# Why shrimp are not for betta.



## Subtletanks91

I keep Amanos with my beta and have no trouble, though I do a water change every three weeks or as needed when ammonia levels go up usually only top offs and I have a good biological filter going. Betas are easy to keep if you have the proper set up going. And the Amanos are big enough that the beta pays them no heed at all. When my beta was recovering from fin rot when I rescued him from the store, the Amanos actually cleaned the fins off and his tail grew back in color. Pretty amazing act of symbiosis that I don't think I will ever see again.


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## ravensgate

My betta ripped the eye off a near 3" female Amano almost twice his size. Everything depends on the individual betta.


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## Subtletanks91

Yeah that's true also, my old beta I had for 5 years killed an amano, but this beta seems to not be bothered by them.


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## I<3<*))))><

So true Jamie. It ALL depends on the betta. 


ravensgate said:


> Everything depends on the individual betta.


Although I do think theyre less likely to after ghost and amanos. Possibly due to their lack of colors, bigger size.... who knows.
My betta from years ago was kept with ghosties without a problem. One day I added a cherry just to see.... that shrimp didn't even last an hour.


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## ANBU




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## Black Pearl

So, what fish are safe to keep w/ shrimps?


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## greenteam

XD no fish is completely safe. It's like asking what type of mouse can i keep with my cats lol. It's just nature one is always the prey and one the hunter.


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## I<3<*))))><

Otocinclus Catfish are the ONLY fish I know of that are 100% shrimp safe. Even with the shrimplets.



Black Pearl said:


> So, what fish are safe to keep w/ shrimps?


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## shrimpzoo

Time to put one of my golden bee shrimp culls into my betta tank just to see the outcome.


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## I<3<*))))><

LOL funny you should say that.... I plan to do the same here soon when I start culling my Cherrys/PFR's. More so as a test to see if he is shrimp friendly, not so much to just fatten em up. But either way I guess it'll work. 

Lemme know what your guy thinks?
Im curious.


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## shrimpzoo

I'll let you know by tomorrow then what happens 

I'll place him into the tank either tonight or tomorrow morning.


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## TankYouVeryMuch

I have RCS and ghost shrimp with my betta. heavily planted... no issues at all. 

((people say dont keep RCS and ghosts together))

No issues. Its been 2 months maybe?


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## Fiala06

I've always had ghost shrimp in with my bettas in the coarse of maybe 6 months so far. Not an issue.


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## jeepguy

My betta swims up to RCS, stares, and swims away. Depends on the betta.


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## steven p

I<3<*))))>< said:


> Otocinclus Catfish are the ONLY fish I know of that are 100% shrimp safe. Even with the shrimplets.


I've said it before and I will again, my otocinclus will hit a feeding frenzy of shrimp like a pro bowler hits a strike... Just because the otos mouth isn't designed to consume a shrimp doesn't mean the fish won't still pick on the shrimp. I've seen less issue with Siamese algae eaters. Most people witness the opposite.

But this thread is for bettas, with major cover, a few shrimp may slip past and may be able to flourish. However, the best way to raise a shrimp colony is invert only. Even then, I would refrain from adding any other invert that could "boom" in population. Ramshorns can easily push shrimp off of and away from food and even crowd them out of feeding dishes.


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## Asu1776

I've had good experiences keeping my bettas with shrimps (RCS, Amanos, and Ghost) in my 10 gallon and 3 gallon planted tanks. How well they mix depends on a variety of factors.

1) *How big your tank is and how much vegetation is there.* Bettas are very curious fish. You'll notice them swim through plants and tiny crevices to investigate what's going on. Odds are that if they see a baby shrimp, they'll try to go for it. You can minimize how easily a betta finds shrimps by upgrading to a larger tank or increasing the amount of plants you have in the tank. Also, by minimizing how many times a betta successfully attacks a shrimp, well, you simply avoid training him to hunt for his food.

2) *The order of how the betta/shrimp has been added to the environment.* I had a betta that ignored all the RCS I had in the tank. One day, I decided to consolidate all my RCS into the 10 gallon tank. When I released a berried female into my 10 gallon, my betta caught sight of it and chased it into the plants, biting it on its tail, and killing the shrimp. However, the shrimps that were in the tank before were not bothered by the betta. I think, in general, bettas are very curious and sensitive to additions to their environments (just in case it may be another betta invading his territory)

3) *How well fed your bettas are.* Bettas are smart. They can recognize their owners, and estimate the time you will feed them if you are on a consistent schedule. Keeping him satiated may prevent him from wanting to search for more food. Of course, if your betta is a fata$$, then he may still search for more food, but underfeeding can encourage him to hunt instead of wait for you to feed him.

4) *Betta personality.* You probably can't rule this one out. Sometimes it amazes me how bettas can have differences in the way they behave, interact with their environment and owners, and almost the way they think about stuff. I had one betta that learned the line of scrimmage before the output from my HOB filter blasts him into the glass. Sometimes he just sits in the plants to get a little breeze too. Given that there are differences in their behaviors, if your betta just doesn't like 10 legged critters in his space, well, shrimps might not be a good fit. Others may simply not even care if a shrimp starts to float in front of him. It's all subjective.

All in all, I wanted to elucidate the precautions that may help improve the compatibilities that shrimps and bettas can have. Hopefully, people can have a happy party going on in your tank just like what I had in my 10 gallon and 3 gallon tanks.


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## Carlin

I find it interesting that the more and more I read this thread the more and more I want to throw a betta in one of my tanks. Time to start my betta research!


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## Rcguerra

Owner of 3 nano tanks with male bettas and countless shrimps with no fatal encounters since inception (march 2013).


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## Rcguerra




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## TankYouVeryMuch

Cool cubes!


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## Vermino

I've had great success with my Betta and two amano's in my 6 gallon. Given enough hiding spots and plants, they will both have their own "active" schedules. (my betta actually sleeps under the same piece of driftwood my amano's take shelter in, they don't get startled or jump) 

I know this is hindsight, but you can also pull the Betta out of the tank (i put mine in a little breeder box for 2 weeks) and give your shrimp ample time to adjust to their surroundings without predators involved. Adding the betta back into the aquarium will make him less aggressive of the unknown environment. Once he is added back in, your shrimp will hopefully have refugee spots to hide out while the "big bad" predator swims above lol. I also recommend feeding your Betta a bit more regularly (if not already) - Even though they will eat till they are floating upside down, keeping him full could lower the chance of a shrimp becoming a main course.

Last thing to note - I don't care how tame your Betta, once RCS start making babies, it's a feeding frenzy for a betta. Its great if you like to create your own little eco-system aquarium though.


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## Soothing Shrimp

My betta eats shrimp culls.


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## peachii

Soothing Shrimp said:


> My betta eats shrimp culls.


nonononono, hopefully not any Nessie culls. I'll take Nessie culls with one leg and missing both eyes. 


Actually I'd be up to buy any culls to put into a tank for a skittles tank, just for looks.


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## shrimpzoo

Single golden bee shrimp does fine with my Betta 

So far so good lol, I am fasting him today... lets see if he'll turn to the dark side XD.


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## CheyLillymama22

Just a thought.

Bettas need temps above 76. Preferably around 80. Temps that high will put shrimp at risk for bacterial infection, right?


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