[timobxsci]

Okay, let me start off by saying that I've had shrimp once and they unfortunately died off really quickly...or disappeared.

I have a ten gallon betta tank that I want to use a divider for to make part of it a shrimp tank.

That's pretty much all I know. I just have to buy some moss and some RCS and food, right? Or is that now how it works?

 

[Fergus]

Shrimp are a good indicator of water quality. They are very sensitive to the copper found in most micro-nutrient fertilizers. Also very sensitive to nitrates and ammonia.

I had bad experiences with A LOT of the shrimp i had when i first got into keeping them.

Make sure you are doing you are changing at least 30-40% of your water weekly. The amount of water that you need to change goes up as the size of the tank goes down. Ask the guys at your local fish store about your tap water, and see if you need to be treating it before adding it to your tank. In my town, I don't really have to. If you have the money, RO (reverse osmosis) water is the best to use.

What kind of shrimp did you have, what kind of filter do you have, what substrate do you have, and is there a heater, and if so, at what temperature do you have your tank at?

I'm going to take a stab and say you probably had ghost shrimp, and they need 68-85° F, KH 3-10, pH 6.5-8.0. KH is carbonate hardness.

Betta splendens need 75-86° F, KH 0-25, pH 6.0-8.0.

Another note: Some male bettas can live peacefully with shrimp, especially if there is enough cover. Others are total jerks. Shrimp can be stressed to death, and really do the best in a shrimp only tank.

Also, bettas are native to stagnant water, while Shrimp enjoy a slight current, so maybe the divider would b a good way to set a region with water movement, and a still area.

If you want your shrimp to do well, provide several densely planted areas, which is, I guess, why we're here.

Also, float the shrimp for twice as long, and add some of the aquariums water to the bag after the first 20 minutes, and incrementally until you release them.

 

[Fergus]

Also, small shrimp will "disappear" only to have colonies of them spring up if you have the right conditions. They also hide to molt.

 

[timobxsci]

thanks so much! do you have any tips for me to start caring for RCS?

 

[madness]

thanks so much! do you have any tips for me to start caring for RCS?

Pick up some floating plants for the surface of the tank. Things like frogbit. They not only suck up a lot of nitrates (improving water quality) but they provide a place for the shrimp to hide and hang out.

Pick up some java moss or other kind of moss. The shrimp love to pick at it and eat the stuff that grows in it/on it and more importantly it gives them somewhere to hide when they are babies.

Use extra filtration. Consider adding a sponge filter because a) it is baby safe and b) it provides a second bacteria colonization source so that when you clean your normal filter you don't get as much instability.

If you are going with Red Cherry Shrimp then you don't have to worry much about pH levels and water hardness and all of the other more difficult problems that come with keeping the more expensive shrimp. As long as you acclimate them properly they usually adapt to most types of water (pH, hardness, temperature, etc.).

There are great guides to getting started at http://www.planetinverts.com/

and you should be able to find some good deals in the swap n shop here to get an affordable batch of Red Cherry Shrimp to get you started when you are ready if you don't find a local fish store that has reasonable prices.