Can Betta Fish Live With Shrimp?

Whether you’ve adopted a betta fish for the first time or are a seasoned veteran, it is essential for you to know what type of tank mates would get along with them.

There’s no surprise that storing your betta fish (also called the Siamese fighting fish) with the wrong tank mates can end up being really dangerous.

After considering many other tank mates for your beloved fish, you’re probably wondering if betta fish can survive with shrimp.

Without further ado, let’s jump in and see whether betta fish can live with shrimps.

Moreover, we will also take a look at the best kind of shrimps that will get along well with your betta.

Can Betta Fish Live With Shrimp?

Fortunately for all the fish lovers out there, yes, the betta fish can live peacefully with shrimp together.

However, it is crucial for you to remember that this factor solely depends on the temperament of your betta.

Shrimps can make great betta tank mates, but this depends on how aggressive your betta fish is and how tolerant it is of the shrimps

Moreover, to ensure that your betta fish and shrimp thrive well together, you need to ensure that the tank is right for both of them.

What Type of Environment Do Betta Fish and Shrimp Require?

As mentioned above, it’s crucial to maintain the correct environment in your fish tank to increase the chances of these two creatures living together peacefully.

Here are a few things that you should consider when constructing their environment.

Invest in a Big Fish Tank

The first thing for you to do is to get a fish tank with the correct size.

Your betta tank or aquarium should have enough space to house your betta fish and shrimp comfortably.

In such a scenario, the minimum size of your fish tank should be at least 10 gallons.

It can be difficult to overfill a 10-gallon tank with shrimp, but you should still be careful. Moreover, the extra space in your tank will lower the chances of the betta attacking the shrimp.

And if you considering other tank mates with Betta, make sure you also account for them when getting an appropriate tank size.

Add Hiding Places 

After investing in a good-sized tank, you need to equip it with lots of hiding places.

Most tanks come with in-built hiding spaces for your pets. However, if there aren’t any, you should consider investing in them.

Add Some Real Plants

Throw in some silk or real plants in your fish tank for a better environment.

Not only will this make your tank look great, but it will provide amp hiding places for your betta and shrimp.

Another added benefit is that these plants fall onto the substrate, making it a delicious meal for your shrimp.

You have two options when adding plants to your tank – high light and low light plants.

While both these plants provide your shrimp with food, it mainly depends on their preference.

You can include java ferns and java moss in a low-light tank. Moreover, in a high light tank, you can grow living substrates and increase algae growth.

Also read: Best Light Spectrum for Aquarium Plants

Throw in Some Ornaments 

You can throw in some ornaments/decorations to amp up the appearance of the tank while also making available lots of extra places to hide.

This will be a great addition to both your betta and shrimp. However, you need to be very careful when choosing the type of ornaments to add.

If you add anything hard or sharp, it could end up damaging your betta’s delicate fins.

Feeding Betta and Shrimp

When it comes to eating, shrimp are scavengers. So, you mostly don’t have to worry about feeding them given that you’re feeding your betta correctly.

Shrimp often munch on your betta’s food if they don’t eat quickly enough. However, this also doesn’t imply that you don’t consider feeding them at all.

From time to time, you need to ensure that your shrimp are receiving a combination of plants and meat.

The Best Shrimp to Add With Your Betta Fish

Are you looking for the best kind of shrimp to add alongside your betta fish? Well, we’ve lined up 3 of the best choices for you – Cherry shrimp, Ghost Shrimp, and Amano shrimp.

Let’s have a look at these three choices in detail to understand why they are good options.

Ghost Shrimp 

At their full size, they grow up to almost 1 and a half inches. So, it’s safe to say that won’t be too small to get eaten.

Ghost shrimp live in water quality similar to bettas (which are tropical fish). They require a pH level between 7 and 8. Moreover, they need the tank temperature to be between 72 and 82°F.

Bettas also require a water pH level of 7 and a water temperature of 78°F. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about maintaining the perfect environment for both creatures.

If you plan on adding Ghost shrimps to your aquarium, you can expect them to keep to themselves.

Due to their soft nature, Ghost shrimp won’t pester the betta in your tank. This will reduce the risk of them being attacked.

There are a few things that you need to beware of when adding ghost shrimp to your tank with bettas.

  • Firstly, they breed quite easily. So, if your aquarium is at full capacity, you should reconsider your choice. However, chances are that your betta will eat most of the Ghost shrimp babies.
  • Secondly, when adding Ghost shrimp to your tank, make sure you do it in groups of 2 to 4. If you add less than two, your shrimp can end up lonely. On the other hand, if you add more than four, there are be water quality and pregnancy issues.

However, you can keep about 20 shrimp in the tank with your betta.

Will a Betta Eat Ghost Shrimp?

Due to their size, chances are that your betta won’t eat your ghost shrimp.

However, if the betta isn’t receiving proper food, this might change.

The only way you can know for sure is by giving it a trial run. You can add ghost shrimp to the tank to see what happens.

Cherry Shrimp

Adding cherry shrimp to your tank is a little riskier than ghost shrimp. However, this doesn’t mean that you should consider them at all.

Cherry shrimp females grow up to 1 inch in size whereas the males tend to be much small.

So, there’s a chance that your betta will eat up the males. Therefore, it’s always better to add female cherry shrimp.

They require a water pH level between 6.5 and 8. Moreover, they need a water temperature between 57 and 84°F.

Both these requirements fall well in line with the demands of betta fish.

Since cherry shrimp are small in size, you can store them in a small tank. For instance, if you want to store 10 shrimp, a 5-gallon tank is more than enough.

When adding cherry shrimp, you need to make the tank environment as close to natural as possible.

This means that you will have to plant your tank heavily.

Moreover, while cherry shrimp often live off algae, they still require a diverse range of food. You can try feeding them meat, but most of their food should be vegetation.

Will Bettas Eat Cherry Shrimp?

Any fish that is big enough to eat your cherry should, will eat them. Also, cherry shrimps are brightly colored, which attracts betta fish and makes them a target.

Even though you can’t always stop this from happening, you can try to limit it.

So, you can buy the biggest shrimp available and try to avoid buying males (as they are smaller than females).

Moreover, if your betta has a good temperament and has survived with shrimp before, your cherry shrimp will be just fine!

Amano Shrimp

Amano shrimp are freshwater shrimp and are a great choice to keep with your betta.

First and foremost, they are the biggest of the three, growing up to over 2 inches in length.

If you’re considering on add Amano, one of the first things to know is that they live long lives.

While other shrimps can survive only for a year, Amanos can live for at least 2-3 years. So, you don’t have to keep restocking your tank.

Amanos usually keep to themselves so you can ensure that they won’t pester your betta.

However, when it comes to feeding time, they often get pretty aggressive.

So, even though they might not attack your betta, they might create a pecking order.

This means that the alpha shrimp will attack others to reach for food first. This chaos can end up affecting your betta negatively.

Also, the water parameters requirements of Amano shrimp and bettas are quite similar. They require a pH between 6 and 7 and a water temperature between 70 and 80°F.

Moreover, you should make sure there are lots of plants in the tank. This is because Amano shrimp tend to shed once a month, making them super-vulnerable.

Having plants and hiding places can help reduce their stress greatly.

Also, while Amano shrimp are usually dependent on algae, this shouldn’t be their only source of food.

You should focus on getting the meat and sinking pellets to keep them happy.

Lastly, because of their big size, you should avoid adding Amano shrimp in a tank that’s too small. So, you should definitely stick to a 10-gallon tank!

Will Bettas Eat Amano Shrimp?

You don’t have to worry about your betta fish eating your Amano shrimp.

Due to their large size, the chances of them getting eaten by any fish are extremely low.

Wrapping Up

Bettas can live with shrimps in a fish tank, but you need to make sure that you provide them with the right environment.

All the above-mentioned shrimps serve as fantastic tank mates choices for your tank. However, this largely depends on your betta fish.

You need to make sure to provide a natural habitat to the shrimps (with plants and caves to hide) to make sure both betta and shrimps can co-exist.

If your betta fish has a good temperament, you can expect all three kinds to blend in easily. You can also create a community tank with other kinds of fish as well.

On the other hand, if your betta has an aggressive nature, no tank mate will be able to survive.

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