Abode for Betta Fish and Shrimp

[Tanzan]

Hi everyone,

I have a 6 gal mini bow-front and I am 4 weeks into cycling my tank right now and am looking into inhabitants. I'm thinking of one Betta and four cherry shrimp. Does anybody have experience with housing Bettas with shrimp? How likely is it that the Betta fish will attack or eat the shrimp? And does it matter if they are ghost or cherry shrimp (as the ghost shrimp are harder to see perhaps)? Just curious to know what other people have seen and/or had happened to them.

[AquaticPassion]

Hello, Welcome to Alberta Aquatica!

Bettas can attack and eat shrimp, and they may do this to younger shrimp. Instead of a Betta, why not do this

-5 White Cloud Minnows. White Cloud Minnows are a schooling fish that reach sizes of 1.5-2 Inches. White Cloud Minnows are from mountainous areas in China. They are rather cheap, I have saw them for prices of 99¢ each. White Cloud Minnows, are of not a predatory species, and would not eat shrimp. If you wanted shrimp Cherry Shrimp would show up the best. Also, I suggest you make it a planted aquarium to make it look very natural. It's possible you could add small pieces of driftwood, and natural rocks. Java Fern would be an excellent plant to place in the aquarium.

Anyways, if you would like to know more, of have further questions, simply reply to this thread of Private Message me.

Edited February 16, 2010 by AquaticPassion

[FishyFishy!]

I had a bunch of Ghost shrimp in with a few different bettas. In my opinion, if you have a 6 gallon, you should be just fine. All you have to do is make sure that there is adequate hiding spots for all of the shrimp.

And Cherry shrimp are way better looking than ghost shrimp!

[BettaFishMommy]

it all depends on the individual personality of the betta. some like to attack anything and everything that is alive in the tank and some could care less about tankmates. it's hit or miss. you could try it, just make sure that you have somewhere else to put the shrimp or the betta should things not work out too well.

[Danno1986]

I have had a betta with amano shrimp. The shrimp was about an 1.5" so I wasn't worried about the betta eating it. Eventually the shrimp grew big enough that it started trying to catch the betta. This was really entertaining because the shrimp was horrible at it. Although the betta's fins started to look ragged because the shrimp kept growing and slowly improved. I had to separate them Although it was a really good desk tank while it lasted.

[Cgy_Betta_Guy]

Provide plenty of hiding places for the cherry shrimp if you are planning on housing them with a betta in order to give them a fighting chance at survival. I have only seen one of my 7 bettas go after a shrimp and he managed to get a snack of shrimp legs. You might want to use amano shrimp instead since they are larger.