Betta, frogs and shrimp- good tankmates?

[Darcion]

Hello, total newbie here!
I was considering getting a 20 gallon tank, with a male Betta, two African dwarf frogs, and a couple of ghost shrimp. Would this work? Or would there be issues (e.g. frog and/or Betta eating all the shrimp). Is this suitable for a beginner? Thanks

 

[PhantomCarp]

Hello, total newbie here!
I was considering getting a 20 gallon tank, with a male Betta, two African dwarf frogs, and a couple of ghost shrimp. Would this work? Or would there be issues (e.g. frog and/or Betta eating all the shrimp). Is this suitable for a beginner? Thanks

Bettas are hit or miss with shrimp some will be fine some will eat them. There is a chance of the frogs biting the betta so I would not recommend that stock.

 

[Essjay]

Frogs should not be kept with fish.

Frogs are almost blind and find their food by smell. Fish (and especially bettas) will have eaten the lot by the time the frogs find where you put it.
Frogs (and shrimps) are sensitive to medication so you can't treat a sick fish with frogs or shrimps in the tank.


Years ago I had a betta with 2 frogs. Never again. The betta ate the frogs' food. I tried to make something the frogs would fit into but a betta couldn't. That is very difficult as bettas will squeeze through the tiniest gaps. Then one day, I found the betta swimming round the tank with a frog clamped to his tail - the frog mistook the betta for food. I had to set up my quarantine tank and move the frogs in there. The betta got finrot in the damaged part of his tail which took ages to heal.
Please learn from my mistake and don't do it.


Some bettas are OK with shrimps, some are not. The last three bettas I had shared a tank with cherry shrimps. The first ignored them and the shrimp population increased. The second ignored the adult shrimps but ate the babies - the numbers no longer increased and there were no baby shrimps in the water change bucket. The third betta started killing the shrimps and there were bits of shrimp all over the tank.



Bettas are best kept alone, with at most a snail for company. 20 gallons would make a nice tank for a single betta, but you may feel that the tank is empty with just one fish. But it is also a nice size for a colony of frogs. Or other small fish.
Just not a betta with anything other than a snail.

 

[Darcion]

Thanks for the advice! Would a tank divider be able to stop the frogs and the betta interacting? Otherwise, I might get a ten-gallon tank with a single Betta and some snails like essjay suggested (unless 10 gallons is too small for a Betta).

 

[Essjay]

Anything over 5 gallons is good for a betta so 10 gallons would be great.

A divider might work but you need to be careful. Bettas can jump and if the sense food in the other half of the tank a betta could well try anything he could to get in there. And frogs can climb. After I separated the frogs into the QT, which was in the kitchen, I later found one under the recycling box at the opposite side of the room. If they can climb out of a tiny hole in a tank lid, they can climb over a divider.

You could always do 2 x 10 gallon tanks, 1 for a betta one for frogs - 10 gallons is suitable for 5 or 6 frogs

 

[theotheskink]

I personally had adf in with a betta, and it didn’t go well. Both getting on each other’s nerves. I personally wouldn’t again, but some people have good experiences.

 

[hansgruber7]

I recommend keeping the betta by himself in the 10 gallon. That would be perfect.

 

[BoomerXIV]

The Thing with betta and shrimp, usually the bettas will be fine with shrimp, but when they taste the shrimp, its pretty much a massacre.