# 7.5 Gal what tooo do



## ApochSaint (Apr 19, 2015)

I have a new 7.g gal for my betta but I want to put stuff in with him. just like a one or two of. I could do snails but...meh

Could shrimp work with a tank this size?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Depends on how heavily planted. Since shrimp are extremely sensitive to parameters it's best to wait to introduce until the tank is 4-8 weeks past cycling.


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## ApochSaint (Apr 19, 2015)

I use a sponge filter and I moved literally everything from my old tank into this one. the other tank had been running for 6 months? so it should still be cycled. If I were to be getting anything it would be a couple weeks form now. 

what about ADFs? I cant seem to find any fish that would work which bums me out but I also get it.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Whats your substrate? Is your tank still cycled (remember beneficial bacteria need food just like fish or they die-a week without any ammonia source and you loose your cycle complete.. only a few days without food and you'll see a mini nitrite spike (I have at least). Depending on the temperament of your fish (must be mellow/tolerant) you can try pygmy cory. They're a small cory species, schoaling fish GROUP OF 6 MINIMUM but they can fit in a 7g. Sand based tanks are best but small non rough gravel can be used. Cory sift the top of the substrate looking for food and rough sand/gravel will shred their barbels (whiskers by mouth) which can lead to infection. Unlike bettas cory do NOT tolerate going through a tank cycle, they're sensitive fish. They also don't like water quite as warm as bettas do. 78F is the MAX you should go with pygmy cory, 76F being better -bettas can do fine at this temp I have two delta boys that stay at 75-76 because of the plants and tank mates they have. Cory have no sense of personal boundaries/territory, so they are not a good match for a defensive betta. They will swim into the 'no swim zone'-usually by a bubble nest) and be chased out by the betta over and over and over stressing both cory and betta.. the cory never quite get the concept 'keep out', hence the need for a mellow fish. Aside from that pygmy cory add a nice bit of extra movement to the tank and are pretty wide range eaters:flakes, pellets, frozen or live foods, they also eat good quality algae wafers and blanched veggies. Keeping them with a betta may mean you feed cory when the tank and room its in is dark to ensure they get the food, but some have success training their bettas to eat from a certain spot in the tank, so they can drop food for cory (or other fish) in a different area of the tank. If you have live plants in your tank that are rooted (crypt, stems, swords, etc, its best to give them a few weeks/month to anchor into the substrate before getting cory. Although these guys are tiny if you put them in a freshly planted tank they may knock loose rootless stems or plants with very short root systems like dwarf baby tears.


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## ApochSaint (Apr 19, 2015)

My substrate is ECO complete. And thanks for the lenghtg response! I'll think about them!


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## Schmoo (Oct 3, 2014)

Assuming your tank cycle carried over nicely, and your tank is planted well enough (bettas prefer lots of plants too), then shrimp would work well. c: I have a 10 gallon community tank, and I have ghost shrimp in mine. They're a lot of fun!


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## ApochSaint (Apr 19, 2015)

right now I have some anubias ( i believe) and some Micro sword. I am going to be planting quite heavily. I actually have a shipment of plants coming from another member today that ill be adding. it has Java Moss and azollas. 

I want shrimp I feel. I will take Aquas word for it that 6 corys could live in a 12x12x12 but idk. I would feel bad always thinking it wasnt enough space.

Guess my next question is for shrimp how to I fert the plants without killing the shrimp. Flourish Excel is pretty much everyones go to but Shrimp dont tolerate it. 

I doooo have ECO Complete substrate so I am actually not sure ill ever need to fert the plants. but.....looking at everything before I do it 

by the this community is for the most part so great.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Seachem Flourish Excel is not a fertilizer; it is a carbon source and can be harmful to inverts. The fertilizer is Seachem Flourish Comprehensive which I use with my dwarf shrimp, Vampire Shrimp and CPO.

Instead of shrimp I would seriously consider _Cambarellus patzcuarensis_ sp. orange “CPO/Dwarf Orange Crayfish.” As long has you have a place where the CPO can safely molt (same for shrimp) they have a much better chance of long-term survival with a Betta. They will not hurt the Betta as their claws are too tiny although I have seen them grab a Betta tail and take a short ride. I just bought several from member JDAquatics.

AquaAurora is correct: Pygmy Cories would work well in a 12 x 12 x 12 aquarium. So would a shoal of Rasbora. Like the Cories, many Rasbora are barely an inch long...about the size of an adult shrimp.


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## ApochSaint (Apr 19, 2015)

Thanks for the info. I love learning all this new stuff! 

Crayfish could be super fun! I would name him Sebastian and pretend he was Jamaican. 

But so could Corys or Rasbora....hrmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


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## ApochSaint (Apr 19, 2015)

with the Dwarf Crayfish. They wont eat mulm and such like shrimp will they? they look like they need more substance. From what I am finding on care sheets for these guys is they will eat anything but that lack of specificity I cannot accept


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

No animal in the aquarium eats mulm (as in fecal matter).


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

+1 ^ Mulm also contains decaying plant matter but most of it is feces. What dwarf/Ghost shrimp eat is leftover food; as do snails. Like AA said, nothing eats fecal matter although they might pick through it for undigested food. I feed my Crays Hikari Crab Cuisine and anything else I feed.


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## ApochSaint (Apr 19, 2015)

Oh alright. I guess I.misunderstood the word. I just thought it was random gunk. What of what goes into the tank naturally would the crayfish eat. IE are they cleaners


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

They eat leftover food but I still supplement with Crab Cuisine so they get the right minerals, etc., to help them molt properly.


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