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Will ghost shrimps eat my plants??

20K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  sidestrike 
#1 ·
Will ghost shrimps eat the plants that are in my betta tank? I have amazon swords, hortwort, frills, and some green-grass like plant (I don't know the name of it :( )

Will the ghost shrimps eat the greens? or will it only eat the algae that grows within the tank? I spent quite a lot of money on the plants and I don't want the shrimps to be eating them!
 
#3 ·
No they don't eat the live plants.. they will eat dead and dieing plant matter. Which will help keep your tank clean :)

(Oh and BTW the plural if shrimp is shrimp.. sorry its just a pet peeve of mine;-))
 
#4 ·
Cool :) and hello again!

I think I'll get 6 ghost shrimps. They're 6 for $1 at my local fish shop, and they're extremely tiny, about .25 to 75 inch. Maybe the betta will even eat some :p

Are they any other organic matter eating tiny critters I can get for the tank? besides snails, I don't really like snails :(
 
#5 ·
not that I know of.. shrimp are the smallest, snails are small to big in size, then there are bottom dwellers but I wouldn't suggest them unless you have a 10 gallon tank or larger.

The betta may eat some. Ghost shrimp are really great for completing the ecosystem of a planted tank because they eat dieing plant matter then breed and/or die and give the betta a nice snack of dead shrimp and baby shrimp.

They do molt (shed their outer skins) so you need to provide lots of plant cover or a cave that the betta can't get into or stuck in where they can hide while they don't have shells
 
#6 ·
Got a dollar worth of ghost shrimps. They were supposed to give me 6 but when I got home there was only 5 in the bag :( :( :(

they're very tiny. once the ghost shrimps were placed in the tank the betta played hide n seek with them, trying to take a bite out of them but the shrimps were too fast for it. plus the shrimps are safe hiding inside the hornwort maze :)
 
#11 ·
You'll want to remove them so that if they died from something, your other fish and shrimp don't get it.
 
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