How stupid are ghost shrimp?

[AdamsB]

So i grabbed myself 10 ghost shrimp and 3 black mystery snails. Mainly because i have this white slimy stuff on my new wood and I'm not sure if either will eat it but its worth a shot.

So anyway, I was cleaning my glass with a magnet cleaner as i do every few days and it freaked the shrimp out. So much so one actually jumped out of the water and stuck himself to the black rim at the top of the tank. I didn't want to hirt him so i used a syringe that i use for water testing to gently pour water on him so "unstick" the little guy. What a dumb little animal. He did it twice and i decided to stop my cleaning. I hope its just a once off because they're new to the tank. But at 99c each i guess intelligence can't be a trait :P

[effox]

My cherries were equally as stupid, never had that problem with Amanos or Crystals though...

Cheers,
Chris

[Morainy]

lol. I don't think he's stupid. I think he's a genius. What a shrimp!

[crazy72]

Apparently this happens mostly if you let them watch TV all day.

[wsl]

As for the white slime on your wood, it will go away eventually if you just leave it alone if nothing eats it.

[Elle]

They're stupid. Really stupid. I had 5 cherries who got into the goldfish tank during a duckweed purge of the shrimp 10g survive just fine for months. The 10 ghost shrimp who went in there as a cleanup crew lasted maybe 3 days before being eaten. The dumb things would just sit in the open until something found them.

[Morainy]

That's hilarious, Franck! lol.

Apparently this happens mostly if you let them watch TV all day.

[Ursus sapien]

not stupid... jumping is an effective way to avoid predators in the wild. When you jump, you land back in the water but away from the predator. Killies do the same thing. An aquarium isn't a natural environment, and contains hazards not found out in the wild.

Elle, ghost shrimp are out in the leaf litter and other debris in the wild. They have different instincts:-)

[TomC]

Apparently this happens mostly if you let them watch TV all day.

Wow. I hate to think what would happen if you let them surf the internet.

[Captured Moments]

Going back to the OP, trying to understand animal behaviour, characteristics and reaction in certain conditions would better be served rather than simply calling them dumb. I don't think animals are dumb by nature. They simply react based on pure instinct. If they are newly introduced to the tank, they would be jumpy and agitated being in a new environment.. so cleaning the glass at that time may not be a smart idea as the shrimp proved it to you.
Since they are kind of transparent and camouflaged that way, they probably use that as their main defense mechanism and perhaps nature intended them to be also food source for fishes and predators.. Why put them out in a tank that has potential threat with fishes that certainly would eat them or at least remove them or accept responsibility of losses in those cases. Sorry, not the shrimp's fault.