Newbie questions and Will my ghost shrimp be ok?

[mrzap]

I originally just had 1 beta in my 10 gallon tank and I would feed him his little beta pellets and there would be no fuss or mess, but I figured he was bored all alone in there so I bought a couple balloon mollies, but they eat flakes and as a result a lot of it tends to accumulate on the bottom of the tank so I decided to get some ghost shrimp to help clean up.

Are my beta and mollies going to feast on my ghost shrimp or should they be ok?

Additionally, my mollies seem to make a LOT more excretory waste (to put it G rated) then my beta ever did. I guess they store it up in that balloon gut of theirs They seem to be the pigeons of the aquatic world. Is this just my observation or is this normal for mollies to make a mess of your entire tank.

My water has gotten much cloudier since adding them. I have a power filter that came with the aquarium (Primo Low End, mechanical and chemical-no bio), but I think the mollies are overpowering it I have had a nice aquatic plant (even when it was just my beta in there) that has been doing well in there that adds some extra filtering (i think, right?).

I ordered a clam (another natural filterer right?) and the ghost shrimp to help keep the mess down. Do ghost shrimp eat just leftover food or do they tend to also eat some of the fish waste as well?

I am thinking of adding another filter, but my hood doesn't have the room for another one that hangs over the side. It would have to be submersable I guess. Any recommendations? Would another filter be overkill for 3 fish in a 10 gallon tank? I am thinking it may be a good idea to help considering I will be adding about 3-4 ghost shrimp and the clam which will mean more waste, but less rotting debri I guess.

forgive this post as it was written in a trail of thought style

 

[RogerMcAllen]

It depends on the individual fish. My bettas love to tear them apart. They are pretty cheap, so buy a few and see what happens.

 

[William]

Mollies have quite long finnage as they get older, and bettas don't like being around someone who may be prettier than them

Their very vain, and prone to anger.

 

[mrzap]

Roger that is not what I wanted to hear
The problem is I have been to every put store within 10 miles of me and none carry any sort of freshwater shrimp so I had to get them overnighted from CA. It only cost me 50 cents a shrimp but the shipping was 24

I have some aquarium ornaments with some tiny openings, I am not sure if it is too tiny, but maybe get another hiding spot to be safe you think?

My betta doesn't seem to mind them at least for now. The mollies are a 3rd of his size counting fins so we will see I made sure to get ones that have completely non beta colorings. One is a dalmation and one is bright orange.

 

[William]

Finnage is what really matters, and soon those mollies [ specially if their sailfin or lyretail ] will get some nice fins on them, and the betta may see them as a threat to his manhood and try to take them out.

Just a heads up, also..aggression can take several days to show up.

 

[mrzap]

Any ideas on the filtering situation?

 

[Allivymar]

You may want to try a Fluval 1plus; its an intank filter. Not too big and will add an additional place for nitrifying bacteria as well. It won't rid the tank of the poo tho; nothing eats poo including the shrimp. You'll need to increase the frequency of your gravel vacs for that.

Oh, and I'd pass on the clams. They are filter feeders, but don't often get the food they need in a fishtank, especially one with a small bioload. Plus, when they die, its really hard to tell; that can really mess up the water parameters and take out your entire tank. Stick with the shrimp. Plus, the shrimp are MUCH more fun to watch *grin*

 

[Christmasfish]

You never know with bettas, all of mine munch snails and ghost shrimp like they are the new Ben &Jerry's. And two are quite agrresive while the very largest is placid and doesn't bother her tankmates. (Least no signs of stress or scuffles).
I have one that hates blue things so bad that she ripped her lip attacking her reflection. But flounces around now that I have a marine background with yellow reef fish). Then again she intimidates my males and bit the cat.
My grandfather had several males in a planted tank and never lost a fish. *shrugs* go figger!

 

[mrzap]

Allivymar, the clam is already on its way. I wish I knew what you told me beforehand. Since it is already coming what do I need to keep in mind with clams and what do I need to look out for?

 

[patryuji]

Roger that is not what I wanted to hear
The problem is I have been to every put store within 10 miles of me and none carry any sort of freshwater shrimp so I had to get them overnighted from CA. It only cost me 50 cents a shrimp but the shipping was 24 ...

Did you even check *shudder* Wal-Mart? I was at one (local to me) checking prices for equipment and suddenly decided to buy some ghost shrimp from them...only 26 cents each. I figured it was inexpensive enough to be worth it even if they don't make it in the QT.

 

[mrzap]

I've never ever seen any walmart near me with anything other than bettas and goldfish and maybe some other super common fish variety.

 

[krap101]

ive seen em hold gouramis plecos betas danios etc i cant remember the rest

 

[mrzap]

aquariumfish.net got them all to florida safely! These guys jumped out of the bag and instantly started scarfing down leftover bloodworms. Amazing watching a bloodworm go through a ghost shrimp

It has been about 4 hours and I think all the shrimp I put in are still alive

I can't seem to find one of the tiny ones but I think he may be hiding