What on earth...?????

[bluerose]

Well, I can only find one shrimp. Not panicking about it yet although the betta will chase it... hoping the others are just hiding and didn't get munched on or sucked up by the filter or something.

Best photos I could get, sorry they're a bit blurry. Shrimp is mostly clear with dots.

Tank shot is for shrimp hiding place suggestions...

 

[Purrbox]

Definately a ghost shrimp. Great scavengers and will eat some algae if they don't get too much fish food. Don't count on them breeding. Depending on the exact species they may require BW for the babies to develop.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Ghost shrimp are cool, they have very good smell or something, b/c if food is dropped to the bottom they will be the 1st to find it. I have some briggs snails now and they are great at finding food also. Both are better then RCS or fish, going by smell that is.

 

[bluerose]

OK, so let me get this straight. I can have way more shrimp than I do in the tank and not overload it? (currently have 4 tetras, am considering adding 2 more so the glolight has friends, a betta, and two cories- water parameters are very stable and I usually do 1-2 10-25% PWC's each week- I know I'm really pushing the 1" rule but I've been adding slowly and watching parameters/behaviors very carefully and so far it's been going swimmingly, pun intended.)

Right now I'm letting a new filter get settled (Duetto 100, rated for 20gal)- the old one is giving out after all my fiddling with it (it was creating way too much current for the betta).

And if the ghost shrimp won't be breeding, I could have RCS (granted that I can find them...) and not have the interbreeding issue? or are they the wrong species anyway?

I'm concerned about the smaller RCS being nibbled on by ms. betta though if I did decide to go that route. I've only ever seen smaller ones than the ghosts.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Shrimp dont add much at all to the bioload, basically you can setup your tank with a reasonable amount of fish, then have as many shrimp that will fit and be good.

RCS are smaller than many other shrimp, when you buy them they are shipped very small as they acclimate best when young, I suggest posting a RCS wanted thread as there are many people on here that have them.

Just be prepared as the Beata will prob eat teh small ones, so you'll have to figure something out there, like a tank divider for a few months till they breed or something, otherwise they will become a snack for the Betta

 

[bluerose]

She's chasing the current shrimp which are pretty large so no RCS for me, now at least.

They're hiding and I've only found 2- dunno where the 3rd got off to. I hope not in the filter.