But they're learning...dear god, they're learning!
Ghost shrimp are actually a species of freshwater shrimp that have see-through bodies! This adaptation undoubtedly is an excellent camouflage against predators, because the shrimp currently watching me write this are only visible by their eyes and the food in their stomachs. "The food in their stomachs?!" You are undoubtedly screaming at your computer screen right now. Yes indeed folks, one of the most entertaining reasons to have these li'l buggers is the joy of watching them eat. My shrimp are currently existing on betta fish pellets, which are orange. When they eat, they hold the orange pellet in front of their face, and this pellet gets smaller and smaller as they eat it (however they do that...tiny forks? mouth-straws?). As the pellet gets smaller, an orange ball can be seen growing right behind their eyes. If you look carefully you can see this ball pulsating as the stomach muscles (I guess) move the food around. Pretty interesting stuff. They also swim around, walk along the bottom, perch on plants, groom moss balls, and generally clean up around the place.
They make excellent pets as long as you like easily maintained but difficult to see animals. I currently have 2 in my tank, or possibly 3, since Pierre's disappearance can neither be confirmed nor denied. What I can tell you is that right before I typed this sentence, Guy swam to the surface and grabbed a pellet! This is cool because until this point I've only seen them take food that had sank to the bottom. Anyway, if you already have a freshwater tank, consider adding these interesting little cleaners!
Hey man, your "ghost shrimp" is showing.
You know, I already saw this episode--Scooby and Shaggy fell off the balcony onto the "ghost shrimp" and it's rubber mask fell off. Turns out it was the grumpy gardener covered in phosphorescent paint the entire time.
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