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I have a 2.5 fully-cycled hex tank.I have on mellow betta who I think would like a tank mate.All that is in there is all-natural river stones and a young java fern.
Would shrimp be a good idea?Or snails?Anything?
Also if I get shtrimp...will they eat the plant?And could I put anubis in there too.

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

1 or 2 shrimp would be fine so long as the tank has some type of aeration and is kept cycled. Shrimp can't breathe from the surface like bettas so you need at least an airstone and are very sensitive to ammonia. Occasionally bettas pick on them but most do alright. They won't eat plants but some like cherry or amanos will eat algae. Ghost shrimp eat mostly fish food.

If the java fern is doing fine then anubias should do ok as well. It will eventually outgrow the tank but it grows slowly. You can also cut it in half when it gets too big and sell the extra half. Some stores will give you a little store credit for it. I've stocked new tanks for free just by trimming up my planted tank and trading the little plants for fish.

ok thnx


What shrimp would you reccomend?


And thanks for the plant idea...my family's a little short on cash and I'm more fish crazy then ever.I'm going to be redoing my 33 gallon soon and some free fish would be helpful.

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

Ghost/glass shrimp are the hardiest and cheapest. Can sometimes find them for $.25 each. They are the most likely to survive a little ammonia or nitrite spike where the others would probably be instant death. They won't eat algae but will clean up any food your betta misses.

I am going to add some ghost shrimp soon to my betta tank. I am curious as if I have to QT the shrimp first? Do they carry ick?
I would float them of course and not then net the shrimp so no water would be transferred.
Any worries?

I'd like a little color...
what else is a good choice?

Should I QT them first?

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

Get some amanos, then at least you get an orange stripe, and usually some green too, they are just as tough as ghost shrimp and are probably a little more efficient at eating algae and scavanging and self defense should the betta get frisky.


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I don't QT shrimp. They rarely carry anything although it's possible. Amanos are rather hardy but a little more expensive should something go wrong. There are some colorful shrimp such as the cherries but being much smaller they are more likely to be targets for fish and they are nowhere near as hardy as ghost shrimp. Ghost shrimp seem indestructible compared to the cherry and rainbow shrimp I've kept. Considering they are also several times more expensive ($3-$5/shrimp here) make sure your tank is stable and won't see any ammonia or nitrites before adding them.

Hey there!

Ive Noticed on my ghost shrimp that they have a small blue line running through them. These ones are the larger and older of mine. Although they do not really stand out, it will create a nice touch, depending on the color of your betta.

Are you going to put a heater in there? (you should) If so, the heater must be very reliable because it can over heat and kill you fish...The usual. But on some cases, the heated water will create increased aggression toward tankmates, and might attack the betta. Just keep an eye on the temp of the tank.

Other than that, these are very nice pets, and i am actually going to have a tank almost exactly like yours. I hope you have fun!

Good luck!

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Technically you should QT shrimp just the same as fish, since shrimp are intemediary hosts of a number of trematode parasites that kill fish, trematodes and a few other parasites are capable of completing their life cycle once a shrimp is included in the aquarium.

A lot of people dont QT them, but you do it at your own risk. Getting them from a reliable source where they are not bred outside for example , will often minimise risks, but they can, and do transmit diseases to fish. On the whole though, its not a massive risk, incidences are low, its just when you hear of some cases that have occurred, the infections can be very bad indeed.

Its no more of a risk than adding a snail really, but any biologist will tell you that molluscs, shellfish, and shrimp can all transmit parasites to fish and often vice versa. There is no real species barrier, and some species of parasite actually have evolved to depend on contact between the species to complete their life cycle, especially the worm parasite groups.

Theres some variation of course and shrimp are immune to some fish diseases and vice versa, a shrimp will not die from whitespot for example, as its keratinous armour protects it from the burrowing parasites, but equally shrimp have their own parasites and fungi that will kill them and not the fish. Some stuff can be transmitted and some cant basically, and thats reason enough to do a QT.

The choice is yours .

Shrimp don't usually need a heater. Especially ghost shrimp. They can survive temps down to the 60sF. For most species so long as the room is kept around 72F and above they'll do fine. When I do put a heater on a shrimp tank I usually leave it around 75-76F. They might grow and breed a little faster at higher temps but they'll also eat more, produce more waste, and have a shorter lifespan.

SOOOOOO basicly,no heater,sounds like ghost shrimp is the choice,and QT is best.
Anything else?

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

A snail for algae control?Can you tell male from female?[shrimp]

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

You can't raise baby shrimp in a tank with fish but if you wait till the females are carrying young under their tail and move them to an empty tank or even a bowl with an airstone, let them drop the babies, and move them back to the main tank you can usually raise most of the young on sinking foods. For ghost shrimp if you want females find a store with lots of them in the tank and look for larger shrimp with little green eggs under the tail. There's always a few carrying eggs so long as they have enough of them together in the tank. They'll probably drop the eggs when you first get them though and you'll need a male to get them pregnant again. Males will be smaller and thinner.

Snails aren't really a good idea in a 2.5g. Applesnails are a little big and not really good algae eaters. They are actually more carnivorous. The best small algae eating snails are ramshorns but like most snails they can multiply quickly. They might over run a 2.5g if you don't squish the babies daily.

THAT SOUNDS SO MEAN!!!!!!

Could I have ramshorns in a 33,then when they start to multiply,put 1 in the 2.5,some in the 10s,give some away...

When you say "sinking foods" do you mean like algae wafers or like pellets?

How many ghost shrimp would be good for the 2.5?
If they have babies I have places to raise them,and put them after.

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

You could probably put a trio of 2 females and 1 male in a 2.5 if you feed them lightly. You have to move the females before they drop the babies or the betta will definitely eat them. Baby shrimp are absolutely tiny and pretty much all fish love having them for a snack. They'll eat any sinking foods. You can break up algae wafers or crush up shrimp pellets and drop in the chips. 1 small shrimp pellet will feed 3-5shrimp for the day. They'll also eat any flakes or frozen foods that sink to the bottom or most anything else that makes it to their level.

Most snails including ramshorns are hermaphrodites and you really only need 1 to end up with 100. Each snail has both sexes and they become fertile while still teeny tiny babies so by the time you see and seperate one it will already be capable of laying eggs. You'll still end up removing the babies from the small tank. In the 33 you could maintain some ramshorns so long as you don't overfeed the tank. How fast snails multiply depends on how much they eat so if you feed the tank too much and the snails get lots of extra you'll have an uncountable number of snails. If you feed the fish just as much as they'll eat the snails don't really multiply that fast. I have red ramshorns in my 55g and have never needed to remove any but I feed my fish small amounts of frozen food. If you get fancy ramshorns of the blue and red variety you can sometimes sell them to people. They always have some listed on aquabid.com.

Would the fish store take them?I could use some credit...

How much do ramshorns cost?

Do I need to bo anything other than feeding to raise the baby shrimp?

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl

Alot of people just see all snails as bad and so alot of stores won't take them. If you look around and ask sometimes you can find a store owner who unlike most people doesn't have anything against snails. One of the reasons aquabid has become so popular for people who like keeping snails. They can't sell them locally but online can find lots of other people who actually want to add snails to their tanks instead of just seeing them all as pests. Price depends color and whether that color breeds true(all offspring are the same color as the parents). Blue is usually the most expensive along with pink. Red is pretty common so not quite as expensive and then brown shades are the cheapest. Currently on aquabid you can get 25 browns, reds, and burgundy for $20 with free shipping where in comparison 10 blues can cost you $30. http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwsnails&1181173818

Baby shrimp only need clean well oxygenated water with some shelter and sinking foods to grow up.

OK,thnx for all your help.

If there is any other info i should know plz post it

Yup. I'm that crazy Twilight/animal/music girl