The mystery of the missing shrimp

[asukabetta]

I had 2 ghost shrimp that I added with my betta for the first time, my betta was uninterested in the inmediately and stopped following them so I relaxed.

Hour later a shrimp was missing, I freaked out, looked everyhere in the tank, but then he popped out hours later.

I'm replacing the gravel for sand and my shrimp is GONE. I pulled out my decor (examined throughly) and gravel, nowhere to be seen. Not even in the filter and my tank is covered.

My betta isn't bloated, so he didn't eat them, plus their bigger than his mouth since he's still very young.

Plus I'm sure if attacked there would be a body?

What the hell happened? My other shrimp has been QTed with him for a week already-- I don't think he ate him either

[registereduser]

do shrimp try to get out of tanks like snails sometimes do?

[asukabetta]

Originally Posted by registereduser

do shrimp try to get out of tanks like snails sometimes do?

I read the cases, but the water lvl is not high enough for them to reach the top, and if they do, they would have to lift up a huge lid to get out.

[Polishdiva1]

I tried ghost shrimp last week. My betta ate all 6 of them over a 2 day period and didn't look bloated so that could be very well what happened.

[Polishdiva1]

Once they kill them they can break them into pieces pretty easily if your guy is small

[kustomlarry]

I have a 7 gallon tank with about 200 cherry shrimp. I tried putting a few in some 2.5 gallon betta tanks as a cleanup crew....They didn't last a day...Oh well.

[Cez]

I have two bettas that won't eat shrimp but the third will smash them until they're dead and eat them by tearing chunks off. It's possible that he killed and ate it in bits while you were away.

[asukabetta]

but that makes no sense though, he killed the shrimp that was hiding but not the one who grabs his tail and walks on top of him D:

[Polishdiva1]

Haha yea mine wouldn't bother them if they were on the bottom of the tank, but when they swam to the top he would attack them. I guess that's when he thought they were meant to be food.