I have an interesting situation unfolding in my aquarium these days… TLDR below but I think this could be fun for the community to chat about.
I got my first plakat betta, Sabo – Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army – after owning bettas for going on 2 years. He’s in a lovely planted 10 gallon tank with a nerite and, at the time of arrival, lots of shrimpies. I’m no stranger to the ways of bettas and shrimpies so there are plenty of places for the shrimp to hide. However, this is my first plakat and I may have underestimated just how much of a threat his speed would be to the population. Now all the shrimplets have been devoured and the adults are in hiding until the tank lights go out. But, occasionally, some will be courageous during the day. That’s when I noticed the pattern.
My betta only shows interest in attacking (and snacking) my blue dream shrimp. The cherry reds and the orange ones are able to roam around freely (they are still too afraid to) but god help if a blue dream shows up in the light of day. It’s immediately stalked, chased, hunted, and devoured unless I happen to notice and can intervene on the little one’s behalf. I’ve seen Sabo look right at a red chowing in the open and then swim away like he was greeting a neighbor in the driveway.
Does anyone have a scientific or even humorous explanation for what’s going on here? My closest guess is that he’s got beef with the blue ones because he is blue himself but that doesn’t make much sense because he doesn’t know he is blue…
TLDR: My new betta only hunts blue dream shrimp and lets the reds and oranges live in peace. Why?
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1ro95i2
Posted by KimbersKimbos
3 Comments
while i’m guessing it’s bc your betta is also blue lol, i would say you probably need some more hiding spaces for the shrimp even if you think it’s not gonna attack the others. just to be safe!
your betta is an animal hunting prey and killing potential threats. fish can typically see a broader array of color spectrums than even humans can and blues will show up extremely clearly to them.
How do you know for a fact he hasn’t eaten any of the other shrimp? Also how do you know he doesn’t sometimes let the blue guys live?
Assuming he hasn’t…
It’s possible he views them as a threat/a snack because their colors trigger either his hunting or territorial instincts… I suppose since they look more like him, maybe he wants them dead. Lol. As to why the other shrimp don’t trigger this response…
What about the shrimp themselves? Are the blue dreeam shrimp different in any other ways besides color? Is their behavior or size different?