Samurai_fish

So I was thinking about getting maybe some shrimp for a future tank, not my current one that is. I was wondering if shrimp need to be counted towards the bio-load / 1in per gallon rule and what fish are compatable with them, specifically ghost shrimp interest me. Would a betta tolerate a ghost shrimp or 2, or would they get at his fins?

Jim

Check out my tank. http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/me...nth-later.html
I'm not sure if you can see any in the picture, but I currently have the following living together fine.
Fish
6 female Bettas
1 Pearl Gourami
3 sunset honey Gourami
1 golden nugget pleco
1 Siamese Algea eater (yes...SIAMESE!!)

Inverts:
10 Japanese Amano Shrimp
10 or so Ghost Shrimp
2 Crystal Cherry Shrimp
3 Siamese Flower Shrimp
1 small Gold Inca Snail

Now, as for the bio-load, that's a good question, and I'm afraid I can't answer it. I've always assumed you should count them, especially shrimp because they tend to like oxygenated water. But at the same time, I've always wondered myself, and haven't really ever gotten a straight answer that I could find. But to be on the safe side, count them in your fish population for the tank.
Also, my different shrimp eat different things, and you should consider this before you buy any. Ghosts are great little scavengers, and are dirt cheap, so I have a squad as garbage eaters. The amano & red crystal shrimp are algea eaters, and do better in an older, established tank. The flower shrimp are filter feeders. They have these cool little paddle like arms that they fan the water with looking for small particles of food. Those I I don't so much feed, but occasionally suppliment with very very finely crushed flakes.
There are also a couple more agressive shrimps, which I would love to have, but... The easiest way to tell if one is agressive is look for claws. Ghosts have tiny, little claws that they use to pick up food, that's fine. But there's a shrimp, I think a camaleon shrimp, that has much larger, nastier claws made to pick up ghost shrimp.... get it?

Jim

OK, I have to add a note. I should have known if I opened my mouth something would happen. Everything is fine in the tank I mentioned in the last post... but in my 12 gallon incubation tank lives Sid, my male Betta. And go figure, just whenI tell you it's OK to put ghosts and bettas together, I wake up to find Sid carrying a ghost in his mouth like a dog with a chew toy! I don't know if he killed it, or it died and he's just munching on it, but either way I guess it's something to be aware of. Some fish like Male Bettas may figure out sooner or later that Ghost shrimp are tasty.

Samurai_fish

Aww sorry to hear that your betta may have munched on your shrimp.

Jim

well, at least it was a ghost. I know that's cold, but ghosts are like 12 for a dollar. My amano's and flower shrimp are like 4 dollars a piece!

Blub

Jim

Actually I haven't had too much problem with the female betta's. They will pick a dead shrimp they find clean, but some of the ghost shrimp are as big as them, and my flower shrimp are twice their size, those they leave alone. However, I have watched them wandering thru and even under my Java moss, and it definitly looks like they're stalking something, so I don't know how much of a chance a baby shrimp has unless it finds a really good hiding spot.

sirdarksol

Shrimp don't count as bioload, in general. Most of them take up so little space, and work to clean up the extra food. The larger shrimp, or an extremely large concentration of them, might count.

Bettas do not, in nature, eat brine shrimp. Brine shrimp are, as their name suggests, saltwater critters. However, members of the Caridina species likely live in their rice paddies, so they may see smaller shrimp as dinner.
The good news is that shrimp, in general, have enough armor to protect them from bettas. When they're molting is when they are defenseless against fish like bettas. At this point, Hatchet is right, they'll be seen as dinner.
Larger fish, or fish equipped to deal with the shells (like puffers) can feast upon them at any point.
If you provide enough hiding places (like a piece of driftwood covered with Java moss), they should be able to survive, as they usually hide during the time that their shells are hardening.

Samurai_fish

Awesome, thanks for all the advice, I love this site. I think I may consider getting some ghost shrimp when i get a bigger tank hopefully this summer.

Jim

I would definitly get one or 2, just for comic value if nothing else. They're a riot to watch!

Jim

While I agree with this statement, I want to point out that some shrimp need nicely oxygenated water. So while I wouldn't really worry about the bio-load, I would definitly count them in the population as far as O2 load. This is mostly why I've been running a bubbler at night. The bettas and Gouramis don't need it, they can breath air; it's the shrimp I'm mostly concerned with. You can suffocate a shrimp quite fast it turns out.

sirdarksol

All of my tanks have either an airstone running or have a bio-wheel (which provides as much surface area for oxygen exchange as bubbles). Aside from this, most HOB filters produce a decent amount of bubbles, anyway, so most people will be fine, as long as you don't have a ton of shrimp (which would start adding up to affect the bioload, as well)

zambize

Bettas don't eat shrimp in the wild, but the Bettas you buy are bred in captivity and are fed brine shrimp.

Zambize