One of my favorite "working fish" to keep in a turtle tank aren't really fish at all. They're crustaceans, specifically Palaemonetes paludosus, commonly known as the ghost shrimp or glass shrimp. These small, translucent scavengers are sold inexpensively in the aquarium sections of pet shops as feeders or tank cleaners, and they do a good job of it.
Ghost shrimp are basically little eating machines. That's pretty much all they do; and in the process of doing it, they also do a great job of cleaning the bottom of your turtle's tank of leftovers and other detritus. They also eat certain kinds of algae and diatoms. Best of all, they add almost no bioload to the tank. By preventing leftovers and other detritus from decaying, they actually improve the tank's water quality.
Another nice thing about ghost shrimp is that because they're usually sold as food, they're very inexpensive. I usually pay between USD $0.30 and $0.40 each for them if I buy them in person. You can also try breeding your own, but they are very challenging to breed. The nymphs are extremely sensitive to water quality and salinity and require special food. Unless you're a very experienced breeder of aquatic animals, you're better off just buying them.
Here are two videos of some ghost shrimp hard at work in one of my turtle habitats.
(Shot from underwater using a GoPro.)
(Shot from underwater using a GoPro.)
The one catch to keeping ghost shrimp in a turtle tank is that eventually, the turtles will eat them. The shrimp are pretty good at evading the turtles, but eventually they'll get caught off-guard and become turtle food. If that's not okay with you, then you shouldn't use them.
You can give your ghost shrimp a fighting chance by using live or articial plants that give them a place to hide. But don't get your hopes up. Odds are that eventually they'll be eaten, especially if the turtles are young. (Most aquatic turtles tend to eat more plant-based foods as they get older.)
Get Fast, Free Shipping with an Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
