Ghost Shrimp Dying?

[Raechal]

My little brother has about 5 ghost shrimp in a 10 gallon and a male betta as well. I looked in the tank today and one of the shrimps were dead. It was curled up and white and it was missing it's head. I've never seen the betta attack the shrimp at all. He barely goes to the bottom of the tank. I looked in there a couple hours ago and there was another shrimp that JUST died. It was just laying at the bottom of the tank. He wasn't missing his head.

My little brother has been overfeeding them as I see sinking wafers covered in white hair-like algae. I tell him he is overfeeding them and he argues with me and says that isn't food, it is gravel.

What should I do? Can overfeeding cause death of ghost shrimp?

 

[gale]

Overfeeding can cause ammonia and nitrite spikes which can, in turn, kill anything living in the tank. However, bettas will also kill ghost shrimp. I had a female betta in my 10 gallon tank and found that she killed all but one of my ghost shrimp (found her with one right after it died, shaking it to pieces, and the next day the last one was dead and in her little lair-all perfectly healthy shrimp) and started going for my trumpet snails too (that one I witnessed first hand). I had to re-home her. I wouldn't doubt it if the betta was the culprit. Also my male betta will eat any snail I put in his tank so I don't doubt he would eat shrimp too.

 

[Raechal]

Well I have this little cave in the 10 gallon that the betta used to sleep in at night, but now all of the shrimp go in there and I never see the Betta in there anymore. Lately I saw the betta go in there lastnight right when the shrimp started to die. Maybe he is killing them over territory. I've never even seen him flare at anything besides a cory that was his size. I'll keep an eye on him and see how he does. Maybe adding another cave will help out a bit.