5 Gallon Betta & Ghost Shrimp

[Lunchbox148]

Hello everyone!
I have a 5 gallon tank with my beautiful betta Peter in it... I added 3 ghost shrimp today and he mildly asserted his dominance over them but now he is acting normal and not minding the shrimp at all... They have a lot of plant cover... I was wondering would it be okay to add 2 or 3 more or is this too much for a 5 gallon? Thanks a lot!

[aemaki09]

Shrimp have a really low bio load so it wouldnt be any problem at all to add a few more, especially if you have live plants. You could easily get away with like 8-10 in the 5 with your betta, but I wouldnt go that far until you know for sure your tank can handle it.

Also, shrimp need really steady water parameters, so I would suggest making sure your tank is fully cycled and established before adding anymore just in case :)

[tekkguy]

Be careful that your ghost shrimp don't have orange on their claws or anywhere else.... If they do, they are an aggressive species and will likely nip the betta while he sleeps.

[aemaki09]

I don't know about the orange, but if they have red joints in their antennae and pinchers then they are the cal species.

[tekkguy]

Originally Posted by aemaki09

I don't know about the orange, but if they have red joints in their antennae and pinchers then they are the cal species.

Orange, red, depends on the light I guess!

[aemaki09]

I meant to say that they are a calm species if they have that red on their a calm species.

It really is hard to see it until you get them in a cup or bag though

[broncosfan84]

I'm sorry....I'm confused....when I get ghost shrimp what do I look for so they don't attack my betta?

[aemaki09]

Look closely at their pinchers and see if you can see red "elbow" joints in them. That means they are the ones that are least likely to attack your betta

[broncosfan84]

Thank you...I would hate to get the wrong ones..my females are only 3 months old and getting along wonderfully right now. Wouldn't want to mess that up.

[aemaki09]

They would be more dangerous to the shrimp than the shrimp would be to them lol
I started with 10 in my sorority and only have 4 left (that i can find) after 4 month. Mine stopped bothering them after a couple days of them being in there, but every time you add more girls more shrimp die