# No Tech Betta And Shrimp Bowl



## kraken14 (Jun 21, 2015)

I went to the pet store looking to buy more live rock for my reef aquarium and decided to check out the local hobby lobby while I was in town. I found a 14 inch bubble bowl for $15, and of course, I bought it and decided to set up as a planted tank. I had been looking to get back into the hobby, and this seemed like an interesting project. I have a mix of random plants I got from a friend, and I am using an old fluval led strip for light, and that’s all equipment wise. I have a koi betta that will be going into this tank, and I plan on adding cherry shrimp in the coming month or so.

Day 1









Livestock:
Half moon plakat koi betta








Cherry Shrimp(future)

Currently doing 30% water changes 4 times a week.

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## Frignhign (Jun 23, 2018)

Hi Kraken, I hope you keep your post updated. I am going through a similar endeavor. I haven't picked a betta yet though, yours is very beautiful! I have 12 cherry shrimp 5 amano shrimp, 4 nerite snails and 6 harlequin rasboras. I have been scouring all the forums to see if bettas and cherry shrimp can work together. So far 4 out of 5 post I read say yes and there is always that 1 that says no way and it didn't end well! I am 3.5 weeks into the no tech cycle using the walsted method. Last night I saw the rasboras spawning under some wisteria leaves! I just hope to get the shrimp population up before i find the right betta. I have attached a picture of my tank. Oh, I do a 20% water change every 3 days, not sure if that is too much. Plant growth has been really good other than the dwarf hair grass, but no plant or livestock has died. I hope everything works good for you!


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## Proteus01 (Mar 12, 2017)

I’m a big fan of nano scapes, both above look great. That bowl is an awful temptation, every time I see it. I love that the scape can be really elegant with a tiny bit of wood, a rock or three, and some leftover plants. I’ve made a few, but not that bowl. It’s on my to-do list. Are you going to let the stem plants grow out the top? 
I am not a betta expert, but I’ve had several through the last seven years or so. One that I have right now won’t even allow snails to live in his tank (so he gets lots of algae, instead). Another could care less about anything besides pellets - won’t even get the bloodworms (and his tank stays spotless, thanks to thriving snails). I’ve been tempted to move him to my community tank, but I think Cherry Barbs may chase him. 
So, I say the fate of your shrimp is totally up to Mr. Koi Plakat. Hope it goes well, that’ll be a fun bowl to watch. If it starts to go poorly (except for the betta, with the open buffet), pick up another bowl! 

On second thought, even numbers are an aquarium no-no, right? So, go all-in and pick up two more bowls.


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## Fisherking (Feb 27, 2012)

All of the Bettas I've kept were murderous with shrimp but, as Proteus said, it probably depends on the fish. Maybe just put a single shrimp in with your beautiful plakat first to see what he does?

I had a weird experience with a large Hobby Lobby bowl after I planted it. A week or so after I'd set it up, it spontaneously shattered. Luckily I didn't have animals in it. It did seem to be thin glass, but I never expected _that_!


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## kraken14 (Jun 21, 2015)

That’s strange, as this bowl has fairly thick glass. Fingers crossed nothing happens. As for the betta, I’m probably going to buy a ghost shrimp or two and see how he reacts to them. That way I’m not out $3 if he decides to be a killer. I have been pretty lucky so far with the bettas I have owned when it comes to tank mates. So far they have all just ignored anything else that was put in the tank with them. I’ll definitely try ghost shrimp before I go with cherry shrimp though.


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## kraken14 (Jun 21, 2015)

Update: 
No shrimp will be going into this tank. My betta chased the ghost shrimp for half an hour and tried to eat them. They were moved to a different tank. I have never owned a betta this aggressive. It even flares at the nerite snail I put in!


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## Proteus01 (Mar 12, 2017)

The silver lining on an aggressive betta is how interactive they are with you - always looking out of the tank, and happy to see you. Also, they (again, my experience not expertise) will more readilly accept different foods, which is fun. My aggressive betta will even eat pellets right off my fingers. 

Ghost shrimp aren’t herbivorous by preferred choice, I believe, and can munch on betta finnage (two tried that with one of my other betta: one was left headless, the other found a new home). I didn’t do a good job keeping them in the past, assuming they were like neocaridina. 

There’s definitely quite thin glass on some bowls, and some others are nicely thick. I’d stick to the thick ones only (sounds obvious in hindsight). None are really meant to be filled to the brim with water, like ‘actual’ aquariums. That fear is one of my holdbacks for getting a bowl (along with diminishing available surfaces). Maybe start it in a less vulnerable space?


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