# Algae eater species to go in 10 gal. with betta?



## longtail4711 (Jun 8, 2010)

Anybody have any suggestions as to what could happily live out it's lifespan in a 10 gal. tank with a single betta (and maybe a few white cloud minnows, haven't decided on that yet) and keep the glass clean?


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

oto catfish should do great.You will have to supplement its diet with some veggies from time to time but other than that they should work great


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## Andystar351 (Jun 12, 2010)

What about something a little different?
You could try Cherry Shrimp...in expensive, peaceful and sift through algae and rubbish all day long with no added load on your filter.
Just a suggestion.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Andystar351 said:


> You could try Cherry Shrimp


Unfortunately not with a betta.

For fish...Oto
Inverts ... Briggs or Nerites.


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

Why no cherries with betta? Every betta I have had since I started keeping RCS has been fine with the shirmp. Do different types of bettas have different tempers? I had a delta (he died last month) crown tail and a half moon betta. All live or lived with RCS no problem


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## longtail4711 (Jun 8, 2010)

Hmmm, they both sound interesting! 

I'm a little nervous about otos. I heard that they often die in the first month and stuff. They are schoolers too, aren't they? How many can you put in a ten gallon? 

Shrimp with bettas is hit or miss depending on the temperament and variety of your betta. Crowntail bettas tend to be a much more aggressive variety for some reason. My old boy that passed away a couple months ago at the ripe old age of 4 years loved to attack my finger, so I wouldn't have considered them with him. 

I have a fairly mellow Delta tail now, so the shrimp could be a definite possibility if I can find someone who carries them. I've actually looked into Cherry shrimp for general tank clean up, but everyone I've checked with has ghost shrimp, which I'm not entirely enamored with. I didn't know they ate algae. Will they take it off the gravel and glass too?


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## Mikolas (Jan 16, 2010)

I wouldn't recommend otos personally. They are very picky with food and primarily just stick with the algae that grows off the tank, which there probably won't be very much of in your 10 gallon. Otos are sociable and "require" a few of their kind, but they also are fish that eat constantly, which would mean that the average amount of algae your tank could possible produce probably wouldn't be enough for multiple otos. Chances are that the otos that you will be getting are wild caught, meaning that they will not eat supplemental foods like veggies or algae wafers. If you managed to get otos that were bred and were thus trained to eat such things from the beginning, then all is well.

I would suggest a small school pygmy/habrosus corys. I would suggest kuhli loaches as well because they are very effective at cleaning and produce very little waste, but I've a feeling that their minimum tank requirement is at least a 20 gallon. They aren't very active or so and hide during the day so it may not be a huge problem to house them in a 10 gallon. Think of them as the quiet janitors of the night, never notice they're there except the product of their marvelous work.


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

The shrimp you can usually get them off the internet for about a buck each. Either this site or plantedtank.net


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

squirrelcrusher said:


> Why no cherries with betta? Every betta I have had since I started keeping RCS has been fine with the shirmp. Do different types of bettas have different tempers? I had a delta (he died last month) crown tail and a half moon betta. All live or lived with RCS no problem


I would have to say then that you have experienced a rare exception. I don't know about different types of betta's with shrimp, but I do know betta's and shrimp in general don't mix as they will make lunch meat of them. Lost quite a few RCS myself before splitting them up.


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## obscbyclouds (Apr 6, 2009)

The problem with the shimp and betta is everything will be fine until the shrimp molts, and then the betta will harass them to death (they get very nervous when molting). I lost some Amanos to a betta who I thought was completely peaceful. Honestly, I think your best bet is to get some snails. I'd go for nerites, or even MTS. They eat more algae each than the 3 or 4 oto's you'd be able to put in the tank, and shrimp won't clean the glass anyway. Is the tank planted?


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

Maybe my shirmp just reproduce enough to keep the bettas fat and happy. But I've never seen any agression directed at the shrimp and I spend alot of time watching my "aquarium channels"


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## longtail4711 (Jun 8, 2010)

The tank isn't planted yet, but it will be after I do some research on what would be best. I don't know much about aquatic plants yet. I've considered snails, but I'm afraid of them mating and ending up with twenty bazillion baby snails that I'd have to exterminate. 

You guys all have good points about the shrimp. It may or may not work. Bettas are kind of tricky like that. They're very personable fish with individual personalities. 

I really like the idea of shrimp AND a snail. Is that possible? Or will the shrimp attack the snail?


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## MissAreBee (Jun 15, 2010)

Nerites require brackish water to produce. And they will keep a tank SPOTLESS. I've even seen them mow thru green spot algae which basically no one else touches.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Mikolas said:


> I wouldn't recommend otos personally. They are very picky with food and primarily just stick with the algae that grows off the tank, which there probably won't be very much of in your 10 gallon. Otos are sociable and "require" a few of their kind, but they also are fish that eat constantly, which would mean that the average amount of algae your tank could possible produce probably wouldn't be enough for multiple otos. Chances are that the otos that you will be getting are wild caught, meaning that they will not eat supplemental foods like veggies or algae wafers. If you managed to get otos that were bred and were thus trained to eat such things from the beginning, then all is well.
> 
> I would suggest a small school pygmy/habrosus corys. I would suggest kuhli loaches as well because they are very effective at cleaning and produce very little waste, but I've a feeling that their minimum tank requirement is at least a 20 gallon. They aren't very active or so and hide during the day so it may not be a huge problem to house them in a 10 gallon. Think of them as the quiet janitors of the night, never notice they're there except the product of their marvelous work.


Not sure how I missed this one.... Otos aren't that bad. They will take to veggies pretty quickly. The wafers though...those can get a bit tricky.

As for the Khulies, a 10 is too small for them.


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## longtail4711 (Jun 8, 2010)

Would Nerite Snails do allright in PH of 6.6? 

If not, any other snails that would?


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## MissAreBee (Jun 15, 2010)

longtail4711 said:


> Would Nerite Snails do allright in PH of 6.6?
> 
> If not, any other snails that would?


Only thing you have to be cautious with having slightly acidic water is shell erosion. I don't know how easily nerites take prepared foods but look into Kens veggie sticks with calcium or making your own snail jello. I use both and my snails shells are in tip top shape.


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