Shrimp

[lawrence1979]

Hi there! I'm new here on this site but i've already learnt some valueable info.

I just started keeping my betta fish. But he looks quite alone. i've read that shrimp are quite good tank buddies for betta. Is this true? what kind would guys reccomend? Thanks.

[MattsBettas]

I would recommend ghost shrimp because they are cheap and will let you see how your betta likes them.

[lawrence1979]

Thanks. appriciate it.

[valen1014]

Remember that betta might look lonely but in reality most even prefer to keep it that way! If you add shrimps one of three things will happen... your betta will make a tasty snack out of them (most likely), your betta and shrimps will ignore each other (hopefully), or your shrimps might even bug your betta a little bit and nip at him depending on what type of shrimp you get.

Having said that, if you would like to add shrimps because you want to see more than just a betta in the tank. I agree that ghost shrimps are a great start! They are cute little things. They are cheap, peaceful, and being transparent gives them a better chance of not being eaten by your betta. Most of them will die, simply because they are feeder shrimps and usually kept in poor conditions, but the ones that survive you'll know are pretty hardy. Also, be aware that there are ghost shrimps and another transparent shrimp (forgot the name...) that is sometimes mistakenly sold as a ghost shrimp but then turns out to grow big and aggressive and might not be too afraid to pick on your betta. As with fishes, you gotta acclimate them as well. There are a couple different ways of doing it.

[valen1014]

Sorry, I realized I may have sounded a little harsh. I wanted to add that it is also entirely possible that your betta would actually enjoy chasing around shrimps (not necessarily to kill them, maybe just to annoy them a bit XD). So not ALL bettas are better off being alone, just depends on their personalities really, but the more aggressive types will typically prefer to be alone. That's also why I recommend starting with ghost shrimps as a little test since they are super cheap.

[percyfyshshelley]

New to shrimp myelf but I'll just offer my experience. Two weeks ago, I added two ghost shrimp (well hopefully that's what they are...) to my fluval spec (5 gal). At first they hid all the time but now they are swimming everywhere and even swim up to my fingers just like my betta! Dragon, my HM, will chase them occasionally but they are very fast. They don't bother him. I think he likes them around and I do worry that my fish are lonely, even though I know they prefer to live alone. Good luck and let us know how it goes!