a pal for my betta!

[JaspersANGEL]

So I'm thinking of getting a pal for my fishy for x-mas, at first I thought a ghost shrimp so he could eat it if he wants. But I also think that snail's are supper cute, I read somewhere that betta's can eat snail's too.

Jasper tends to get bloated so im also considering wich one he can eat (the shrimp or the snail) without exploding.

If he doesn't eat the shrimp, im left with a practicaly invisible thing in my tank that i can syphon up by accident and if he dosn't eat the snail then i have another cute buddy in my tank.

My friend told me to get him a snail, he won't be able to eat him, he won't be able to get past the shell.

There's also an ADF but he'll terorise the poor frog.
Can anyone help me pick out a nice x-mas gift for my fishie.

[lilyrazen]

Well they can't EAT the snail, but they can peck at it until it hides and dies in it's shell. Jazz did that, and I had to move it over to Friday's side. You can start with one shrimp (like 14 cents) and see if he eats it. If he doesn't then you can keep it or return it and get a snail.

[vaygirl]

My shrimp got the heck out of the way whenever they saw the siphon. :)

[JaspersANGEL]

Thanx vaygirl

Could i keep a betta an a ADF in a 2.5 gallon tank..
just curious

[Mecal]

Frogs need at least 1 gallon. I suppose 1 betta and 1 frog would work.

[lilyrazen]

Well since they like pairs best, you would need about 5 gallons for 2 ADF and a Betta and having a snail means at least 3, but even that's pushing it. 2.5 gallons is the standard size for one betta and adding more would probably be overstocking the tank. But you could MAYBE do two shrimp max, since they have very small biloads.

[TigerLily]

It doesn't even have to be a ghost shrimp, you know. My boyfriend has a couple of cherry shrimp with one of his bettas. The cherry shrimp are red instead of just being clear, so they're easier to see, plus they eat algae. The betta and the shrimp ignore each other for the most part.

[JaspersANGEL]

Cool then I will defenitely look for those.
But I think my plan's will go on hold, I went to check on Jasper and he's having trouble swimming, swimming verticaly face down and when he stops he shoot's straight up. His belly's swollen..

I did some research, kindda sounds like swim bladder..can i do anything to help him...
im worried

[doggyhog]

I personally wouldn't add anything for a few reasons:

Shrimp: They only thrive in cycled tanks. They probably won't survive for long with the 100% changes.

Snails: Would do fine in an uncycled tank, but poop A LOT LOT LOT!!! Seriously, mine poops so much. He is in a 10g tank and I still notice snail poop every where. I love him so much and he is SO cool! I definantly wouldn't put anything else in a 2.5 gallon tank. Just keep the betta, and he will be very happy. :) But, if you were to get a 5g tank, you'd have lots more options! The tank would be cycle-able, and you could have up to 5 ghost shrimp, or 2 ADFs, or a snail. :)

Good luck, and sorry to be a party pooper!

[puppyrjjkm]

Originally Posted by doggyhog

I personally wouldn't add anything for a few reasons:

Shrimp: They only thrive in cycled tanks. They probably won't survive for long with the 100% changes.

Hmmm I've had a different experience. I had 5 ghost shrimp in a 5 gallon with 5 male guppies. I did a 100% water change once a month. The shrimp did fine. They were really difficult to catch but other than that, I didn't have any problems.