Good bottom feeder

CMac

Native Longhorn
Hi all, I've recently gotten a 2G tank and put a betta in it as well as a white mountain minnow. The bottom has started to clutter up from uneaten food. Primarily from when I first got the betta and he was learning what the food was and not eating it. Anyway, aside from not being too lazy to clean the bottom, I thought I would get a bamboo shrimp(saw them at petsmart) or something similar that would enjoy eating the leftovers on the bottom. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

CM
 
bamboos dont eat leftovers, they are filter feeders, only when they are extremely hungry the will eat leftovers, ghost shrimp are leftever eaters.

You are quite stocked for a tank that size, im suprised you even considered a white mountain minnow... Adding more livestock will create other problems.

Gravel vac is the only 100% effective way.
 
Ya I was leary about putting another fish in there, I just wanted a little more action so to speak I guess. Figure he'd swim around and keep it a little more busy. And I realize actually cleaning it is the best way, and will do that. I've always been interested in the freshwater shrimp and thought it might be a cool thing.

Thanks again!

C
 
Don't get a bamboo shrimp for that tank. You could try for ghost shrimp, but 2 gallons is not suitable for bamboo shrimp at all, plus they need a strong current to eat properly.
 
You MUST vacuum your gravel on a regular basis to remove the excess food and detritus or it will become a haven for bad bacteria/parasites which will eventually make your fish sick.
 
if you want more action, opt for a bigger tank, like a 5G or better yet, a 10G. The 2G is already a bit small for a betta, let alone a better, white cloud and some bottom feeders. Most bottom feeders won't eat the detrius that settles on the bottom because it's probably poop. You must gravel vac at least once every 2 weeks, preferably once every week.
 
The solution to most of life's problems is to buy a bigger fishtank. I think you would be fine adding a few ghost shrimp (they stay small and don't impact your "bioload" so much), but it would be hard to clean the gravel in a small tank like that without endangering the shrimp. They're cheap, and the Betta might even enjoy one, but I still wouldn't purposefully put them at risk for getting crushed by a siphon. You could probably find a 10 or 20 gallon tank for cheap, and it would be SO much easier to clean.
 
The ghost shrimp will likely become betta snacks. I've seen plenty of people keep a Mystery/Apple snail in with a betta but I've also seen some bettas that just don't like anything else in with them.
 
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