The popularity of keeping shrimp in fish tanks has seen a dramatic rise over the last decade due to how great shrimp can be for eating detritus, algae, and discarded fish food with them being a great addition to most aquarium setups.
One thing that we do see people worrying about is keeping their ghost shrimp with goldfish as the larger goldfish can sometimes see the ghost shrimp as an easy food source.
Goldfish can and will eat ghost shrimp if they get the chance but you can take steps to reduce the chances of your goldfish eating your ghost shrimp.
Adding plants to your aquarium as well as tank decorations can be enough to help increase the survival rate of your ghost shrimp and keep their reproduction rate higher than the rate your goldfish will eat them.
We have a dedicated article going over hiding places for shrimp that you are able to check out for some quick, easy, and cheap ideas of how you can help your ghost shrimp survive.
The pale color and translucent look of ghost shrimp and poor eyesight of goldfish really can help to keep them safe in many aquarium setups though making it harder for your goldfish to hunt your ghost shrimp.
Will Goldfish Eat Ghost Shrimp In Their Aquarium?
Larger goldfish will definitely eat ghost shrimp of all sizes that they find in their aquarium but smaller goldfish will often only be able to manage the smaller ghost shrimp that are much better at hiding and avoiding becoming a meal.
Even a small amount of live plants or tank decoration can be enough to help large ghost shrimp hide from your goldfish and avoid being eaten though.
Some people do intentionally add ghost shrimp to their aquarium as a food source for their goldfish and if this is what you are looking for then going with cherry shrimp or neon yellow shrimp will probably be better options.
They are brighter and much easier for your goldfish to see due to goldfish having poor vision and the translucent look of ghost shrimp making them easy to miss.
If you do food your goldfish on a regular basis then it is less likely that they will eat your ghost shrimp as the chances of them actively foraging for food in their tanks is lower.
Still, even if you feed your goldfish plenty there is still a chance that they might randomly find and eat a ghost shrimp in their tank.
Will Ghost Shrimp Eat Goldfish In Their Aquarium?
Ghost shrimp are too small to pose any real threat to a healthy goldfish and even goldfish fry are usually fast enough to avoid becoming a meal for any ghost shrimp in their tank.
If a goldfish does die in your tank and sink rather than float then even a small number of ghost shrimp will be able to make short work of eating the leftover carcass.
This is partly why there are so many people on social media thinking that their fish disappeared. It is highly likely that the fish died during the night, sank to the bottom of the aquarium and the shrimp and snails have eaten it.
Most species of aquatic snail require large amounts of calcium to maintain a healthy shell so they will often work through any bones left over too making it look like your fish never existed.
We have seen some people saying that their ghost shrimp are trying to eat their bottom dwelling fish but this is highly unlikely.
Chances are the ghost shrimp just wandered onto the fish while it was sleeping or something and it is more likely that something like a kuhli loach will eat your shrimp rather than it being the other way around.
Can You Keep Ghost Shrimp And Goldfish In The Same Tank?
Most aquarium setups will allow you to easily keep ghost shrimp and goldfish in the same tank with minimal issues.
Although a number of the ghost shrimp will be eaten by the goldfish, provided there is plenty of hiding spaces for the ghost shrimp, they will usually reproduce at a quicker rate than they are being eaten.
If you do want to set up a shrimp only tank then our article on setting up a no filter shrimp tank or a 1 gallon shrimp tank will often be the best options as the tanks are free from potential predators.
This allows you to keep shrimp and observe them as you with and not have to worry about them being eaten by goldfish with shrimp only tanks becoming very popular due to cherry shrimp and neon yellow shrimp being popular on social media but some people do keep ghost shrimp in them.
One of the best ways to keep your ghost shrimp in a tank with goldfish without them being eaten is to use Java Moss as it covered the bottom of the tank with an aquatic grass that lets the ghost shrimp hide.
Most goldfish tend not to forage in Java Moss either so it decreases the chances of the fish finding your shrimp and eating them even further too.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over keeping ghost shrimp with goldfish to an end and we hope that we have been able to help you understand how you can make it work and prevent your ghost shrimp from becoming food for your ghost shrimp. The advantages of ghost shrimp such as the amount of algae, detritus, and discarded food that they eat usually make it worth adding ghost shrimp to your tank so most people will do it even if a couple of shrimp end up getting eaten.
