Your Ghost Shrimp Vet-Prep Sheet
Finfern honest freshwater care · finfern.com Ghost Shrimp — Vet-Prep Sheet
🔍 Find an aquatic / fish vet — before you need one
- Search the WAVMA aquatic-vet finder (the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association) — or search "aquatic / fish / exotics vet near me".
- Call ahead and ask the key question: "Do you treat fish?" Few vets do — and ask the exam fee while you're on the phone.
- Find and save one now, while things are calm — not in the middle of a crisis.
📇 Fill this in now — before the crisis
Two minutes now saves ten in a panic. Print it and keep it by the tank.
🚨 Is this an emergency now?
Act promptly — starting with a water test — if you notice any of these:
- Several shrimp dying within days of adding them, or right after a water change or new medication - stop, test the water for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, and check everything that went in the tank for copper.
- A shrimp lying on its side or unable to fully shed and free itself at a moult - often a sign of unstable parameters or insufficient GH/minerals for shell-building; test GH and stabilise before adding more shrimp.
- A milky-white ring or opaque band across the body (the 'white ring of death' at the neck) rather than the normal pre-moult cloudiness - commonly linked to water-quality or moulting stress; test and improve water rather than dosing anything.
- Cloudy water, an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0 ppm, or a recently-set-up tank - the tank is not ready; do not add or keep shrimp until it is cycled and stable.
- New arrivals turning suddenly opaque, twitching, or dying together shortly after being introduced - suspect an acclimation shock or a copper/medication issue; if unsure, ask an experienced shrimp keeper or aquatics vet before treating anything.
When in doubt, a vet call is never wrong — most issues are reversible if caught early.
🚗 On the way / while you wait
✅ Do
- Test your water NOW — ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and temperature — and correct the obvious (a big source of trouble is ammonia / nitrite).
- Keep the fish in its own stable, dechlorinated tank water.
- Move it to a hospital / quarantine tank if you already have one set up.
- Keep the tank calm and dimly lit — stress makes almost everything worse.
⛔ Don’t
- Don’t tip in OTC, aquarium-shop or forum “cures” blindly — many are harmful or just mask the real problem.
- Don’t make a big sudden water change or swing the parameters.
- Don’t add salt or medication without knowing the cause.
🎒 What to bring
- A recent water-test result — ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and temperature. Water quality is the root of most fish illness and the first thing a fish vet asks about.
- Clear photos and a short video — it may not show the behaviour or symptom in the clinic.
- A note of your setup and exactly what — and how often — you feed.
- Only if the vet advises transporting the fish: the fish in a bag or tub of its OWN tank water.
🗣️ What to tell the vet
A general vet may not know this species. Come ready to explain its correct care:
- Temperature
- 18-28°C (64-82°F). They are comfortable at ordinary room-temperature tropical settings around 22-26°C (72-79°F); what matters far more than the exact number is that it stays stable.
- pH
- 6.5-8.0, and they generally do best on the alkaline side of neutral (pH 7.0 or a little above).
- Hardness
- GH about 5-15 dGH (a moderately mineralised, "harder" water is preferred). KH roughly 3-8 dKH helps hold pH steady. Enough GH is not optional cosmetics here: the dissolved minerals are what let them build a firm new shell at each moult.
- Minimum tank
- Keeper-facing minimum is about 19 L (5 gal) for a small group, but a 38-40 L (10 gal) tank is the honest, easier target: more water dilutes mistakes, holds parameters steadier, and gives them room to graze. Bigger is genuinely better for a stable shrimp colony.
- Filtration & flow
- Gentle, shrimp-safe filtration. A sponge filter is the classic choice because there is no intake slot to trap a shrimp or a moult, and it doubles as a biofilm-covered grazing surface. If you run a hang-on-back or canister, cover the intake with a fine sponge or pre-filter guard, especially if any young are present. Aim for gentle flow, not a torrent.
- Diet
- Omnivorous scavenger. In the wild the bulk of the diet is algae, biofilm, and detritus, rounded out with tiny plant matter and small invertebrates.
- Tankmates / temperament
- Peaceful and busy scavengers. They are a touch more assertive than dwarf shrimp and turn opportunistic at feeding time, and they will pick at anything they can catch, including moulting shrimp, shrimplets, fry, or a sick, slow, long-finned fish.
⚕️ Most fish illness starts with water quality, not infection — bring a recent water test; it's the first thing a good fish vet will ask about. Fish medicine is specialised and few vets treat fish, so call ahead. Many aquarium-shop and OTC 'cures' are harmful or simply mask the real problem, so tell the vet exactly what (if anything) you’ve already added, and treat a sick fish in a separate hospital tank rather than dosing the whole display.
Then note which of the warning signs (above) you are seeing, when they started, and whether they are getting worse.
❓ Questions to ask
- Do you treat fish? If not, can you refer me to a vet who does?
- What are the likely causes — and could my water or setup be the cause?
- What is the treatment plan, the likely cost, and what should I watch for at home?
- How do I prevent this from happening again?