# shrimp and snails in a 2.5?



## allied123 (Dec 11, 2014)

So I'm pretty sure I want to set up a tiny 2.5 gallon tank and I have been loving how cute cherry shrimp are and how well everyone says they breed (I have ghost shrimp in another tank and I think the baby shrimp are some of the cutest things I've ever seen) but I also want it to be pretty heavily planted with a sand substrate and thought trumpet snails might be necessary? (I have a 5.5 gallon that is moderately planted and I would like to put more sand as the roots keep coming up when I disturb the water for a water change but I fear anaerobic gasses and stuff building up so I haven't) 

Also this tank is not going to be started up for a while at least a month or 2 so I'm really not in any hurry. I'm thinking a sponge filter that I'll cycle in another tank so it's all ready to go when I find a fish I love and a heater of course. Also any lighting/ plant suggestions would be great! I'd love something that could be kind of carpet like? (also fertilizers if necessary but I'd rather keep it pretty low tech)

Tl;dr If I'm going for a medium-heavily planted 2.5 how many cherry shrimp should I start off with and are trumpet snails good for plants? if so how many could/should I have?


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Shrimp are sensitive to water quality. Don't stock shrimp until your tank is cycled and mature. Most of us would not stock tank-mates in a 2.5g.

Don't worry about gasses in a substrate thin enough to be appropriate for a 2.5g. Trumpet snails, like all snails, have a surprisingly high bioload. Not great for such a small tank.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

+1 Hallyx, don't add shrimp unless the tank is planted, cycled and running for at least 3 months. They do not tolerate ammonia or nitrite so never add during a cycle, and they forage CONSTANTLY its best to let the tank mature and their natural microfuana grow to forage for before adding any. Moss makes a great place to hide and naturally grow their food on. Snails are huge poopers, even small ones and will ultimately compete with the shrimp for food. Its best to do a shrimp only tank.


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## BettaBoy11 (Apr 21, 2015)

Do you mean shrimp with your betta in the 2.5, or alone in the tank?


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## allied123 (Dec 11, 2014)

I'm sorry if I didn't explain myself well enough, in the future sometime after I plant and cycle a 2.5 gallon that I do not have yet (pretty distant future honestly) I was wondering about shrimps and potentially snails. I very much appreciate your replies, I wasn't sure how much bioload the snails had and that's why I asked. Ideally I would like to have a betta in that tank, I always see people asking about tank mates for smaller than 3 gallons and people saying shrimp or snails but wasn't really sure about the specifics like how many or what kind or anything. I thought it would be nice to have a breeding colony of cherry shrimp and a betta to thin out the herd (I also have other tanks if the population really gets out of control) but wanted to be sure about the bioload beforehand. If and when I do this tank I might reconsider the betta or the shrimp, thank you all for your replies.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

IMO, even if densely planted, a 2.5 is too small for shrimp to live a stress-free, healthy life with a Betta. The smallest I've had mine in with a Betta and seen natural behavior was a 10. They have survived in smaller but I noticed the difference and quickly moved them.

I put a minimum of 2" of sand in all of my tanks .... from 2.5-20. I do enough plant rearranging and rescaping there's no opportunity for anything to build up. ;-)


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

You'll need a lot of shrimp and a pretty big tank if you want a betta as population control! I had small school of pygmy cories and a colony of breeding shrimps. I never saw a shrimplet grow up D:

Shrimps are pretty fascinating creatures when kept by them selves. Having a shrimp only tank would probably be a lot more enjoyable


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

+1 ^


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## allied123 (Dec 11, 2014)

Oh I had no idea, I just saw lots of people suggesting them as tank mates for small tanks and didn't think about how stressful it would be for the shrimp...(i wasn't sure shrimps could be stressed I guess? That was ignorant of me) I guess I'll just stick with a betta then thank you I didn't think about the shrimps needs


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

allied123 said:


> Oh I had no idea, I just saw lots of people suggesting them as tank mates for small tanks and didn't think about how stressful it would be for the shrimp...(i wasn't sure shrimps could be stressed I guess? That was ignorant of me) I guess I'll just stick with a betta then thank you I didn't think about the shrimps needs


Yep, shrimp can stress. Many believe (and I'm one) it's one of the main reasons for their deaths in a Betta tank. Not that the Betta actually stalked and killed a healthy shrimp but that it found a compromised/ill shrimp and made an opportunistic kill. Those are the only adult shrimp I've seen my Betta catch and kill.

Unfortunately, most people don't think about the shrimps' needs. Or, what's worse, they say things like: LOL, my Betta had an expensive snack. Ha Ha!

Or, IMO, worse, they get Ghost Shrimp to "test" their Betta. As if because they're so cheap Ghostie lives have less or no value. Imagine how those same people would react if I said "HaHa, I bought a Betta to test my Oscar for companions and the Oscar had an expensive snack! LOL" Whew, I'd be run out of town on a rail. ;-)

Kudos to you for asking the questions and taking the other critters' needs into consideration! One hallmark of a responsible aquarist is concern for the entire habitat and the needs of all of its denizens.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

That is an amazing post, Russell. 

And may I complement you, Allied, on your wonderful attitude toward fish-keeping and learning. I wish we could clone that around here.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

+1 Hallyx. What a wonderful attitude and definitely worthy of cloning.


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## allied123 (Dec 11, 2014)

You guys make me feel terrible. I literally just suggested someone "try out ghost shrimp" the other day and never thought twice about it and now I feel awful. I have really looked up to you two in particular and feel embarrassed but you guys are really making me think about everything and are honestly changing my mind and how I think about tanks and set up and I wish I could change some of the things I've said here in the past but thank you for your sweet comments and I'm going to think things through more before commenting...


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