help šš my ghost shrimp are attacking my betta. they literally sit in his betta log and wait for him to swim by before they jump at him and grab onto his fins. his fins were fine a couple days ago and now they are starting to tear and look shredded because of this. he doesn't fight back, he just freaks out, they've lived peacefully for weeks and this just started !! is there a way i can deal with this without removing the shrimp because i don't know what i'd do with them šš
https://v.redd.it/x4kh69to3b7g1
Posted by marmadness
3 Comments
I fear shrimp are untamable lol. Youāll need to either take them to a store to return/surrender or get a new tank for them. This is the risk with tankmates for bettas. How big is the tank you have them in?
I have some neon tetras with my betta, and sometimes theyāll catch up and snag his fins, but only once in a while and it heals fast. This is considerably worse. And iirc, many treatments for this stuff will hurt your shrimp anyway.
Take the log out. See if that stops the issue. Your betta will be fine without it.
Are you sure they are ghost shrimp and not whisker shrimp?
ETA: I can’t see an orange band on the lower part of the antenna and the front claws look long. Looks more like a whisker shrimp and if so you would need to separate. Whisker shrimp are aggressive and will kill tank mates. “Whisker shrimp are definitely not suitable to keep with long-finned tankmates like Betta fish, guppies, or similar. Those long claws are perfect for grabbing slow-moving prey. Macrobrachiums are best only kept with slightly larger and quick species, like barbs (though not so large that the fish will go after the shrimp instead!).” That is from [The Shrimp Farm](https://www.theshrimpfarm.com/posts/whisker-shrimp-vs-ghost-shrimp/).
https://preview.redd.it/113w3qujhb7g1.jpeg?width=990&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ff20d827f5c04ccaeb6ba0c1ae189a50a402f38