Will Danios Eat Ghost Shrimp? Can They Live Together?

Last Updated on January 10, 2022 by cmoarz

Are you getting your new tank ready and now you need to decide on what to stock it with? Danios are nice fish, And ghost shrimp always go over well in a new tank right? Well, you need to know if the two are going to be compatible, or will danios eat ghost shrimp?

Will Danios Eat Ghost Shrimp?

Danios will eat ghost shrimp, however, that doesn’t mean they can’t be placed in the same tank together.

Ghost shrimp are small and delicate and just about anywhere they are, there will be a predator who is completely capable of munching down on one.

But what ghost shrimp lack in size, they gain in speed. Ghost shrimp can easily outrun any fish in the aquarium, including danios.

So you can house both ghost shrimp and danios together without worrying about them getting eaten, but there are a few risk factors to keep in mind.

First off, Just because the ghost shrimp can outrun the danios doesn’t mean they aren’t in danger.

The stress of constantly fending off attacks from the danios will be a lot for the shrimp which could cause illness and death.

To counter this, Be sure there is a lot of thick plants and cover for the shrimp to run to when being chased and a nice place for them to hang out in safety away from the danios.

This also includes adding little shrimp-friendly decorations that the shrimp can bolt into but the danios can’t.

By providing a lot of covers, ghost shrimp should be fine to be housed with danios.

Secondly, Be sure the tank is big enough for everyone.

The bigger a tank is the less likely it is to have these 2 species always neck and neck with each other, and they will form their own little sections of territory.

The shrimp will be at the bottom by the plants and decorations, while the danios will be mid and high water column.

3rd, Be sure the danios are getting all the food they need, and not bullying the shrimp out of food, or turning the shrimp INTO food.

A well-fed danio is much less likely to go hunting ghost shrimp.

4th, Be sure the ghost shrimp are not too crowded.

As stated before, ghost shrimp are delicate little shrimp and if they are constantly running for their lives or being chased around by hungry danios, they can get very stressed out and die off either by disease or exhaustion.

By keeping the ratio of how many danios there are to how many ghost shrimp, you should have no problem housing both species without the danios eating the ghost shrimp.

So if all 4 of those factors can be met, then yes danios and ghost shrimp can live together. If only a few of them are met then it is better not to house these 2 fish together.