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New fish and shrimp

2K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  Bombalurina 
#1 ·
I have two different questions on this thread, the most urgent one is about some freshwater shrimp i recently caught.
I caught about 20 of them in a local river and kept them in the river water for a day or two while I tried to figure out what to do with them. i noticed that most of the bigger ones had died :sad: and the live ones were jumping out of the water onto the sides of the container. I put them into a new clean tank and they seemed good, but after another day or two half of those died too :cry: , so now i have about 5 left and i'm wondering if i put them into the large tank with my fighting fish if they'll have a better chance of surviving? or if they'll just die in the big tank as well. I think the problem was that i put some food in the small tank and that ruined the water :-(


The second part is that im looking for some new fish to put with my bettas. I recently did a big tank clean and forgot to put water conditioner in ( :oops: i know... big mistake :-( ) so all my tetras died :cry: .
I want some really peaceful fish that wont bother my bettas at all. I felt the neons were too nippy and the latest rummynoses were even bothering poor caboose...
Please be kind, i havent researched any new species yet, just looked at what my local pet stores stock. Here are the ones i like, but i have no idea on the compatibility with my bettas:

Leopard danino
Glow light tetra
Glass Catfish** ( my favorite )
White CLoud
Tiger barbs
Widows
Ghost knife
 
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#2 ·
I would be leery of a shrimp I did not know what kind it was and putting it in my tank, could be aggressive, could carry some kind of funk or will most likely die in a few day because you don't know what it eats or what it's water requirements are....as to the 2nd question just make sure it is a peacful community fish and you should be good, just not too brightly colored or have long flowing fins, a lot depends on the specific betta, most of mine have corydora catfish as tankmates they help keep the bottom of the tanks clean which is a nice benefit, but I have2 bettas that just do not want room mates at all and will flare and attack them so it isn't always about who won't attack the betta, sometimes it's who the betta won't attack
 
#3 ·
The shrimp look exactly like the ones i got from the pet store. I also did research on the species that live in the area, so i'm pretty certain they'll eat what my other shrimps eat.
 
#4 ·
Does anyone have any experience with their Bettas and Glass Catfish? Online it says they're peaceful and live in schools of 5 or more? how much area in the tank will they need?
 
#6 ·
Personally I'd be worried that the shrimps, especially since they are straight from the wild, will carry diseases. If the place where you got them isn't too far, I'd just set up a separate tank for shrimps and go back and collect more when the tank is ready.
 
#8 ·
my cherry shrimp get eaten because they're too obvious and the bettas can catch them :( and they're really expensive to buy if they're just going to get eaten in a few days =/
 
#10 ·
there's only one pet store nearby that sells shrimp and they stopped selling anything but cherry unfortunately :-( i would've definitely bought some more ghost shrimp (i managed to get one from them a while ago) but i thought that maybe the ones from the river would be a good alternative =/
 
#13 ·
I have two different questions on this thread, the most urgent one is about some freshwater shrimp i recently caught.
I caught about 20 of them in a local river and kept them in the river water for a day or two while I tried to figure out what to do with them. i noticed that most of the bigger ones had died :sad: and the live ones were jumping out of the water onto the sides of the container. I put them into a new clean tank and they seemed good, but after another day or two half of those died too :cry: , so now i have about 5 left and i'm wondering if i put them into the large tank with my fighting fish if they'll have a better chance of surviving? or if they'll just die in the big tank as well. I think the problem was that i put some food in the small tank and that ruined the water :-(

I agree with making a shrimp only tank, and not catching any more. Never bring something home if you don't already have the set-up to care for it. :)


Leopard danino
Prefer cooler water (68-75F), very fast, can be nippy, need a 20 gallon minimum and schools of at least 6.
Glow light tetra
20 gallon minimum, school of 6 minimum, but you may have the same nippy problems you did with neons. Depends on the tetras themselves.
Glass Catfish** ( my favorite )
Very shy, need 30 gallons at least, with dim lighting and a planted tank. Not ideal companions for bettas.
White CLoud
15 gallon minimum, school of 6, prefer the same temperature range as danios.
Tiger barbs
NEVER a good idea with a betta. Very nippy fish.
Widows
Widow tetras? They are a larger tetra and I wouldn't keep them in less than 30 gallons.
Ghost knife
What size is your tank? Ghosties need a tank no smaller than 18 inches in any direction, due to their inability to bend. They get huge and may eat a betta.
It doesn't seem like your LFS has much that would be compatible. But, what is the size of your tank, how hard is your water, and what is your pH?
 
#14 ·
I keep white clouds with my betta no problem. 78 degree water does not seem bother them at all, just be warned that they are fast and LOVE LOVE LOVE food. They may try to eat your bettas food if he isn't quick to the munch.

With glass catfish, you'll need to know what breed specifically Kryptopterus Minor is two and a half inches full grown, but if its Kryptopterus Bichirris your looking at a fish that could get six and half inches. They are schooling fish and could do alright if there are enough hiding places. For Minor you are looking at at 10+ plus gallons for the minimum recommended school size of 5, and with a betta you may be a bit overstocked. Bichirris need a very large tank comparatively.
 
#15 ·
The tank is 20 gal divided between my two bettas (male & female) with live and fake plants, moss, driftwood, etc.
60cm long, 30cm deep and 40cm tall.

I'm not sure what the specific breed the glass catfish are, but the store said they grow to 8 or 9 cm max (~3.5 inches)

i believe the water is around 7pH and 5dH

I dont have any artificial light for my tank, it's near a window that gets very little direct sunlight, but enough for my plants to glow.

Thanks Bombalurina for the in depth answer :)

I had my eyes set on the glass catfish :-( they're so cool...
I can't have anymore tanks, mum hates them unfortunately even though everyone else disagrees...
 
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