Today, we’re going to do like Bubba Gump and talk about some shrimp. The Amano shrimp and the ghost shrimp are both very common in the home aquarium scene. For many people, there can be a lot of confusion because these creatures look so similar.
At first glance, it would be quite easy to mistake one for the other, but that’s because not all differences are obvious. When we compare Amano shrimp vs ghost shrimp, we have to look below the surface.
The Amano Shrimp
The Amano shrimp is a small species of shrimp that lives in the Pacific Ocean. It is named for Takashi Amano, the Japanese man who first introduced this species to the pet trade.
This is not a particularly easy species to breed, but a lot of people like them nevertheless. They are most commonly used as bottom feeders to help clean aquarium tanks.
The Ghost Shrimp
The ghost shrimp is a small species of shrimp that is native to the lakes and rivers of North America. They are called “ghost shrimp” (or sometimes “glass shrimp”) because their skins are completely transparent.
You can see every organ in their bodies, and you can even watch their entire digestive process if you so desire. These creatures are most commonly used as feeders because they are exceptionally easy to breed.
The Differences
Superficially, these creatures don’t look that different, so let’s go over their differences one by one.
Saltwater Vs. Freshwater
Source: McGrawHill Education
When we compare Amano shrimp vs ghost shrimp, we are comparing a saltwater shrimp to a freshwater shrimp. If you called the Amano shrimp the saltwater equivalent of the ghost shrimp (or vice versa), you wouldn’t be far from the mark.
Although Amano shrimp can survive in a freshwater or brackish-water tank, they do best in a saltwater aquarium. If you want them to breed, you really don’t have any other option. The ghost shrimp, by contrast, lives only in freshwater.
Ghost Shrimp Are Much Easier To Breed
Source: Aquariumcarebasics
Ghost shrimp are exceptionally easy to breed. They will tolerate a much wider range of conditions and require no salt in the water at all. They do require a place to hide and lay their eggs (like a thick carpet of floating moss, for instance), but that’s about all they need. That’s why many pet stores will sell ghost shrimp as feeders for insanely low prices.
If you want to know why it’s hard to breed Amano shrimp in captivity, the answer is fairly simple. The Amano shrimp has a complicated reproductive cycle that is hard to duplicate in a home aquarium, and most of the problem comes down to that.
In the wild, the female lays her eggs and carries them around for a while. They are held under the belly until they hatch, but that’s as far as the mother’s care goes.
The hatchlings are swept out to sea, where they spend the majority of their young lives. Once they have grown, they return to the river and spend the rest of their lives in freshwater. Thus, this shrimp is neither freshwater nor saltwater, but something in between. In some ways, it can be good that this species does not breed easily. After all, not everyone wants their animals to breed.
Likewise, the water will have to have sufficient salinity. If you aren’t running a strictly saltwater tank, you will need to add a scoop of salt from time to time.
Breeding Amano shrimp is a very challenging affair, and so, not a lot of keepers have managed to do it successfully. As a breeder, Amano shrimp are not recommended for beginners. Their water needs to have a pH between 6.5 and 7.5, with a temperature between 62 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
Appearance
Although these two species have a similar appearance, it is easy to tell them apart. The main difference is that the ghost shrimp is completely transparent, while the Amano shrimp might be described as “semi-transparent.” You will see only the faintest of markings on the ghost shrimp, while the Amano shrimp has a pale exoskeleton with small but very visible markings.
In case you are wondering why the ghost shrimp is transparent, it is believed to be an adaptation that helps to protect them from predators. In the dark and murky depths of a North American river, a creature like this would have a natural advantage over more visible creatures.
The Amano shrimp doesn’t possess this perk, but they seem to have done alright for themselves nevertheless.
Lifespan
The average lifespan of an Amano shrimp is 2-3 years, while the average lifespan for a ghost shrimp is somewhere between six months and a year. Because of this, ghost shrimp don’t make the best pets unless you give them the right conditions to breed.
Aggression
In general, the ghost shrimp is more aggressive than the Amano shrimp. This is kind of fortunate because the ghost shrimp is the smaller of the two. Thus, they cannot do as much damage. If your tank includes small and docile fish like platys and tetras, the ghost shrimp might not be the best choice.
However, the Amano shrimp shines in this department. You might wonder why people like the Amano shrimp so much. After all, it isn’t that colorful or large, and it’s harder to keep in captivity. The thing is, an Amano shrimp can get along with just about anything. They are very peaceful creatures and should pose no danger to anything.
Feeders Vs. Tank Cleaners
Most people buy shrimp for one of two reasons: Food and hygiene. They make exceptionally good feeders for carnivorous creatures of all sorts, and they also do a good job of cleaning algae and other debris from the bottom of an aquarium. The ghost shrimp is far better suited for use as a feeder animal, while the Amano is far better suited for use as a tank cleaner.
There are several reasons for this fact. For one thing, Amano shrimp is not as easy to breed, and they are a little bit more expensive. Thus, it would make no sense to use them as feeders. Ghost shrimp, on the other hand, would not be well suited for use as tank cleaners because they have a very short lifespan.
Also, they are known to have some aggression problems when it comes to smaller fish. They are too small to bother most fish, but small and docile species might have some trouble.
The Amano shrimp is consistently rated as one of the best tank cleaners around. It has a particularly big appetite for algae, and this is good because algae tend to build up very quickly in some tanks.
Ghost shrimp will eat it too, but they won’t eat it with the same voraciousness that you would see from the Amano shrimp. This might have a little bit to do with the fact that the Amano shrimp is a little larger and, thus, needs a little more food. Amano shrimp love algae so much that you will probably have to supplement their diet with algae wafers.
Sexual Differences
It isn’t always so easy to tell a male fish from a female one. Since they lack external genitalia, you usually have to go by the differences in color and/or body structure. The process of sexing Amano shrimp is much different than that used for ghost shrimp.
To tell a male Amano shrimp from a female one, you have to look at the markings on the lower half of their bodies. Both males and females will be covered in small circular markings, and these markings are laid out along two lines.
The upper line will look virtually identical between the two sexes, but the lower line will differ. On a female Amano shrimp, the lower markings will look like dashes (short lines rather than dots). The females will generally be a little larger than the males as well.
Ghost shrimp don’t have any such obvious markings, so telling the sexes apart can be a little tricky. There is a general difference in body shape, with the females having rounder bellies and the males having a more slender profile.
However, you can tell with a lot more surety by looking for the ovary of the female. This ovary is located right behind the head. This patch will have a yellow or green color. In case you’re wondering, that color comes from unfertilized eggs. You will be able to see a lot more as the pregnancy progresses.
In short, you can tell a female ghost shrimp by taking advantage of its transparent exoskeleton. Only the females get pregnant, and you can see the internal results. Thus, it is pretty easy to tell them apart once you know the signs.
Conclusion
These two species of shrimp differ a lot more than you might expect. In essence, we are talking about a fundamental difference in reproductive strategy. While the Amano shrimp breed a little more slowly and live longer, the ghost shrimp will breed quickly and have very short lifespans.
That’s why one of them makes a better feeder animal while the other makes a better bottom feeder. Thus, we cannot say that either of these creatures is “better” or “worse” for the home aquarium keeper. As with many other questions in life, it’s all a matter of what you need.
