Shrimp in a Betta Tank

[TheresaM]

Do the rcs have good color? My shrimp-only tanks I feed every other day. They nibble on biofilm otherwise.

Not sure about the losses, seems like quite a few of us have dealt with that when we first started keeping them.

All my shrimp are active but I don't mix, not even neos with caridina. Maybe the rcs are stressed by the ghosts.

 

[GoldeenTrix9898]

The RCS are bright red. Which is confusing because they should be pale if stressed right? Maybe they are acting normal and I just think they are scared because I'm comparing them to my crazy ghost shrimp.

The RCS just sit on my plants and stay still, occasionally swimming out to land on another plant. I had one stay in the same place for a whole day. I used a dropper to move some water over him to check if he was dead. He wasn't so I just let him be. They don't eat anything I feed them, though I had one pregnant female pick at a small piece of Betta food.

I hope the RCS a stop dying off soon, because it makes me sad to have to suck up their dead bodies and flush it.


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[candygirl415]

Ghost shrimp are extremely active cause they are pigs. I had some with my rcs without a problem. As your cherries get more comfortable in your tank, they'll become a little more active. However its the males that swim around alot. Females are more sedentary. I feed mine algae wafers once in a while and its always the females that swarm them.

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[GoldeenTrix9898]

I lost two more RCS today One of them was already half eaten when I found him.

I don't get what's killing them, the ghost shrimp are fine. I thought maybe the ghost shrimp are dying too but I just didn't notice because they are clear. But I scoured the tank today and found only two dead RCS. ARGH.

Sometimes my ghost shrimp chase RCS away from them when my RCS land directly in front of ghost shrimp. Could this be what's scaring the RCS? Maybe they can't get to the betta food because the ghost shrimp scare them away. I tried putting the food directly on top of a bunch of RCS today so I'll see how that goes.

If I can't keep the RCS alive I suppose I'll just stick with ghost shrimp from now on. They should survive better when I add the betta anyway. Question though, will the ghost shrimp pinch my betta? They are kind of everywhere and they have pincers. Or will the betta just much on them if they dare come close?

 

[candygirl415]

Betta will chase the ghosts away. Idk what's going on with rcs. I had more problems with my ghosts dying than my rcs. When feeding scatter as much as possible so everyone gets a chance to a piece without competing for same pile. Its not your water parameters as your ghosts would be dying off as well. Are you sure they have all been dead shrimp and not molted shells? Sometimes they eerily look like a dead shrimp. Also are there safe places for the shrimp to hide while molting? They are extremely vulnerable while in that process and can easily be attacked by a ghost that thinks its dead or dying. As I said ghosts are pigs for food, won't hesitate to eat a dead shrimp.

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[candygirl415]

Oh, I would recommend getting a marimo moss ball, or a few. They act like sponges collecting crap and shrimp will pick and feed on that. Just an idea.

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[GoldeenTrix9898]

Betta will chase the ghosts away. Idk what's going on with rcs. I had more problems with my ghosts dying than my rcs. When feeding scatter as much as possible so everyone gets a chance to a piece without competing for same pile. Its not your water parameters as your ghosts would be dying off as well. Are you sure they have all been dead shrimp and not molted shells? Sometimes they eerily look like a dead shrimp. Also are there safe places for the shrimp to hide while molting? They are extremely vulnerable while in that process and can easily be attacked by a ghost that thinks its dead or dying. As I said ghosts are pigs for food, won't hesitate to eat a dead shrimp.

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Pretty sure they aren't molted shells. I actually check multiple times before removing dead bodies, because if it was a shell I let the other shrimp eat it and I heard shells release good nutrients and calcium back into the water.

I try to scatter as much as possible, but I avoid scattering near the back of my tank because it's very difficult for me to siphon up uneaten food from behind my plants. The ghost shrimp usually go for the food when it's still sinking, then they go for the pieces on the ground. The RCS just aren't eating the food. They keep picking at my plants and my Java moss ball thing but never eat any of the food I give them. Maybe they are starving to death. It makes sense because I have literally never seen them eating.

I think I have plenty of hiding places, but the ghost shrimp can access those too, so I don't know if those hiding places are actually useful for the RCS. I've seen the molted shells of my ghost shrimp however, so I think there should be enough hiding places.

I just saw one of my RCS suddenly spasm, flip upside down, struggle, then freeze up and sink. What the heck was that?! That's the first time I've seen one do that. Is it sick?! Do I need to do sth? I think it's dead. STH IS KILLING MY SHRIMP!!


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[TheresaM]

If they're picking at the plants and moss ball then they are in fact eating.

 

[GoldeenTrix9898]

If they're picking at the plants and moss ball then they are in fact eating.

Well at least I know they didn't starve to death. But what was the seizure-like thing I just saw. Is it disease, is it contagious? Should I move my shrimp?


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[candygirl415]

Idk. Check your water params. Also did you add anything that has copper in it? What's your temp? I almost killed some like that having them in a small tank temporarily and it was too cold.

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[GoldeenTrix9898]

My water params are good. Nothing I use has copper in it. I figured out the problem though. The ghost shrimp I got from the store were actually whisker shrimp, they look very similar but are carnivorous are very aggressive. They have been eating up my cherry shrimp. Now my cherry shrimp are all gone and it's just them

It's not that bad though, they are interesting to watch, but I will be slowly trapping them and removing them from my tank. They are extremely difficult to catch. Hopefully I will eventually be able to get rid of them and I can begin adding RCS again.

I did get my Betta, and he's so pretty. I'm still thinking of a name. He gets along very well with the 5 harlequin rasboras in his tank.


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[GoldeenTrix9898]

Here's the Betta and the rasboras, just an off-topic update of sorts.

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[candygirl415]

Oh! Well that explains your rcs problem! Ghosts are a little aggressive, but not like that! They will attack what they think is a dying cherry, or a dead one. If you plan on having cherries with the betta at any point, you'd be better off to have the cherries in the tank first for a little while. Bettas are territorial and may accept the cherries better if they were already a part of his new world. Sorry you had such bad luck.

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[GoldeenTrix9898]

Oh! Well that explains your rcs problem! Ghosts are a little aggressive, but not like that! They will attack what they think is a dying cherry, or a dead one. If you plan on having cherries with the betta at any point, you'd be better off to have the cherries in the tank first for a little while. Bettas are territorial and may accept the cherries better if they were already a part of his new world. Sorry you had such bad luck.

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My betta fish is very laid back. He doesn't care about the shrimp in his tank. He'll stare at them when the whisker shrimp swim past but doesn't really care. I saw the whisker shrimp attack my rasboras, and now I'm worried about them eating my rasboras. Is there any way to remove them from my tank? They are extremely fast and hide among my plants so netting them is impossible. They don't fall for the traps I set, no matter what I put in there. I tried fish pieces, betta food, other dead shrimp but they never fall for the traps.


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[candygirl415]

Idk. I've never dealt with those, nor do I know anything about them. You'll have to ask around, maybe make a new forum topic asking. If they are that much of a problem and aren't against killing them, you could add copper to the water, as long as no other invertebrates are in there, like copper laced medicine or something. Catching any shrimp is hard! My mom wants a few of mine now that they're breeding so well, but I can't catch them for her! Lol, too many plants and stuff to hide in.

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[candygirl415]

:-( rip to one of my momma shrimp. One of my frogs got lucky and snagged her. Not enough to eat her, but pulled half of back legs off. She lost all her eggs and slowly died nestled in a moss tree. So sad. But its only second shrimp they have ever injured. They can't catch them.

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[GoldeenTrix9898]

I don't want to kill them, it's not their fault for being carnivorous, it's my fault for not checking before buying. For now, I think I'll keep them well fed with betta food in hopes of discouraging them from going after live food because there is easy food, if that doesn't work I'll figure out how to catch them and put them into their own tank, or give them back to the pet store. They haven't gone after any more fish after I put a pile of betta food in the tank, every shrimp snagged a few pieces then my betta swooped in and finished it off. Hopefully that will do.


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[candygirl415]

The hard part on that is watching out for over feeding, so keep an eye on your levels. I don't like the idea of killing them either. If you can catch them, the pet store would probably take them back, maybe trade them for actual ghost shrimp. To catch them you may have to start removing anything they can hide in. Good luck to ya!

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[GoldeenTrix9898]

The hard part on that is watching out for over feeding, so keep an eye on your levels. I don't like the idea of killing them either. If you can catch them, the pet store would probably take them back, maybe trade them for actual ghost shrimp. To catch them you may have to start removing anything they can hide in. Good luck to ya!

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I am testing twice a day at the moment, once before the daily water change I do and one after. It's a relatively new tank and while it's cycled the new fish I added might mess up the bioload a bit so I'm doing daily water changes. I had a nitrite spike up to 0.15 ppm after I added the rasboras so I did a 50% water change and the water is back to normal for now. I realized the worst part about tropical tanks is that you have to make sure the water temp is the same, takes forever to get the exact temp you want by mixing water at the sink.

Sadly, I called the pet store and they said they don't take shrimp back after they are sold. They refused to admit they mislabeled the shrimp, so I'm stuck with them for now. I'm actually considering tearing down the tank to catch the shrimp. But I'm afraid that I might kill off my bacteria while doing it, so I won't do it until absolutely necessary. The shrimp haven't gone after any more fish, as far as I know, so I'm hoping that they can coexist. If they can't, I might be forced to set up a shrimp tank. Stupid scamming pet stores D:

 

[candygirl415]

You don't have to be exact on water temp, just get close. I just guess by how it feels on my hand in tank compared to what i'm adding. I haven't killed anyone yet! Maybe you could get a small cheap tank for the shrimp. You don't have to tear down the tank, just take some of the tank water and put into something. Take out fish and out in tank water, along with decorations and stuff. Once you catch your shrimp, put everything back including the tank water. You shouldn't kill anything beneficial that way.

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