Betta ate my ghost shrimp!

B

beatle

AC Members
Dec 7, 2005
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Alexandria, VA
www.mdbbox.com
Bah! I came home from work today and went to feed my Betta. He didn't go nuts over the food like he usually does, and I then noticed some white, sparse "gunk" floating on the top of the water. I looked for my shrimp, which usually swims to the top for the food, but he's nowhere in sight. I then saw a bit of his exoskeleton and some "meat" hanging out of it. Upon further examination, I see my betta looks really fat and isn't as active as he usually is. I'm guessing he's pretty full!

I had the shrimp for about a month. He'd molted once already. I assume I'm asking for trouble putting another one in there, but he was such an efficient scavenger. Are there any other creatures that are good at cleaning up a 3g tank? Aside from being "cruel" to another ghost shrimp, am I risking my betta's health by putting another one in with him?
 
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Yep, betta are known for eating ghost shrimp....lol....I have one in with one of my bettas, he hasn't touched it yet, but I'm sure sooner or later he will.

A good scavanger for a 3 gallon.....hhmm...that the betta won't eventually eat.......can't think of a one ! Some betta will even take bites out of a snail if you were to put one in there with it...but you could try. :huh:

Maybe you could try getting a LARGER ghost shrimp. They get up to 2 1/2 inches...I have some pretty hefty sized ghosts in some of my tanks....perhaps your betta won't bother a larger sized shrimp. You just want to be sure you don't get a preditory shrimp...one that would possibly EAT your betta !! :eek: Or try adding more plants and hiding spots for the shrimp.
 
this actually shocks me!

i kept a ghost shrimp with my betta for a year before my he died (RIP). i bought another betta about a week and a half ago and he doesnt go after the ghost shrimp either.

perhaps my old betta was a tame one, and thats why the shrimp survived. he's an inch long now which may be what makes everyone else leave him alone.

as far as snails, i have large apple snails. each betta ive ever owned has tried at one point or another to kill them (although it doesnt work, its still a hazard.) smaller snails will be gone within the first few weeks. your best bet is a larger shrimp.
 
precisely. beatle, how large was your ghost shrimp?


am I risking my betta's health by putting another one in with him?
Click to expand...

Nope. Your betta probably enjoyed the snack. Shrimp can be found in many fish foods.
 
He was actually pretty big, approx 1.5" not including antennae, of course. My betta flared and snapped at him for the first couple days, then they didn't bother each other. Recently, I saw the betta eyeing the shrimp, but I thought nothing of it since there was no aggression.
 
I think it could depend on the tank size. I had two amanos in a 10g with a betta a while ago and there was never any trouble between them. But recently, i had one amano with one betta in a 2.5g and i saw some mild bickering between the two sometimes. They were the same size though so i figured neither of them would let the other kill it. I was wrong though, because today (a couple months after setting up the tank) the betta finally got the shrimp. I think it might have something to do with the shrimp molting and being vulnerable. with a bigger tank, this probably wouldn't be an issue because there's less of a chance of confrontation. So i conclude: the less space between the shrimp and the betta, the more likelihood of something wrong happening eventually.
 
My betta also ignores the ghost shrimp in the 10gal they share. 4 ghost shrimp, 1 male betta and a mystery snail. I have seen him bite at the snail, but he hasn't bothered the shrimp.

The little ghosties are cheap enough, I'd just buy another batch.
 
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