Bettas and cherry shrimp?

[Chad]

It’s just me wondering, but could a betta and cherry shrimp be kept together in a 33 gallon long? I’ve got the shrimp, just speculating and curious what the pros here think. Disaster or workable? Any personal experience with this set up?

[Ken Burke]

I have 2 bettas.  Both tanks (10g and 20g) have thriving cherry shrimp colonies.  I have seen then eat a few baby shrimp, but that just helps keep me from getting overrun…..

 

I would say go for it.

[Fish Folk]

On 12/6/2021 at 9:23 PM, Chad said:

It’s just me wondering, but could a betta and cherry shrimp be kept together in a 33 gallon long? I’ve got the shrimp, just speculating and curious what the pros here think. Disaster or workable? Any personal experience with this set up?

If your 33 gal. long tank is densely planted, and if you provide ample rock piles and formations for shrimp to hide, you might see them survive awhile. But over the long haul, the Betta will pick off tiny shrimplets.

Here's a look at some new born cherry shrimp in a tiny tank that I discovered recently. They're almost microscopic at first...

Fish will swim around and feed all day in a tank. If your Betta left Adult Cherry Shrimp alone, they're likely to munch up babies before they're large enough to be viable.

I've got a 33 gal. long that I use right now as an Emerald Killi Colony. There's a few neocaridina in there . . . but they're definitely hunted down.

 

[Chad]

Adding a betta would likely be the perfect addition to my tank which is why I'm asking. But I love those shrimp so I figured no way. You're telling me exactly what I want to hear.

[Ken Burke]

@Fish Folk I should have added pictures too!  Here is Blue Boy in the dwarf sag

[Chad]

Dang @Fish Folk and @Ken Burke! Those are some beautiful tanks. Thanks for sharing

[Ken Burke]

If u add a betta, send pics!

 

[Tyler Kaplan]

I think that it really comes down to the personalities in the tank. There are some tanks where it would work out great, but if you get a betta that absolutely just loves cherry shrimp, they will hunt them. Personally, I've had a lot of success with ghost shrimp and bettas because they are larger and actually have little pinchers so they can defend themselves to a very small degree. If you're not completely in love with cherry shrimp, I would consider Amano shrimp, as they are a little bit bigger. 

There are a lot of things you can do to make the cherry shrimp's lives easier, there is a big difference between surviving and thriving! A tank with lots of moss and rock formations will house a shrimp way better than a bare bottom plant-less setup. As a general rule of thumb the more plants the better, as it will give them more places to hide/break line of sight and be a food source for them to scavenge. I really like java moss and Christmas moss for them, as they like to go in and out of it; provides great cover.

[Fish Folk]

On 12/6/2021 at 9:40 PM, Ken Burke said:

@Fish Folk I should have added pictures too!  Here is Blue Boy in the dwarf sag

Awesome shots! Well, this sure is good evidence that they _CAN_ work together! Thanks for the photos. Were these added as adults? Or were many of them born in there with your Betta?

[Chad]

Solid advice @Tyler Kaplan, thanks. I do have a planted tank with lots of slate with makeshift caves. I've got Christmas moss, wilting java ferns and other plants throughout but I wouldn't call it heavily planted. I miss having a betta in a tank. After keeping tetras and guppies you realize quickly how much personality those bettas have. 

[Ken Burke]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:50 PM, Fish Folk said:

Awesome shots! Well, this sure is good evidence that they _CAN_ work together! Thanks for the photos. Were these added as adults? Or were many of them born in there with your Betta?

It’s a mix. Can’t sell em fast enough, so sometimes I pull a handful and plop them in my angle tank.  Adults make it, sometimes.   
 

[Chad]

On 12/6/2021 at 8:44 PM, Ken Burke said:

If u add a betta, send pics!

 

Will do!