they seem easy to take care of, but its a hit or miss for me

what kind of water do they prefer, brackish?

There are several species referred to as "ghost shrimp", and I couldn't tell you how to tell them apart, they all look pretty much the same. From what I understand, some species do better in fresh and others do better in brackish, but any I'm sure could do just fine in either. They tend to prefer warmer water, but that isn't necessary. They are quite tolerant little guys. I toss a bunch in my freshwater community tank every few months to help keep things clean. They inevitably end up eaten by the fish, but do their job in the mean time.

I would keep them in freshwater as most species can't seem to tolerate salt. There are brackish species but I think most of the ones sold in petstores (often as feeders) are freshwater .

I've kept them but they tend to get eaten by fish. They also have short lifespans. However, they are very useful because they will nibble on algae and clean up un-eaten food. They are pretty hardy and can live in small aquariums. Plus, they don't add much to the bio-load so you can have large groups in small tanks.

Most likely if yours disapeared they were eaten or escaped. And even if you take great care of them they probably won't live longer then a year.

my ghost shrimp end up dead the next day, they turn pink....i occasionally put a tbsp of salt per ten gallons, i dont consider that brackish...but maybe its too much for them, then even my freshwater doesnt seem to really work...i wonder what im doing wrong

i have read that most of them can live to be a decade old, and some even 16yrs! its insane, plus most prefer to eat fish flakes and will eat algae when nothing seems more appealing

What were you feeding yours? Unless you have extremely messy fish it's a good idea to supplement with sinking wafers or pellets.

Most do not live to be a decade old. I'm sure it's possible but that is very, very rare. You have to remember that they tend to be bred for feeders and are not all that healthy to begin with =/. Then again, most are eaten by then anyways.

Invertebrates can be sensitive to bad water conditions like ammonia, nitrites, high nitrates, and pH. Did you test the water when they died?

I had ghost shrimp before...cute little guys.I had luck with them and used to love looking for them all! They are fascinating little critters!

Hehe. I love that game..."Find The Ghost Shrimp" .

ours lasted a month or two but then ended up fish food

I was thinking about getting some to go with my betta. Im hoping that they will live well together. Blueberry is very docile though, so im not worried about him eating them.

They are really cute though. I love watching them work!

yeah they work well with betas, i have had them before, but lately i dont know if maybe the shrimp are just unhealthy to begin with, im gonna try to have some again

They usually do well with bettas but at least one will probably end up getting eaten...even peaceful bettas normally won't be able to resist .