortnight are common regardless of the receiving tank.
- Takes fry and small shrimp. It is not a safe tankmate for a dwarf shrimp colony you want to increase.
Problems to watch for
Most problems in a tank containing this species are general rather than species-specific. Start with the troubleshooting index and work from the observation rather than from a guess at the cause.
What AquariumHQ does not yet hold
Species-level disease susceptibility is modelled in the graph and is not yet populated. Health pages will not be published until each condition has veterinary sourcing, because health content written without evidence is the most harmful thing this product could publish. The gap is recorded in the coverage report.
Where it comes from
- Native range
- South-eastern United States, from Florida to Virginia and west to Texas
- Habitat
- Still and slow fresh water with dense vegetation, including lakes, ditches and swamps.
What the checklists say
2 distribution statements retrieved from GBIF checklists. Establishment means is reproduced from the source where it states one, and left unstated where it does not — a record of presence is not a record of origin.
| Status | Places | What this means |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded as present, establishment means not stated | 2 | The source records the species as present and does not say whether it is native or introduced. AquariumHQ does not fill that in. |
No checklist AquariumHQ holds positively calls this species native anywhere, so the native range above rests on AquariumHQ’s own reading of the literature rather than on a cited checklist.
Evidence
Every stored value with the kind of support behind it and where to check it. Evidence type and confidence are separate axes: an editorial position held confidently and a measurement held tentatively are different things.
| Claim | Value | Evidence type | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scientific name | Palaemon paludosus | Observed / measured | high confidence | Catalogue of Life; GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility |
| native range | South-eastern United States, from Florida to Virginia and west to Texas | Observed / measured | moderate confidence | GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility |
| adult size | 3–5 cm | Aquarium-literature consensus | low confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| lifespan | 1–1.5 years | Aquarium-literature consensus | low confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| temperature | 18–28 °C | Aquarium-literature consensus | low confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| ph | 6.5–8 pH | Aquarium-literature consensus | low confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| general hardness | 5–20 °dGH | Aquarium-literature consensus | low confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| minimum tank volume | ≥ 40 L | AquariumHQ editorial position | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| minimum tank length | ≥ 45 cm | AquariumHQ editorial position | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
Last reviewed 2026-08-10. Values labelled as an aquarium-literature consensus are AquariumHQ editorial positions rather than measurements — see how evidence is handled.
Why we say this
What each figure on this page rests on, and how far that is from being independently established.
Every figure on this page has a provenance. Open any claim to see what AquariumHQ holds for it, which sources say what, and what a claim of that kind actually needs. Different claims need different evidence: an accepted scientific name is settled by one authority, while a legal restriction needs a current primary instrument. A single source is often the right answer rather than a thin one.
scientific nameAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableBased on a verified authoritative source.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: accepted scientific name and classification — 1 authoritative source in an appropriate context. Checked against gbif on 2026-08-12. One authoritative backbone is what this class requires, and the source files it under "Palaemon paludosus" — both names are searchable.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
native rangeAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableLimited evidence — treat with caution.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: where the species occurs — 1 authoritative source in an appropriate context. 2 distribution statements held, and not one of them states an establishment means. Presence without native-or-introduced is not a native-range claim, so this stays below requirement rather than being read as one.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
adult sizeAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: size a well-kept specimen reaches — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
lifespanAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
temperatureAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
phAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
general hardnessAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
minimum tank volumeAquariumHQ's judgement — no authority publishes thisAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
No external authority publishes this. The rationale carries the reasoning.
What this kind of claim needs: minimum tank size — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No authority publishes this. AquariumHQ derives it, and the derivation is recorded with its inputs and assumptions.
What would improve this: Keep the rationale current. There is no source to find.
minimum tank lengthAquariumHQ's judgement — no authority publishes thisAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
No external authority publishes this. The rationale carries the reasoning.
What this kind of claim needs: minimum tank size — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No authority publishes this. AquariumHQ derives it, and the derivation is recorded with its inputs and assumptions.
What would improve this: Keep the rationale current. There is no source to find.
Group size and social behaviour
Tolerant of its own kind where there is cover and food. Underfed groups in bare tanks turn on each other.