Betta and cherry shrimp

[Irksome]

I’m cycling a divided 10gallon with the intention of having two male betta. I have made a craft mesh divider that I have sewn moss to both sides and it looks good but it is patchy and I don’t want the betta to stress each other if they see through the gaps. I’ve been thinking of putting cherry shrimp on the other side so until the moss grows in a bit better. The aim would be to have both shrimp and betta on both sides if the betta aren’t too savage. Can betta be taught to tolerate shrimp? Is it a matter of just having enough places to hide? Or are they a bad match and the shrimp will be expensive betta food?

 

[Irksome]

Here’s a pic of the tank so far

 

[Retired Viking]

I heard that Betta will eat shrimp, you may want to check into it before stocking them.

 

[Sylvan]

Mature cherry shrimp will have a better chance. I've found that when you get them from the shop they still have a lot of growing to do especially if they haven't had them in long. It may be worth getting them in the tank first, letting them grow a bit so they look less like tempting snacks then adding the Bettas in. It also means that Bettas haven't already established the tank as their territory if the shrimp go in first.
I have 2 Bettas, one lives with about 20-30 cherry shrimp and I have no issues as most of the shrimp are fully grown and they were there first. The second Betta has attacked and killed shrimp in the past but I made the mistake of adding them after the Betta. He's also in a divided tank so the shrimp just moved to another section and thrived, I don't know if he'd attack them now as they're fully grown but don't plan on risking it.
Lots of hiding places where the Bettas can't get to them will increase your chances of keeping them alive.

 

[Essjay]

My last 3 bettas have had cherry shrimps in their tank.
The first of the three ignored the shrimps, and the four shrimps soon became a couple of dozen shrimps. I was sucking up babies at every water change, and they went into my main tank to stop the shrimps getting out of control.
The second ignored the adults but ate the babies. I no longer sucked up baby shrimps, and the shrimp population remained stable.
The third and current betta attacked and killed the adult shrimps. I had to move them out into the main tank.

In otther words, it depends on the betta.

 

[Irksome]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I now know the best order to introduce everything and that even the best laid plans can go wrong if you have a particularly feisty betta fish in the equation. I will try it out starting with the shrimp and have a backup plan ready to roll.

 

[FishGuest5123]

My first betta ate half my community. Switched him with another one who cared less about the shrimp but it totally stressed him out. So my shrimp tank is strictly a shrimp tank.

 

[BetterWithBettas]

My first fish was a Betta who lived in a 20L/5 G tank with cherry shrimp. Every other Betta I have had since just devour them and they have all lived in tanks 60 litres and up/heavily planted!! I guess my first Betta was just really relaxed I actually feed my current Bettas the shrimplets from my shrimp only tank as a way of controlling their population

 

[AfternoonNarwhale]

My betta eat all the shrimp i got.. (Well two "disappeared") Wouldn't recommend personally

 

[Irksome]

My betta eat all the shrimp i got.. (Well two "disappeared") Wouldn't recommend personally

I have my new betta and shrimp happily divided, seemed the safest option as both blue shrimp and betta are expensive where I live

 

[AfternoonNarwhale]

I have my new betta and shrimp happily divided, seemed the safest option as both blue shrimp and betta are expensive where I live

Sounds like a good setup! Good luck on your tank!