# Betta's and Ghost Shrimp! How was your experience?



## afmaxwell95 (Jul 19, 2016)

Hey guys! 

So, I currently have a 10 gallon planted tank which is home to my betta Henry, along with a hand full of mystery snails which made their way to my tank via my live plants. I noticed early on that I had a few VERY tiny snails, and Henry actually ate them (assuming their shells were still soft?). Anyway, most of the snails that are left are a fair size and he doesn't bug them whatsoever. 

I have become very curious about ghost shrimp. They are sold at my local PetSmart for cheap and I have done some research on them and they seem super cool. I have also read that some bettas think they are dinner :serious: So I'm wondering what everyone's experience has been with them? My tank has quite a few plants and I plan on adding a couple more here soon, and since Henry seems pretty chill with the snails I'm wondering if the shrimps would be a good match....... If I go ahead with getting them, how many do you recommend adding to a ten gallon? Thanks for your help.


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## Platy lover (Aug 25, 2016)

Murderous and a freak out.. Pebbles attacked them as soon as they where put in and Keshet stalked a bit and freaked out, took a few days after the shrimp left for him to stop going back and forth on the glass.


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## afmaxwell95 (Jul 19, 2016)

Wow, that's what I'm trying to avoid. Its so 50/50, some people seem like they have great luck and some don't. Not sure if it's worth the risk.....


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## sabrinah (Jan 2, 2015)

I tried ghost shrimp once. I got one shrimp that was a total jerk. He ate the other shrimp (I saw it. It was horrible) and repeatedly viciously attacked my betta once he finished off the other shrimp. Eventually my betta got angry enough to kill the awful thing. It was a very bad experience.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Sabrinah: Sounds as if you had a Macro Shrimp. They look a great deal like Ghosties when young and are often mixed in with the shipment. They are vicious, nasty creatures. True Ghost Shrimp don't act that way.

Anything one adds to a tank is iffy. I've had shrimp of varying sizes with all of my Betta with no issues: Ghosties, Sakura Red, Malawa, Vampire, Bamboo, Amano Shrimp and Dwarf Orange Crays (CPO). Just this morning I watched an Amano glide right past Galvin with Galvin paying no notice; Guthrie lives with Malawa Shrimp. However, my tanks have at the very least three times as many plants as yours and that's the key to success since most shrimp die because of improper habitat or less than mature tanks. This leads to stress and compromised immune systems which makes them easy prey to Betta. Seldom do healthy shrimp die from Betta predation.

To help assure a stress-free shrimp habitat tanks should be stable which means a minimum of 2-3 months past cycling and heavily planted. There should be some sort of Betta-proof hide for the shrimp to molt as that's when they are the most vulnerable. Shrimp (except Filter Shrimp) do best with a minimum of 10 of their kind as there is safety/security in numbers.

Proper introduction is also key. Any new habitants should be floated in a darkened tank and the lights should remain off for at the minimum of an hour so they can gain their bearings. Too many float new fish/shrimp in a lighted tank which allows the Betta to build aggression as it attacks the bag.


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## sabrinah (Jan 2, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu, I thought Hannibal Lecter (yes, I named the horrid thing) could be a macro at first too but there was a distinct lack of terrifying big chelipeds. He was perfectly unremarkable and fit ghost shrimp descriptions to a T. He was just a major jerk.


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

not to split hairs but you may have had snails of an unknown origin but mystery snails do not come in on plants. you probably had pond or bladder snails...maybe ramshorn.

I have not had a problem with ghost shrimp being eaten or dying. I am not sure the betta realize they are there


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## Platy lover (Aug 25, 2016)

Did it have the red stripes? Yeah, ghosts can still be aggressive. Don't put them with other shrimp though, they are quite aggressive to others.


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## minka (Mar 29, 2016)

Both of my Bettas murdered the shrimp the first time I tried. I also had one who I guess was so scared or dumb he buried himself under the heater and cooked himself. -__-
This time around Fatso killed his friends but Geist didn't. 

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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

Ghost shrimp are feeders and for 39 cents I can't see the harm in trying. Don't shoot I grew up on a farm.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Bottom line it's up to you. As long as parameters are compatible if you give shrimp the proper habitat ... a mature tank and lots of live plants and cover ... you'll be successful. Keep shrimp in fairly new, lightly-planted tank with lots of open space and you probably won't. 

There *are* Betta that are not tank mate-friendly no matter how great the tank set-up. Unfortunately, too many people don't learn what tank mates need as far as habitat and introduction and throw other fish and inverts in willy nilly. Kudos to you for asking. :thumbsup:


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## fernielou (May 19, 2015)

from what i have read shrimp like friends so maybe get 5-6 since their bioload is so low. it might help them feel less stressed and be more resilient. If your betta eats them, it was an expensive treat I guess. i thought for sure my betta was eating red cherry shrimp which are much smaller and more noticeable but they haven't. my favorite betta is awful with other fish and cherry shrimp but ghosts and mystery snails are fine (they have a trap door so they can hold their own and take cover)


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## trahana (Dec 28, 2015)

I've got a betta and ghost shrimp together with many other fish in a 40g, no problems at all! The shrimp are happy and having babies, and the betta is happy and eating most of the babies xD Its sustaining a small population, the betta doesn't bug the adults.


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## JawsandChess (Apr 16, 2016)

I actually /just/ got ghost shrimp for my tank because of an algae burst. I just got two because the tank I was gonna put them in had an extremely aggressive female named Solus, so I switched her and Luna (the baby). Luna doesn't mind them and the shrimp cheerfully clean up the feed she doesn't eat. I plan to get more, but I don't know who would be a good match. I only got two because I didn't want Luna to secretly be like Ember (who is a piggy and mean as flip) and have her go on a murderous rampage. So far, so long as neither Loonie nor Casper and Specter (I know, so creative) are bothered/injured/dead, I'm labeling this as success. Kind of like getting an A the first day of school because nothing is messed up yet. So far, I have caves for my shrimp to hide away in just in case Loonie is a serial killer. but more often than not, they're running around the single live plant (still rooting for a water onion to shoot up leaves like the first one and for the rest of the bulbs to realize they're plants) or standing in the open and eating on leftovers.


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

I've had three of my Bettas with ghost shrimp, with no real issues. Merlin nipped at them when they got close for about an hour when I first added them, and was fine with them up until they died. Topaz ignored them completely, he was really well behaved in a community tank. Meeko was more curious than anything, he never tried to bite them, he just sort of watched them, and ignored them after a week or so. 

I haven't had any Bettas brutally murder any inverts yet (with the exception of one of my Bettas killing a baby MTS one time), I guess I've been lucky for the most part. It does generally seem to be 50/50 on if they'll try to eat ghost shrimp or not.


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## VillagerSparky (Dec 1, 2015)

My Betta rips anything apart that dares go in to his tank, which now includes my fingers. But I've never trusted Ghost Shrimp. I feel that it is too much of a risk that you'll end up with a Macro Shrimp instead.


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