renovated 5.5 gallon betta tank. shrimp friendly now?

[liberator123]

i tore down my 2.5 gallon shrimp tank (gave all the shrimps to my gf).
then i took all the plants, driftwood, and equipment and transfered to my 5.5 gallon tank. the 5.5 now has 2 small external filters, one has purigen and carbon, and the other is biological and mechanical.
overall im happy with how it looks now and can't wait till the plants grow in.
question: i have tried to designed the bottom area to have as much plant/moss/rock/driftwood cover as i can with what i have. there is even a hidden driftwood cave in front of the javamoss that my betta probablt cant fit throuh. do you think this is worth trying to add red cherry shrimps in? (with my betta of course)

 

[Mordachai]

When I asked at my LFS that specializes in shrimp, they indicated not-good to try to put shrimp in with a betta (I mean crystal shrimp or similar - the little ones - I imagine the amano would be fine).

But that's just what they told me. I haven't tried it.

Beautiful tank, BTW

 

[liberator123]

thanks mordachai! hmmm if the small shrimps are a no go, what should i house my betta with? or should i just let him have the whole tank himself? i feel like all the moss will go to waste with just a betta lol.

u know what... i might as well try it... if he ends up eating em, then ill just view it as an expensive gormet dinner for him. he hasnt been eating lately anyway. everything i give is either ignored or spit out. idk why...

 

[Pezzep]

I tried throwing in a tiny red cherry a few weeks ago I thought for sure my betta would eat it but then I randomly seen him like 3-4 days ago chillin on my frogbi lol I don't even have plants in the tank yet just a piece of driftwood with a little notch in it for the shrimp to hide.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I would bet they'll get eaten. What about a few pink or blue ramshorns for a splash of color?

 

[liberator123]

I would bet they'll get eaten. What about a few pink or blue ramshorns for a splash of color?

I read that ramshorns are considered pests in aquarium as they reproduce really quickly and can damage plants... is this true? if so, Im not sure if Im willing to deliberately add them in the tank as I don't want hundreds of em overrunning the tank. Unless if theres a way to reduce the population? like make conditions for them not to reproduce? less food? anything? I mean I wouldn't mind seeing 5-10 of em around, but I have seen how fast snails reproduce in my gf's 2.5 gallon shrimp tank (got infested by 2 kinds of snails from plants she purchased). In 2 weeks time, 3 snails became 30! lol

 

[Mordachai]

I put about 20 crystal shrimp in my community planted tank. I see some of them sometimes. They mostly like to stay hidden under logs, and such. But occasionally many of them will come out, as they did when I did a WC. Maybe the cool water stimulates them to get out? But counting them to be sure that all 20 are still there?! lol - nope, most days I see one or two.

If you want some crystal shrimp, and can live with a few being a menu item occasionally, I would give it a try, and see how well they do.

 

[GreenLily]

First of all, you have a GORGEOUS aquarium! I think you should go for the shrimp and just test it out. It looks like they would have a lot of hiding places to get away from the betta.

 

[Pass_lake]

My betta does not eat my shrimp. You should give it a try

 

[liberator123]

thanks greenlily!
im getting more plants for it soon too including floating crystalwort (riccia). i decided i will try out the shrimps. ive already ordered some. im looking for a good snail though, one that doesn't over multiply... im thinking nerite snails? anyone have any i can buy? do they eat fish food too, cuz i know they eat algae. i want the snail because my betta never finishes the food i feed him (even if its 2-3 flakes only or pellets), so the snail should be a good cleanup crew for the excess food.

 

[Mordachai]

I've been really happy with my two Golden Mystery Snails (Golden Apple Snails).

They're relatively active at most times of the day, they look cool, and they don't overpopulate (I think you have to make an effort to get them the right breeding conditions, they're not just like bunnies).

Mystery Snails - Bing Images

 

[liberator123]

I've been really happy with my two Golden Mystery Snails (Golden Apple Snails).

They're relatively active at most times of the day, they look cool, and they don't overpopulate (I think you have to make an effort to get them the right breeding conditions, they're not just like bunnies).

Mystery Snails - Bing Images

ive considered golden mystery snails. and ive also considered nerite snail. but its a hard choice i think. apple/mystery snails kind of grow big right? its a 5.5 g only and im afraid he may out compete food from the shrimps. nerite snail is a good small size, but i heard they lay many white eggs thats hard to get rid of...

 

[Mordachai]

They're about 2.5" diameter, 1" wide, at most. So big for a snail, but smaller than a Beta.

I have seen them respond very favorably to both shrimp food, and algae wafers. The small shrimp eat such a tiny amount, I would doubt that they'd be starved out by a snail or two.

But I have zero experience with the Nerite Snails, and is 99% personal preference anyway! Get the ones that seem more fun. Someone else will have to speak to how hard it is to keep Nerite snails in check.

 

[okapizebra]

I love my ramshorn snails! Yes, they do reproduce quickly but if you feed sparingly you should have no issues. They're easy to remove and IMO are pretty to look at and stay nice and small. I enjoy seeing the little baby snails go around the tank. And no, they will not damage plants. They may eat dead or decaying leaves, but healthy plants will not be affected.

Nerites are fantastic algae eaters, so if you decide to get those, wait until your tank is fairly mature so there's plenty of surfaces for them to clean so they don't starve. What I found very annoying about nerites though and made me eventually give them away was their annoying white eggs they lay ALL over the driftwood. They won't hatch unless in brackish water and are very difficult to remove, IMO. Have a speckled white piece of driftwood was not very appealing.

 

[liberator123]

well guys i did something different than originally planned. first off, there was this really nice looking nerite snail at my lfs. all other snails werent pleasing to look at (the gold and black mystery snails did not look great in the store). since i did not have to order the snail online, and it was available for only 3 bucks, i went ahead and got that single nerite. i really thought of getting colored ramshorn snails, but i didnt want to pay so much shipping for 1 or 2 snails.
second, i tested the cherry shrimp with my betta. i placed only 2 at first. he was looking at it like figuring out what it is, but then he starts attacking. the shrimp was big enuff and fast enuff to evade his attacks, so i just waited a few to see if the betta would leave them alone. however, he doesnt. each time he spots a shrimp, he tries to attack it (good thing theres alot of hiding spots). i did not want to see this aggression any longer, so i decided to transfer the betta to my 2.5g tank.

i now have a 5.5g shrimp tank! 20+ rcs and a single nerite (i might xfer him with my betta in the 2.5 because my betta did not bother the nerite).

 

[GreenLily]

Ah man! That's too bad that the betta wouldn't leave the shrimp alone! A shrimp tank sounds great though.