betta tank mate???

[rider6]

I got a purpleish redish male betta in a 2.5 bowfront with red substrate and live plants....was wondering if I could shack him up with a shrimp as a tankmate to kinda help out with maintance and add alil more to his tank... I know nothing about shimp even tho I got 3 whiskers running around my 55.
I guess I'm asking if there is compateability issues, and if there isn't do anyone know of any cool colors or specailty types they can point me towards?
He's fairly happy so I don't want to mess up his mojo if not possiable...but if it makes him happier I'm all for it...
And for some reason he chills by laying upside down and sideways in my plants....lol

 

[brennae]

Some Bettas eat shrimp so its a gamble. I'd start by trying something cheap like ghost shrimp. You could also get a snail, but again some Bettas will terrorize snails and bite their tentacles off.

 

[rider6]

Hmmmmm.....but if he's the same size won't they just leave each other alone? You would think if a ghost is in there all small like he will eat them for sure....maybe I can just put like 4 feeders in there and hell eat them over time...and hopefully they can get some work done before he does...

 

[Rivercats]

Just because something is the same size as the betta does not guarantee the betta will leave it alone. Snail antenna's look like worms and are often targets for nipping. A smaller snail like a Nerite snail (which is what I keep in my betta tanks) or a couple Malaysian Trumpet Snails would work fine. As suggested above if you want to try a shrimp, getting a cheap Ghost Shrimp is the way to go. But don't be surprized if the betta kills it.

 

[meviva]

When I had a betta in a 3.5 gal tank I put a couple of ghost shrimp in with him and he killed them. Now I have a betta in a 10 gal with several fish and a bamboo shrimp and he doesn't bother anyone. Whenever I add something new to the tank and he is paying any attention to it I put a mirror up to keep him occupied for a day or so. That seems to work but I'm not sure if this betta's personality is just calmer than the other one.

 

[greenikat]

I had many betas and in one tank I put a few freshwater frogs. All was great.

I put a beta in my 25 gallon tank along with all my other fish that included angel fish, clowns, neons and all went well.

I had one in a 3 gallon with larger mollies. All went well.

I think it all depends on how aggressive your fish is.