Clean-up crew for 60L Betta tank

Hi everyone,

I have a 60L planted (work in progress) Betta tank and was thinking of getting some shrimp in there as a permanent clean-up crew. I pop a Mystery snail in there every few days which helps clean up the wood and so on but I don't leave him in there for longer than a day. I don't wan't him creating more waste than he is removing. My substrate is the hardest to clean because of all the nooks and crannies, so I figured that some shrimp will do well in here.

I would prefer not to stock more fish and to keep it as a single Betta tank, so I thought shrimp may be a good option. I hear they are quite easy to keep as well. I'm just not sure which verity is best suited for a Betta roommate. Open to suggestions though...

 

Hey-I keep shrimp with Betta in a heavily planted 45l_tall. As clean-up crew Nerite snails are some of the best, low-bioload options. They can't breed in your tank as they need specific conditions and they do build little egg sacks which are a bit annoying but are easy to remove. As for shrimp your only non-RO water options are Neocardinia species-Cherries, Rillies, Wild types etc....I'm no expert on shrimp but all my friends who breed only use re-minerised RO water for their Cardinia shrimp. As for betta-it depends on the betta. The more aggressive guys will savage your shrimp population and the more chilled one will ignore shrimp to occasionally eat some babies. I have a Dumbo-ear boy who is so thick in the head he has to be hand-fed bloodworms because he will just sit there and let them fall past his face . Depending on your tank dimensions I would load the tank with wood and plants-and I mean make it a jungle. Use moss clumps or subwassertang for baby shrimp to hide in and give the betta places to explore.

 

Oh man that tank is pretty, that's definitely what I'm going for! I want this tank to be a crazy jungle and I'll be getting some more plants this weekend. I need some ground cover and something bushy for the back of the tank that will cover the back panel eventually.

Thank you I will keep the Nerite snails in mind, it sounds like a good option. Luckily my Betta isn't agro at all, he hardly ever flairs. I have only seen him do it twice briefly as I dropped food in the tank and I have even help up a mirror to check if he is interested but he just stares at himself for a little bit then slowly swims away. Not bothered at all.

What about Assassin snails? I hear they also take care of pest snails should they appear.

 

Assassins are great for a tank with a shit ton of snails-they will die if they can't find other snails to eat. Get your tank running for about 3 months and let it settle and stabilise. Test the water and make sure you have no ammonia leaching from a planted substrate. Then add 4-5 shrimp and wait. if they survive the week you can add more. I just like being careful with shrimp as I dont test as accurately as I'd like (need a liquid test kit).

 

Ah okay that makes sense, will avoid Assassins then. I test my water religiously now after each change after what happened in his little 19L tank. He got so sick because I underestimated how often I should clean a smaller tank. Since moving him to the 60L he has happy and my params are always stable. Maybe the Nerite snails is the safest option here, as I am looking for as little fuss as possible. Maybe I can turn his old 19L into a little shrimp tank.

Thanks a mil for the input!

 

I have a 20

l have a little 20l planted and have recently discovered Norman's Lampeye Killifish and bought 5. They are a tiny little nano fish suitable for planted aquariums with a very small footprint. The only thing is you'll ned to do 15-20% water changes bi-weekly as they love every dilute water. They are TINY and super pretty

 

Where did you get them from? I got 1 little one by accide, he got mixed up with some others I bought and nobody even noticed lol. But he needs friends and now I can't find anywhere

 

Oooo those are cool! That's also a good option thanks.

 

Aqua empire just got a batch in and they are TINY-i mean 7mm or so

 

I better get there soon haha! Thanks..

The good news is they do get big enough to actually see them without a microscope

 

They dont even have them in at the shop holding tanks-they are in one of their display nano's in the back room

 

Just get some Amanos 10-20 would be perfect for that size tank

 

Definitely more I currently have 15 in my 60F and that seems to be a good number, considering that it’s a shrimp only tank

 

You don't have to have other snails for the assasins to eat. I feed mine bloodworm once a week.

 

If you get the balance of the tank right (light intensity, light duration, ferts etc), you don't need that many Amanos. I had 6 amanos and 2 nerites in my tank for quite a while. There wasn't a trace of algae. Amanos are generally a great addition to the clean-up crew of a tank. They won't touch BBA, not many critters do, but they are champions at removing green hair algae.

I'd go for 6 amano shrimp, and scrub hardscape and glass manually before a water change. It takes about 5 minutes to clean all the glass, driftwood and rocks in a tank that size. If you can turn down or elevate the light, then you can manage algae growth even better.

 

My issue isn't algae at all, it's mostly just the substrate that needs cleaning and some of the wood and the rocks. I will gravel vac but I would like for some critters to get into those nooks and crannies I can't get into with a vac. Plus having something else to admire when the Betta doesn't want to put on a show.

 

Also saw some on the mcmerwe website

 

Ah, apologies, misunderstood the question then.

How heavily planted is the tank? Could you stir up the substrate easily without uprooting anything? If so, it might be easier to do it manually with each water change.

In terms of companions, some corydoras might work well. A school of 6 julii or bronze cories could work nicely. I tried some green neon tetras with my betta and they ended up shredding his fins. Shrimp could work - cherry shrimp are the cheapest option, and breed well