# Bettas with Shrimp



## BittyB (Jun 19, 2013)

Was wondering who else keeps shrimp here with good results. :-D

So I have a ghost shrimp tank and out of curiosity I put some in my bettas tank to clean our the bottom for a few hours then put them back in with the rest and to see if he is really territorial or whatever.... 

He seems to actually like them. He likes watching what they're doing and follows them around so I think those 2 will stay in there.


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## Asira (Jun 23, 2013)

My Amy ate almost all my cherry shrimp I could only save 2... But now they live in a new tank with a lot more shrimp.
She looked at them and it seemed to be friendly, but the next day (Amy began doing this after about +-12 hours) she began chewing and eating them like it was only 'candy' for her, I feel really sorry for them 
But maybe your bettas won't do that? (I really hope so for you) Maybe bettas only do that with cherry shrimp and ghost shrimp are a different story?


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## happypappy (Apr 5, 2012)

It depends. I have several bettas that have lived with ghost shrimp for months; others disappear the shrimp in a couple of days. In my community tank where I have a sorority, I saw one of the females swimming around with a shrimp tail in her mouth! Depends on your betta's temperament.


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## LittleDeer (May 12, 2013)

My boy ate five ghost shrimp in about a week and a half. So I wouldn't put them with him anymore. He didn't really mind them at first but then they disappeared one by one and I watched him kill and eat the last one.


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

Smaller shrimp like Ghost and Cherry shrimp are more likely to be eaten. Cherry shrimp especially because they're so bright. My ghost shrimp never made it more than a week or two with any of my bettas. My Amanos are doing great though. They are bigger than RCS and Ghosts but they look very similar to ghost shrimp except that they have brown spots/markings on them.


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

I have ghost shrimp in with my bettas, and have had no issues so far. Maybe keeping your Betta distracted with toys, like a ping pong ball, might give him something to do and leave the shrimp alone. And of course keep them well fed haha.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

+1 Happypappy. Depends on Betta's temperament. I have had RCS successfully with Si for four months or more with no issues. They eat out in the open and do not hide. Even had shrimplets with no problems. Also have CPOs and Thai Micro Crabs with Si and haven't lost any.

Willie, however, is the Assassin Betta when it comes to inverts.


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## Viva (Oct 18, 2012)

So basically the only way to know for sure is to throw the shrimp in and see if they live, lol.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

That's it in a nutshell.


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## BittyB (Jun 19, 2013)

Haha Basically so Viva. Trial and error. That's why I started with ghost shrimp. They're 50 cents, not $3. And I got bigger ghost shrimp....these are the same size as the Amanos at the store. As you can see, that one in the pic has about similar length to the bettas body. 

They've been in there and now he just kinda doesnt pay much attention to them and if happens to swim by one, he turns around trying not to touch them. One accidentally fell on his head and startled him. 

We will see though. This has been week 1 and nothing. I figured it might be fine since my betta doesnt even like to eat large pellets, I crush them up that I figured he wouldnt try to take a bite out of them.


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## Eggbert (Sep 8, 2012)

I have RCS in my 10 g divided smaller ones get eaten here and there, but with a ton of coverage. theres about 10-12 RCS in there and they are quick. I think my bettas distracting one another, plant coverage and hiding spots help as well. 6+ months strong now. Also they breed easily.


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## Tabby216 (Feb 20, 2013)

I had mine with two amano shrimp she did great with them. Ignored everything they did except food. I cannot leave her alone with algae wafers now because she constantly hordes the food to herself. Think about temperament and eating habits...


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

Trial and error. My very large Veil Tail male is in a 15 gallon with about 30+ cherry shrimp and ghost shrimp. This tanks been going on well over a year. He completely ignores em, although am sure the odds improved since he was introduced to this tank as the runt of the litter as a guppy fry lookin Petco Betta baby so he's accustomed to the shrimp tank mates.

My crowntail sitting solo in a 5 who is much smaller than the veiltail will gobble the shrimp up without hesitation.


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## BittyB (Jun 19, 2013)

I feel like this is a stupid question, but do the various shrimp species do fine together? I've wondered about putting various varietals in my shrimp tank than just the ghost shrimp in there. I tried googling this question and cannot find much talk about it.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Different shrimp have different requirements.

The easiest of the dwarf shrimp are the _Neocaridina. _They can be kept together because they all require the same parameters. However, they will interbreed and you could wind up with a bunch of mud-colored shrimp._ Neocardina_ are Red Cherry, Yellow, Blue Velvet, Blue Pearl, Orange, Rili, etc.

_Caridina_, such as Red Crystal and Black Crystal, are more sensitive to parameters and much harder to keep. They can be in the same tank but will also interbreed. Since black is dominant, you most likely would get mostly black shrimp.

_Caridina _and_ Neocardina_ will not interbreed; but their parameters are different so, IMO, you'd be shortchanging one if you set the parameters for the other.

I have kept various Neos together because I don't care if they interbreed since I'm not going to sell them, anyway. I gave the offspring away.

Hope that answers your question.


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

BittyB said:


> I feel like this is a stupid question, but do the various shrimp species do fine together? I've wondered about putting various varietals in my shrimp tank than just the ghost shrimp in there. I tried googling this question and cannot find much talk about it.


Aside from species requirements in terms of water parameters, etc. only issue you are going to run into is if they will cross breed with one another.

Google "shrimp interbreed" for a chart.

For beginners / intermediate, can't go wrong with Ghost and Cherry shrimp, they are very hardy and are interesting to watch. Just add lots of live plants so they feel secure / graze on. Mine love grazing on java moss.


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