Cherry Shrimp Stocking for 5.5 gallon tank

Hello fish and invertebrate keepers,

I have a 5.5 gallon planted Betta tank with a medium-sized Mystery snail. I think the Betta is very peaceful, as I've never seen him bother or show interest in the snail. I use an Aquarium Co-op nano sponge filter.

I am interested in buying some Cherry shrimp for the tank to add a pop of color. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Can I get Cherry shrimp or would the bioload/# of inhabitants be too much with the Betta and snail? If I can add some, do I get 5 or 10 shrimp? I plan to order online. Please let me know any advice on ordering fish/shrimp online, as well.

Thank you!!!
Bridget

 

I have just the person with z small tank to put you on the right track
mattgirl

 

I have just the person with z small tank to put you on the right track
mattgirl

Well shoot richiep you know much more than I do. If not for you I wouldn't be nearly as successful as I've been so far.

I am interested in buying some Cherry shrimp for the tank to add a pop of color. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Can I get Cherry shrimp or would the bioload/# of inhabitants be too much with the Betta and snail? If I can add some, do I get 5 or 10 shrimp? I plan to order online. Please let me know any advice on ordering fish/shrimp online, as well.

The bio-load is going to be the last thing you need to be concerned about since theirs is pretty low. The main concern will be the Betta seeing them as food. He may not bother the snail but may see shrimp as a treat you've given him.

Do you have live plants in this tank? How long has it been up and running? We need a well established tank for cherry shrimp. We want to make sure it is well past any chance of an ammonia or nitrite spike and has had time to grow a good coating of bio-film.

I started with 10 shrimp in my 2.5 gallon shrimp only bowl. I feel sure 10 would be a good start for a 5.5 gallon tank.

 

Thanks for the helpful reply!
Do you think that it is extremely likely that the Betta will eat/bully the shrimp? If you were me, would you not risk it?

I have a few live plants in the tank but it is not fully planted or aquascaped. Lots of Subwassertang, 2 Anubias nana, Jungle Vallisneria, and Amazon frogbit floating.
I also have some botanicals in there like a small piece of Cholla wood (which I think the shrimp would enjoy) and a lotus pod.

I recently moved, so the tank has been affected, but I saved the water, substrate, plants, and such for re-setting it up. The tank has been set up and running again in its new home for about a month now. Originally, (before moving) the tank was 4 months old, now 5.

Please let me know what you think!
Thank you again.

 

When adding shrimp to a fish tank it’s not just the fishes aggressiveness or it’s territorial behaviour you have to consider. If a fish identifies a shrimp as a food then it’s going to be hard for the shrimp to survive unless the tank is very favourable to the shrimp in terms of hiding spaces and enough food within those to survive.

As an example I tore down a 3 year old RCS tank last week and moved around 60 of them to their own tank. I moved around 8 into a betta tank and 10 in a ember tetra tank. The betta ate all of them over night. This betta is female and has lived peacefully with other fish and shows no signs of aggression. The problem is shrimp can’t be with her as she sees them as a food source.

 

Thanks for the helpful reply!
Do you think that it is extremely likely that the Betta will eat/bully the shrimp? If you were me, would you not risk it?

This is very difficult, actually all the way up to impossible to answer. It all depends on the personality of your Betta. If I were going to attempt it I would want to buy one or two locally if possible.

I have a few live plants in the tank but it is not fully planted or aquascaped. Lots of Subwassertang, 2 Anubias nana, Jungle Vallisneria, and Amazon frogbit floating.
I also have some botanicals in there like a small piece of Cholla wood (which I think the shrimp would enjoy) and a lotus pod.

This sounds like a nice place for shrimp. They will like the subwassertang. It will give them some pretty good cover. Plants grow like weeds in my shrimp bowl. I have to remove some hornwort and subwassertang at least once a month. Crypts grew fast and filled the bowl so I removed them. Java fern is in there now. some will have to be removed soon as it is growing really fast.

I recently moved, so the tank has been affected, but I saved the water, substrate, plants, and such for re-setting it up. The tank has been set up and running again in its new home for about a month now. Originally, (before moving) the tank was 4 months old, now 5.

Please let me know what you think!
Thank you again.

Since it has been a month since the move and everything in the tank was handled with care I suspect the tank is established well enough for shrimp. Shrimp are fascination little creatures so I do hope your Betta will be willing to share his space with them.