Cherry Shrimp with Betta

Hello! I have been contemplating whether or not to get some cherry shrimp for my bettas’ tank. The tank is a 10 gallon with a divider with a male on one side and a female on the other. I was planning to get about three shrimp for each side to keep the minor algae in the tank down a bit. It’s pretty heavily planted with loads of species on one side, and lightly planted on the other side with just a dwarf hairgrass carpet. As far as I am concerned there is no copper or shrimp harming substances in the fertilizer. I was planning to just start the shrimp of the heavily planted side and if I had success, add some to the other side. Is this a good idea? Will my shrimp get eaten (I have no idea if my bettas are aggressive or not)? Should I switch the two bettas so that they are both in “new territory” to help them adjust to the shrimp? Would it be better to put the shrimp with the male (blue) or the female (red)? Thoughts?

 

If I don't know their temperment, I wouldn't try it without testing the waters first. Cherry shrimp are kind of costly after all, and a foul tempered betta will completely destroy a colony in one afternoon, even in unfamiliar territory. Buy a ghost shrimp, or maybe just one or two cherry shrimp, and see how it goes.

Also, if you want some shrimp for algae control, I recommend amanos. They're not as pretty as specially bred cherries, but they eat more algae, and their larger size makes them less appealing as a possible snack to a betta.

 

I'd go amanos, they're algae eating powerhouses and are two large to become snacks (2"). They could get terrorized though, it really depends on your betta and it's temperament. My betta wouldn't hurt a fly, although Some at my LFS are fisty little things.

 

As said before it completely depends on the temperament of your betta! I have been lucky to pick out the right fish to go with my shrimp. It took quite a bit of observing in the store to pick the right one.
Definitely check your water parameters before investing as cherry shrimp can get quite costly. Also understand that you may not see great colony growth considering the shrimp will see the betta as a constant predator.

 

I wasn’t so lucky with my bettas in the past adding shrimp wit them. Including my most recent betta. He was “mean” to them but never bothered the 3 embers and otto cat in his tank

 

I started my betta, Finnegan, with four cherry shrimp in January. He chased them around when they first got into the tank, and the next morning there were shrimp chunks from one shrimp and no other shrimp to be seen. I thought he ate them all, but it turns out that the other three survived. They were just really good at hiding, and eventually got comfortable enough to show themselves (or I was just really unobservant). I added more shrimp yesterday and from what I've seen Finn isn't eating them, though he has occasionally stared at them.

So it can work out, but definitely don't go all out with the shrimp population at first.

 

It depends if your Betta eats. They will eat anything they can, regardless of their temperment. The adult neos will probably be fine. If there are lots of hiding spaces for the babies, many of them should survive.
In my tank, there is a single betta and a metric ton of blue neos. Hiding places everywhere. HTH

 

Not sure if I should’ve put this is the betta forum? Tomorrow I will be picking up 15 cherry shrimp for my 10 gallon betta tank. I have a few questions. Should I put all 15 shrimp in the 10 gallon or will that be too much? If it’s over stocked, I have two 2.5 gallon backup tanks if needed. If anyone has any successful ways of introducing them to a betta, please share. Should I take my betta out while I add them? Should I acclimate them to the water parameters and then the temp by floating them? Any tips are welcome! Thanks

 

definitely float and acclimate for a while because from my experience cherry shrimp are sensitive when first added. I would have the other tanks ready Incase your betta is a shrimp killer like some are

 

Drip acclimate for two hrs

 

Make sure there are lots of hiding spots. Release the shrimp close to those spots away from the betta

 

Also I’ve heard that nighttime (or a dark tank) is the best time to put shrimp in as the betta is more likely to be relaxing. As opposed to hunting. Good luck. I’ll be watching as I’d like to add some blue shrimp to my betta tank but I’ve been having trouble sourcing them

 

How do I acclimate to temp and water at the same time if they’re in a bag? I have a few buckets, but obviously it wouldn’t be the same temp.

 

Drop the bags of shrimp into the 10gal to temperature acclimate them

 

To drip acclimatise pour the shrimp into a container as in the photo and start the drip, the slight temp change will not affect them, every so often take some water out and digard it, after 2hrs float the container in the tank for 10 minutes before releasing

 

To drip acclimatise pour the shrimp into a container as in the photo and start the drip, the slight temp change will not affect them, every so often take some water out and digard it, after 2hrs float the container in the tank for 10 minutes before releasing

Wow, never thought simple cherry shrimp require this much acclimation. I just poured mine into a bucket, poured some water from the tank over a course of 30 minutes, netted, rinsed off with aquarium water for good measure, and was done with it. They seemed fine. Maybe that's the benefit of buying in the neighbourhood with the same water supply.

 

Wow, never thought simple cherry shrimp require this much acclimation. I just poured mine into a bucket, poured some water from the tank over a course of 30 minutes, netted, rinsed off with aquarium water for good measure, and was done with it. They seemed fine. Maybe that's the benefit of buying in the neighbourhood with the same water supply.

That goes a long way when both waters are the same and you will get away with it, but for waters different they need to acclimatise to the new ph,gh of that water or shock will follow

 

To drip acclimatise pour the shrimp into a container as in the photo and start the drip, the slight temp change will not affect them, every so often take some water out and digard it, after 2hrs float the container in the tank for 10 minutes before releasing

Thank you!

 

The last lot of water can be tipped into your tank as by then it'll be 100% tank water

 

The last lot of water can be tipped into your tank as by then it'll be 100% tank water

Ok, so no nets?

 

No dont use the net just gently tip the container over, if you have a light over the top turn it of while floating them