Betta + shrimp nano — 30L

Why this setup works

Betta with cherry shrimp is one of the more debated combinations in the hobby, and the debate is justified. Some bettas ignore shrimp entirely and the tank becomes a low-maintenance planted display. Others treat the shrimp as a snack. The outcome is largely individual — you cannot predict it from colour, fin type, or how the betta behaves in the shop tank.

The precautions that shift the odds in your favour: dense planting (java moss, microsword, floating plants), a betta that has been in the shop tank with other small fish without attacking them, and adding the shrimp to a tank that already has the betta established rather than the reverse. Adult cherry shrimp are less at risk than juveniles or egg-carrying females, which are slower.

Eight cherry shrimp is a conservative starting number. If the betta is indifferent to them, the colony will grow on its own and maintain itself. If the betta picks at them occasionally — chasing but not catching — the colony can still sustain losses because cherry shrimp breed readily in stable conditions. If the betta actively hunts, you will know quickly.

The four nerite snails are a useful addition: they eat algae the betta will not touch, they are too large to be eaten, and their shells are too hard for a betta to damage without injuring itself. They will not breed in freshwater, which removes one maintenance concern.

Keep the 30L well filtered with a sponge filter (safe for shrimp), heavily planted, and temperature stable at 24–26°C. Do not add other fish — this tank is already at its sensible limit for a single betta's territory. Run a pair check before adding any species not listed here.