Betta Palace: now with shrimp!

[irishspy]

So, today I finally got Rocky some roommates: four Japonica shrimp. No pictures yet, I'm afraid: they aren't being cooperative.

However, the famed Rocky T. Betta is: after some initial "hey, what are these things" reactions, he's decided they're boring and is mostly ignoring them. It's nice to know my betta isn't a little serial killer. :lipssealedsmilie:

Acclimation was simple: floating for 15 minutes, then two ounces of tank water every 15 minutes for an hour and a half. Netting them at the end wasn't nearly the problem I thought it would be, except for the one who jumped out of the net. Fortunately, he jumped right into the wisteria.

I released them all into the wisteria to give them the most cover, and right away they started picking at stuff for food., They're interesting to watch, though hard to keep track of amongst the plants.

I bought some bottom-feeder tablets to supplement their diet. About how often should I feed them? One per week?

Finally, this tank has an AC20 on it, running between low and medium flow. Should I put a sponge over the intake?

I'll try to get some decent pictures tomorrow.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

yes... i put sponges over my intakes.

 

[Rbishop]

With shrimp..definitely get the intake sponge.

 

[msjinkzd]

I break the bottom feeder tablets into little bits (about 1/8ths) to feed about every other day. If you notice they are not getting eaten, reduce size or spread out the feeding more. Does your tank get any algae? Its likely these japonica shrimp will graze on any algae and organisms growing on your plants as their primary source of food.
SPonge on the intake is a nice idea for any invert tank.

 

[irishspy]

Hmmm.... I should have thought of that sponge idea yesterday at the store. This morning I could find only three, then later only one... But it's a heavily planted tank, and they're nearly transparent, so it may just be camouflage.

Still, I'll drop by Petco tomorrow to get a sponge for the intake.

Msjinkzd, you're right about the algae grazing. They were right at it from the moment I put them in the tank. In fact, the clean up job they did on the piece of driftwood overnight was amazing.

 

[msjinkzd]

if they were adults, I doubt your intake got them. They are most likely hiding quite adeptly.