In a little while, after I get more plants and decorations for the prince's tank, I want to get a ghost shrimp. Would it be all right to put it in with him in the five gallon tank? I've heard it's kind of a hit and miss thing with bettas.
What do shrimp eat? Is there any kind of food made specially for them?
That would be fine in a 5 gal. Shrimp have a piddly little bioload - you could easily fit ten in there without a problem.
Not to turn you off the ghost shrimp, but I find red cherries more interesting. They breed more easily and are easier to see. Of course, this means the betta can also see them more easily, and they are more expensive so you don't want them to just be a snack, but in all of my tanks my shrimp have been able to outswim and outhide my bettas, and breed fast enough to make up for any being eaten. :)
Oh yes, and shrimp can either eat shrimp pellets, or will enjoy snacking on sinking catfish pellets with plenty of meat on them. Ghosties are scavengers, not algae eaters, so mostly they will be more interested in shrimp pellets than algae wafers. :)
My 5-gal, Has 10 little ghost shrimps in them. They are so much fun!!! They swim around with Dexter, and do little doggy paddles in the water ;) You will have fun with them is they are active :D Good luck~!
I adore ghost shrimp! I've kept them for many years and I think they're one of the coolest inverts around, despite their lowly status as feeders. They're great swimmers and get to be pretty big (up to 2 inches almost for the really old ones). They actually color up a little bit when they are older, with cute red markings and females holding bright green eggs. That + their size and high activity level make them fun to observe.
Mine are actually quite fond of sinking algae wafers, and also will swim after flake food. I always break up the algae wafers into tiny pieces before sinking. They'll grab them and swim off into the distance! When I had them in a community tank I didn't supplement, but they would go after anything I fed the other fish. I have to say, recently I've really had good luck keeping them with crabs and they like to munch on the crab poop (even ignoring other food to do so...). I think it's safe to say they're true omnivores.
One thing to note about all shrimp is they are pretty sensitive to ammonia & nitrite, so they work best in an established tank. They also need some cover, because even a mild mannered betta might attack a molting shrimp.
Recently added Ghost Shrimp to my small setup, indeed eat even sunken flake food, find them a great addition. Sets on the Marimo Moss, mornings he runs to the front when he see's me.
Caution this is an experiment, larger sizes suggested, 2weeks and enjoyable fun.
I bought six to add to my sorority, still have at least 5. Some are quite large. It's so funny to watch as one or two will be brave enough to face the wrath of the girls at feeding time. They are forever eating poop, bits of plant matter, but they want betta food! It's so funny, I try to push a bit of bloodworm at one when I can.
Last night I had one who ate so much bloodworm he couldn't finish it, but still had to skitter from a jealous female. I know it's hit or miss, but ghosties are a cheap way of trying shrimp. I'm planning on trying some cherries soon myself.
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