Tank-mates For A Betta In A 30l Aquarium?

[Nightfall]

I'm going to my not-so LFS tomorrow to buy parts for my CO2 generator and I've been considering getting some tank-mates for Hephaestion, who is the Betta who inhabits my 7g/30L aquarium.

I could never give my other Betta Alexander tank-mates, he's very aggressive (tried to eat a snail the size of his head when I put it in his tank, bless him), but Hephaestion doesn't flare at his reflection and he doesn't even know how to eat live brine shrimp, so I think he'll actually be fine with some shrimp in his tank.

In this particular tank I'm nursing a plant that was shipped to me all but dead, so it's especially important that whatever I get doesn't snack on plants. I know a lot of shrimp varieties live in the plants (which is fine) and eat plants (which isn't fine), but I'm asking on the off chance there are shrimp out there who won't snack on the plants.

If there are some varieties of shrimp that won't eat the plants, how many could I potentially have in the tank? I'd be adding one or two at a time so as not to disturb the bioload too much, but I'm not sure how many I could add with a Betta already there.

If I can't get shrimp, what are some other fish I could add, and how many of those fish? I was thinking maybe some small algae-eaters or little catfish, if there are any varieties that are tiny even when fully grown. Obviously I can't have anything aggressive or nippy, especially since Heph is such a peaceful fish.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Cherry shrimp eat decaying plant matter and algae. Eventually you could have 6 or so with your Betta. As for fish, 6 harlequin rasboras would work well, or an even better choice would be chili rasboras.

 

[Nightfall]

I was definitely looking closely at the cherry shrimp so I'm really glad you mentioned those. The plant I'm worried about has some healthy new growth and some old, half-dead leaves on it, although I stripped the dead stuff before I added it to the aquarium. Hopefully they leave the new green shoots and leaves alone. It has a lot of floating roots too, so hopefully they'll be okay. I read that cherries like to have wood and plants, and I have both in the aquarium already.

The harlequins are nice little fish, I haven't ever seen chillies though.

Are there any other shrimp varieties that would work? Can you keep a mixture of species, or is it better to have a little school of the same kind?

 

[thereverendturtle]

All the small shrimp will be ok. You can mix them, but there is the chance of hybrids when they reproduce.
Chili rasboras are also called dwarf or mosquito rasboras. Here's a link to some info on them... http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-maculatus/

 

[Nightfall]

Thank you for the link.
I'll probably stick with the shrimp. I think the rasboras are beautiful but I'm worried the conditions in my aquarium aren't right for them (pH too high, lights too bright, current too fast). I've read that some shrimp species are quite aggressive, but the cherries seem pretty ideal. I'm interested in other small, peaceful shrimp but I don't know the species to ask if they have them.

 

[the_lock_man]

I had chilli rasbos in a 34l with a SFF quite happily, with a relatively high pH.

My boy didn't take kindly to cherry shrimp (two of them became lunch before I cottoned on), but he didn't go for the amanos when I swapped the 2 batches between tanks. Cherries are much more colourful than amanos though.

 

[Nightfall]

I don't mind getting Amanos if they're less likely to be eaten. Heph seems to be the least aggressive Betta I've ever met, so I think I'll be safe with the cherries, but I guess I won't know until I try.

The only worry I have left is that the shrimp will die if the water spikes when I add them. My nitrites and nitrAtes are fine but my ammonia is a little high right now in that tank. I perform frequent water changes, test the parameters daily and I use ammo lock to help detoxify the remaining ammonia - will that be enough to keep them happy?

ETA: It seems that Amanos aren't widely available in Australia, so I'll have to stick with the cherries.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

I would go with Red Cherry Shrimp (obviously, if that's all that is available then there is your answer)... i would also agree with the Chilli Rasbora (but would have to disagree with the Harlequin type, way to big for 30L) or any other type of 'micro' fish, pop in some floating plants, real or otherwise, and they will probably be fine.

Terry.

 

[tribalbrit]

cherry shrimp,& crystal reds. These wont cross breed as the are different species

 

[Questions?]

4 pygmy cories would be good

 

[KuronoEnyo]

I like the pygmy cory idea I've got a school of 8 in my 20g and I love them there so active and adorable to watch as they forage for food just gotta remember there not algae eaters so a nice meaty wafer would be fishtastic for them! I use Hikari Sinking wafers for mine which has a lot of meaty things inside for the little guys and best part once there done with it a lot of the others in my aquarium enjoy nibbling at it.

 

[Nightfall]

I already do have floating plants in there, so that's good.

I'm still undecided. The fish seem hardier than the shrimp, and there's really no chance of them being eaten, but I really wanted algae eaters of some variety in the tank. I guess I'll go and see what's available and let that influence me. There seem to be some native shrimp that would work well, they're hardy, non-aggressive and small. I had no idea amanos were basically impossible to find here until I looked it up, but I know there are cherries. The crystal reds I looked at earlier and liked, but again, I'm not sure about availability.

I'm still concerned about ammonia spikes. Will ammo lock help any shrimp I might get through it?

 

[Questions?]

ghost shrimp are really cheap, and so you could try them first and if they work out you could switch to cherry shrimp

 

[Nightfall]

They didn't have rasboras, and they only had glass shrimp and cherries, so I got two cherries. Hopefully things go well with them. If they do, I'll get more.