DeirdreHoyle
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I have a 6 gal betta tank with a cave, banana plants and bamboo. It's fully cycled and has been running for a year. I just want a friend for my betta and my pet store has a ton of singapore shrimp
Can I have singapore shrimp in a 6 gal?
- Thread starter DeirdreHoyle
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Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
Sorry, but I don't think that's a good idea. I assume you mean Bamboo or Flower shrimp, aka Singapore shrimp. These are filter feeders that need a fairly strong current to feed in, and food to eat that's in the water column. There wouldn't be enough for one of these in that size tank, so you'd have to feed it very carefully, but the current will drive the Betta nuts. It would push him around, those large fins are like sails, and he'll hate that.
Singapore shrimp are actually a species called Atyopsis moluccensis.. aka, Wood shrimp,, Bamboo shrimp, Singapore Flower shrimp, Mountain Flower shrimp, Flower shrimp, probably other names too. They're fun, lovely shrimp to have, but they have needs that must be met to thrive. Without a good strong current to feed in, and adequate food in that current, they'll starve to death.
They also get quite large when mature.. four inches or more for females. They are peaceful critters, but they just won't suit a Betta tank.
Singapore shrimp are actually a species called Atyopsis moluccensis.. aka, Wood shrimp,, Bamboo shrimp, Singapore Flower shrimp, Mountain Flower shrimp, Flower shrimp, probably other names too. They're fun, lovely shrimp to have, but they have needs that must be met to thrive. Without a good strong current to feed in, and adequate food in that current, they'll starve to death.
They also get quite large when mature.. four inches or more for females. They are peaceful critters, but they just won't suit a Betta tank.
OP
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DeirdreHoyle
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Oh ok, they don't sound good at all for my little tank! What do you mean by eating in the current? What kind of food do they eat?
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
If you look at these shrimp closely, you will see they have large fans on their front pairs of legs. This is why they are also called Fan shrimp. The fans have many tiny bristles, which serve to catch minute particles of food from the water column. They sit in one place, usually where the current is strongest, and wave the fans in the water, then close them & wipe them across their mouth to eat what they caught.
You can feed them micro or banana worms, copepods, rotifers, cultured liquid algae, Golden Pearls in the 5-50 micron size, even bakers yeast dissolved in water first, but you have to be careful with it, can't put too much in at one time.
Best to turn the filter off to allow them time to harvest the food. Say for an hour or so, maybe 3x a week. This means having an accessory pump that runs all the time separately from the filter, to provide constant current for the food.
You can also feed liquid Phyto, sold for feeding marine corals, or pure powdered spirulina, mixed in water first, or spray dried algae or spray dried crustaceans. Those last two are made by Two Little Fishies and they cost a darn fortune, both are for marine tanks but work great for any filter feeding animal, such as the fan shrimps or FW clams.
You can feed them micro or banana worms, copepods, rotifers, cultured liquid algae, Golden Pearls in the 5-50 micron size, even bakers yeast dissolved in water first, but you have to be careful with it, can't put too much in at one time.
Best to turn the filter off to allow them time to harvest the food. Say for an hour or so, maybe 3x a week. This means having an accessory pump that runs all the time separately from the filter, to provide constant current for the food.
You can also feed liquid Phyto, sold for feeding marine corals, or pure powdered spirulina, mixed in water first, or spray dried algae or spray dried crustaceans. Those last two are made by Two Little Fishies and they cost a darn fortune, both are for marine tanks but work great for any filter feeding animal, such as the fan shrimps or FW clams.
OP
OP
DeirdreHoyle
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I always saw them opening and closing their fans at the fish store and that's what first caught my attention. I thought it was so cute! I don't think these guys are my kind of aquatic pet, I need semi-low maintenance fish. I might get an african dwarf frog for the 6 gal, those are easier to feed from what I'm told. Do you know anything about those?
