I thikn I will order some shrimps once I get my water levels right for them, I'll have to ask my sister if she can help me get my "chemistry" right haha I wouldn't put anything in the same tank as a betta, I think they're pretty on their own
We had a disaster with a snail years ago... no more snails for me... so many snails... brought one home from the pond.. a few hours later "ooh! BABIES!" a few days later we were using mom's spatula to scrape them off the side.. it was horrible.. dad thought is was hilarious lol
I've looked at those plecos before! I was considering at the time a 30 gallon tank but I couldn't find one that was just the tank and not a kit. They look so funny... I didn't really want one in my tank haha I was reminiscing.. I just really loved THAT fish haha that particular pleco. he was really pretty... and BIG... emphasis on
big...
I really like the idea of cherry shrimp
Would it be possible to keep just the shrimp? and maybe a few small fish like fancy guppies or something of that caliper? I like bright colors contrasting with the rocks (could be considered a shallow opinion.. (oh look at that a fishtank joke!))
I kept a small painted turtle and a crayfish once, they lived for several years
Houdini only had 3 feet and he was 6 when I gave him to my friend Maria (turtle fanatic and wanted houdini bad haha) and Pog (the crayfish) lived for about 4 years after dad pulled her from the pond haha I seem to have a knack for weird creatures...
Shrimp and guppies is a very nice peaceful combo that would definitely work. However given that females get too big for that tank size, perhaps get a group of only male endler guppies OR mosquitofish (similar to guppy, smaller) You don't need special water chemistry. Make sure you have a solid biofilter, decent filtration, a heater, and the pH is 6.8-8.5
You will find as long as you feed them and keep water changes up, give them lots of hiding spots and be careful not to squish or vaccuum them up while cleaning (they are hardy but also fragile) your shrimp colony will not only survive but expand a little as some of their babies make it to adulthood. As they are short lived, you will have a group that is always making new generations.
If you have a 'snail problem' then thats when you buy 10 assassin snails. They love eating those little pond type snails, and assassin snails wont breed in your tank. Once they eat all your snails they will scavenge for fish food pellets and still be just fine. HTH.
The shrimp are very easy to get into. Little more is needed than a long flat log for them to live under. You can tie some anubias or java fern to the top for a nice look.
You COULD do cherries and guppies (though 10G is slightly cramped for guppies and I'd suggest endlers, a smaller cousin, or white cloud mountain minnows (the gold ones) instead). But yes that will work.
As far as keeping things with bettas- you can. Just depends what. I had a pair of bolivian rams (see pic first page) living with a female beta in a 40 gallon. All fed together and even grouped and swam together. The female betta thought the female ram was a male betta and flirted with it incessantly.. It was quite hilarious. Other than sexual harassment they got along perfectly.
Yet another option you have is a tank full of hornwort and mosquitofish. Itll look like a little jungle and the mostquito fish breed like its going out of style so you can sell them to petshops and support your tank $ off its own output. You can keep shrimp with them. They are like beautiful micro guppies. You have 100s of options even in 10 gallons. Killifish is another example- say a male australe lyretail killifish and some amano shrimp. But THAT fish will be hard to track down. Almost surely mailorder. They are not common but worth the search as they look like absolute gold but keep super easily in a basic FW tank. Red and orange with white tail. They CAN be vicious against 'competing' size or attitude fish'. Best kept alone or with something unthreatening like the aforementioned mosquitofish/amano group. They will ignore smaller slower fish which they do not consider a threat to their space or food. The same environment as for the mosquito fish is great for the killi. Amphyosemion australe is the one you want.
You're in NC right? Or was it SC? Want me to help track down distributors of some of this rare stuff in your area? Private message me. Most of this stuff is bred in Florida. You're not that far from it. It'd ship to you fairly cheap and arrive in good spirits.
Forgot to mention besides the bushynose another micro pleco you can keep (but only keep ONE pleco of ONE species as you are space limited) is Panaque maccus. Usually called Clown Plecos in the pet trade. They need to eat soft wood to survive in addition to pellets to make sure to have a piece of malaysian driftwood (which is soft). Alternately feed SERA CATFISH CHIPS which already contain wood. Beautiful fish. Only active at night while the bushynose is active 24 hours. Also unlike the bushynose, clowns dont clean your tank of algae much at all. They just kinda live in there. It's a look at it fish not an it serves a purpose fish.
PS cute bearded dragon lizard
All these fish retail dirt cheap btw.. You can pull this off on pocket change
Mosquito fish run 2 for a dollar
Clown plecos run five to ten dollars
the shrimp run 100 for 25 dollars (cherr)
or 10/$10 (amano shrimp)
the honey gourami is $4
Bushynose pleco as a juvenile is $1-4
Enough hornwort plant to fill your 10G is $10
Only the killi may break the bank as prices vary wildly. Anywhere from $15 to 80 depending on availability in your zone. Or $100 or so for a pair. They breed easily and the babies are a goldmine if you're into raising fish to sell to other pet owners. They look so neat that you put ads up in your local craigslist and you can't keep up with the phone calls.
The hornwort/shrimp/mosquitofish also breed fast enough that you will always have a supply to trade to your pet shop and be able to get your foods and water conditioner free making a self supporting (financially) aquarium. I've done this before. Aquariums... they're even nicer to look at when you know they involve no out of pocket expence.
Crawfish make good pets and even blue ones are available in the pet hobby. They require more space than 20x10" (ten gallon) to walk around though so please don't get one unless you have (IMO) 29x12" (29 gallon) or better) Though again, there is an exception. The 'orange dwarf crawfish' which is utterly rare, fragile, and brutally expensive ($100?) Only reaches 2" and DOES fit in a 10G community tank. And you COULD keep one. Would likely eat shrimp but ignore snails, other fishes.
I really like the idea of cherry shrimp Would it be possible to keep just the shrimp?
Some of the nicest tanks I have ever seen are pure shrimp. The shrimp prefer it because they feel fearless.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVtvMXd5pP0"]Freshwater Shrimp Aquarium - YouTube[/ame]
It is still possible to add the odd tiny fish without the shrimp noticing. This person has an Ottoniculous catfish, see? But mostly just shrimp. Lovely setup. You can get cherry and bumblebee and amano shrimp like this guy and mix them. They do not harm eachother. If just going shrimp, they prefer a black sand or gravel bottom with black rocks over lighter colors. Plants are not needed if they aren't your strong point. I do recommend the hornwort as it'll grow anywhere no matter what and the shrimp love living in it. It'll be fine even under the most inferior of aquarium light
that much usually is only one dollar
You would enjoy watching shrimp. You learn to tell them apart by markings. There is a 'lead shrimp' who you will learn to identitfy and they all have personalities. One always runs for the surface to try to catch food. One always sits on the same log. One always picks algae from ONLY one spot. Lots of laughs and so affordable
I love em and hope to get back to shrimp keeping one day when I have the extra space and time to get set up again.
Hope this was Helpful please ask any other Qs
I think the long drive killed him
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