Snail or Shrimp for Betta tank?

[SubluxT7]

Question is should I get a snail or some shrimp for the 2 tanks I have with betta's. I just upgraded my 1 gallon betta tank to a 5 gallon tank, and My 10 gallon with the betta will have 6 H. Rasboras as tankmates. Im looking for something with a really small bioload to help keep the fallen food from rotting and creating ammonia problems (I gravel vac weekly, but it couldn't hurt to have a little help??).

Sandy

 

[icecubez189]

Sandy, Mystery/Apple Snails would work very nicely in a Betta tank. some do eat plants (i have 4 in my tank, they haven't touched the plants yet, and they haven't bred wildly either) so you'll want to exercise some caution there. If not, Ramshorns are great too or MTS (Maylasian Trumpet Snails) which burrow under your substrate and loosen it up. they only come out during the evening so you won't be able to see much of it during the day.

as for shrimps, its a hit or miss with bettas. some bettas do not mind them at all when others see them as a tasty snack. ghost shrimps are cheap and eays to attain. if your betta does not eat them, then keep adding a couple more into the tank (depending on which tank size your puttin them in). if your betta does eat them, it won't be as big of a loss and it would've gotten a very good meal. there are also cherry shrimps or amano shrimps to choose from.

do not forget to supplement their usual scaveging with algae/shrimp sinking wafers.

 

[SubluxT7]

Thanks, I have fakies in all my tank so far (i know i know..not the best choice, but betta's really dont care), so I'm not worried about plants going bye bye. Think I have decided on a snail for each tank. Thanks!

Sandy

 

[icecubez189]

good luck with the snails, im sure your betta will not mind them as they will clean up the tank. Snails will also appreciate algae or shrimp pellet to suppelement their diet. they also eat vegetables,if you research the threads around the Aquaria Central site, there should be a list of what kind of vegetables they will eat. you'll want to get a vegeclip as they will float.

having fake plants is nothing wrong or bad, just make sure they are the silk versions as bettas like to hide in them and plastic ones can fray or scratch their beautiful tail fins and body.

 

[Native American]

I'm an MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snail) fan. At first I did try to get rid of them, but once they established themselves in the gravel, they did a great job of keeping the gravel "sweet"...I don't pull up nearly as much stuff during each time I vaccuum the gravel.

v/r, N-A

 

[blkwdw13]

Why don't you try snails in one tank and shrimp in the other tank, that way you get the experience of both species.

 

[Stargazer]

beautiful snails that are a good for clean up

I have Jewel Ramshorns they are the rare and fancy colored small ramshorn snails that have been selectively breed .they are not the giant one of the apple snail branch. They are sooo pretty with lots of color combo's like:
Crystal pinks -Light pearl luster shell and a redish pink snail ,
Pearl Blues aka Sapphire -frost shelled -dark snail,
Burgandy -frost shell-purple snail
Lilac- Frosted lilac shell -lilac snail
Lavender shell-lavender snail
and then there are leopards (lilac,bronze and even pink spotted)
there is peach with a luster shell and gold and smokey fire red's...
they Love algae! and will eat fish food that your fish miss and some decaying matter (like plant and poor fishy or ship that died) but i have not had them hurt my plants -
(I pamper them and i have fishless tanks also and they do a great job keeping the algae off ,I feed them fish flakes ,algae wafers and I give them liquid calcium ) but as for snails Jewel ramshorns are a flashy beautiful small snail the only thing I can say Is to watch how your fish acts to them as some fish like to eat snails or nip at them.

 

[plah831]

just to warn you, some people's bettas will kill snails and shrimp. Mine is a killer of snails and I dont' think I'll risk shrimp with that boy. Other people have very sweet male bettas. I guess just watch him. Check the snail shells for dead snails and remove them before they can rot. Mine just kills them and leaves the bodies in the shells, doesn't even try to eat them.

 

[joylynn]

I have a bamboo or marble shrimp (same thing just called different names in different stores) with my betta. The shrimp is large enough the betta can't really hurt it (about 2" right now and they grow bigger) and is a filter feeder so it doesn't have pinchers that can hurt the betta. This was recommended to me when i had the same scenario (upgraded to 5G for betta and wanted an additional occupant) and it has worked just fine.

Also, when bamboo shrimp are happy they get a really nice deep red coloration, very attractive and interesting addition to a tank.

 

[SubluxT7]

Thanks everyone!

I have decided on 2 applesnails for now. I may try shrimps out in a couple months (when there is a possibility for me to move my snails to a 72 gallon bowfront ).The marble shrimp and the jewel snails sound really beautiful. Thanks for all the input you guys, I will keep everything you said in mind!!!

Sandy