# Shrimp in a 3.5?



## Lady Courage (Oct 2, 2012)

So I was wanting to get a few RCS for my 3.5. I already have a betta and a nerite snail in there. Dr. Seuss is a very gentle fish, never once even bothered the snail. Well, except for when I dropped the bag from the store into the tank... But he only flared once and that was at the giant bag in his water. lol However, though he's very polite to the snail, he _does_ love to chase his sinking food. Thinks it's a wonderful game, especially if the food is frozen bloodworms.

But I was told on another forum that it was highly likely that in a 3.5 my betta would eat all the RCS. And even if I had enough hiding places for the shrimp, in such a small space with a predator on the loose they would be unlikely to come out and play- which of course ruins half the fun of having them in the first place.

What is y'all's take on this? Do you agree? It sounds very logical to me. Disappointing, but logical.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Bettas are not super active hunters they will not chase it all around the tank some bettas will some will not eat a backup plan is good.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

lol. my betta scares the living daylighta out of the shrimps. I never see my shrimps until lights off and the terror is asleep.

be mindful snails are usually dull, slow moving, and has a tough outer shell. RCS on the other hand are bright red and moves around like a morsel of betta food...

do try it, but don't get too attached to the shrimps. mine eaten about 7 alteady and left the larger ones that it couldnt eat alone.


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## Lady Courage (Oct 2, 2012)

lol Okie dokie! Sounds like I should just get a few and see what happens. Thanks y'all!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

heres a photo I took just then, just for you


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## jake1515 (Feb 15, 2012)

Haha, I bought 4 shrimpies awhile back. I rarely ever see one of them now. About a week after I bought them, I could not find ANY of them. I just thought that Zayden ate all of them. However, every so often, I see Zayden dart across the tank for one of the shrimps. I know that Zayden has definitely killed one of them, but there is a slight chance that atleast two are still in there. 

I think it's somewhat promising that your nice betta has left the snail alone, but I would try and see if you get a red cherry that is bigger or put the small guys in a seperate tank till they grow bigger? 

Good luck though =) :-D


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## jake1515 (Feb 15, 2012)

aokashi, I love the photo above. Simply awesome.


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## Lady Courage (Oct 2, 2012)

aokashi, I LOVE the photo! They are so cute together. XD

Jake, lol, your poor shrimpies. XD That sounds like a good plan! Thanks for the advice!


Well, update, I bought 2 ghost shrimp from the LFS to see how Dr. Seuss responded to them. One shrimpie was pretty big, the other was pretty small. Big shrimpie got observed and then ignored when little shrimpie hit the scene. Little shrimpie was chased all about the aquarium. But he survived! With clipped feelers and broken leg, but he survived and is, as far as I know, still hiding. I see him occasionally, in the Rotala usually. When he comes out, Dr. Seuss looks sharply at him, but I've yet to see him try very hard to eat him again after the first spat.

But then big shrimpie became the next target of interest. Dr. Seuss did not even try to eat him, but harassed him constantly, seeking him out to bump him and make him move. Big shrimpie never learned how to jump out of the way like little shrimpie. He just moved to a perfect position to be bumped again.

This morning, big shrimpie was on the floor, dead.

Sooooo... I think my fish is bullying my shrimp to death. lol I'm about to put some driftwood into the tank with lots of hiding places (I bought it for plants, the hiding places are just bonuses really). I've got lots of plants and stuff to hide in as well... Do y'all think I should try again? Big shrimpie wasn't very smart. Little shrimpie is much more canny, which is why I think he's still alive. XD Oooooor should I just not bother with it at all?

Opinions?


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## Greekalphabet (Sep 30, 2012)

I think you have three options. Oone, get more than just two shrimp so he can't focus on just one. The other thing you could do is get a bamboo shrimp. They get about three inches long so dr. suess sure won't feel like they are a target. And they are filter feeders so they'll never go for your betta. Three, The only other thing you could do is swarm your tank with the crs and that should distract him enough that they will have time to multiply on their own. I've seen some tanks here that have one betta and 30-50 crs and it seems to work out well. They probably have a little bigger tank than yours though  just a thought. Let us know how it goes!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

lol. bamboo shrimps will be hard to keep alive. get an amano and see how that goes. if it survives... get more


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## asukabetta (Oct 2, 2012)

Lol you're lucky. My betta used to "bully" the snail, by not letting it to get to the algae wafer. Been forced to feed the snail in a diff container, however, right now he doesn't seem to care much for the snail. 

I think he thinks it's a moving rock and when he finds it in an odd spot he's more like "wtf?"

And yeah shrimp are more active than snails I guess, hrmm.. well they aren't too expensive if you want to try again with them


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## Lady Courage (Oct 2, 2012)

Ooh, great ideas y'all! Thank you! Some stuff to think about. 

Those Bamboo shrimp look COOL. Though I was really hoping to have something to help clean up the bottom of the floor... Filter shrimp, does that help keep the water cleaner?

Is there a reason I should try a different shrimp than the Red Cherry? I just like how red they are. lol But I'm perfectly open to trying something else, if there's a reason to not go with them. I'd have to order anything other than Ghost shrimp anyway. Small town, the smart is all I have. >.< Unless you count the LFS even worse than the smart...


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Bamboo shrimp need huge shrimp they are filter feeders.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

red cherries are hardy and cool, thy do wel shipped too


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## BettaQi (Jul 26, 2012)

Aokashi that picture is awesome enter it into a contest!


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

huuuuh what picture?


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Cherry shrimp are great and dont see the pics.


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## Greekalphabet (Sep 30, 2012)

I wouldn't worry so much about getting something to clean the tank, since it's only a 3.5 gal you'll have to do cleaning anyway. Just wanted to point out that even ghost shrimp can be fun (if they survive ). I have one in a four gal with my rosetail betta, and during feeding time, he'll scamper up to the top and steal a pellet. It's pretty amusing. Apparently he doesn't feel like waiting around at the bottom anymore!
If those cherry reds work out instead, that would be very cool. I agree that it's fun to have some color in there. Good luck!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I love ghost shrimp too they do better with bettas because of their size and camaflouge.


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## Freyja (Jun 22, 2012)

Don't bet bamboo shrimp please. They are wild caught because they haven't been succesfully bred in captivity.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

That and they need pretty big tanks to feed.


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## Lady Courage (Oct 2, 2012)

OK, no bamboo shrimp. That makes sense to me. I can't imagine there's enough "stuff" floating around with only a betta and two snails (two now because one rode in on some plants lol).

I think the ghost shrimp are cool, being able to see through their little bodies, but I just discovered Rili shrimp. Best of both worlds!! I'm totally hooked now. lol Someone who breeds shrimp told me my tank could support dozens (eh!?), but I don't plan on doing that on purpose. lol However I am glad to know that if they breed my tank shouldn't overstock.

I've got a piece of gorgeous driftwood in my tank now and there are SO many places to scurry and hide in it. Dr. Seuss keeps trying to go through them himself, but sticks his nose partly in and decides against it, since his head won't fit. lol So I'm feeling really optimistic about trying again.  I think I'm gonna try Rili shrimp, since they are, in essence, cherry shrimp with transparent stripes. Sooooo pretty!! I'm well on my way to becoming as big a shrimp fan as a betta fan. LOL!!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Bamboo_Shrimp Not as big as I thought they needed.


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