I've got a 6.6 gallon Betta tank with algae issues. I'm fairly certain that it's because of the warmth of this corner of the room, but I'm not wanting to move the tank right now. I've got a couple of Otocinclus in there, but they don't eat as much or as many different kinds of algae, reportedly. I've never had Amano, or any shrimp. I think I have hair algae, green spot algae, and brown algae. The Oto and the Betta do great together. I tried some Corydoras, but Olivia (the Betta) was really pissed. I think much of that had to do with the energy of the Corydoras though.

Betta + Amano ?

Zambize

Amanos don't function well by themselves. Fortunately they create a very small bio load. I mean VERY. UNfortunately multiple ones in such a small space would probably piss your betta off if they took to the water, which they frequently do in my 30gal braving the "devil" red skirt minor tetra infested waters. Yes, there's 3, and they love to nip anything, despite their general description. Generally though they do a lot of climbing and walking around...

I don't see a problem trying with one. Assuming the betta tank pH isn't much different from your other tanks you could simply move it (if it makes it through the night) to a different tank and add some mates for it. Let me reiterate it'd take like a half dozen shrimp to occupy the bio-load of your usual 1 inch fish...

They do happen to prefer a neutral to acidic pH, and a bit of hardness in the water, as they are an invert. Oh and preferably whatever tank they end up in assuming you get one it should have a good lid on it, cause they're pretty aerobatic. I've picked a few off my livingroom floor. Still kickin' today.

PS, shrimp can be pretty sensitive to pH, so ask the LFS you get them from what their pH is and if its more than 1.5-2pts different from yours, drip acclimate for at least a few hours before adding. Many kinds of shrimp are acclimated up from a very low pH (wild) to be sold in the trade. I think there's an article on drip acclimation on this website if you're not already familiar with it.

PPS: http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/97

If the amanos aren't expensive buy a couple and try it out. The worst that could happen is your betta would get fed.

Sorry Z, I worded that confusing I guess... I meant my stupid devil "red skirt minor" tetras. They're fin nippers, and they go after my amanos from time to time. They even pestered the shit out of Tut, my ram that died. :( I think I'm going to bring them back to petsmart. I don't have the heart to flush a fish as much as I want to.

The amanos won't attack anything unless its basically dead, or within minutes of being there if they're extremely hungry. lol Possibly a 3-5day old guppy fry..

The only thing that would stress your betta is the amanos swiming around. They usually don't spend a lot of time in the water column though. So as I said before if she does get irritated with them I wouldn't see a problem moving them to your other tank.

I just wanna reiterate: if the pH at the place where you purchase them from is several points off of yours be sure to drip acclimate. :)

Goodluck.

Oh, and meant to add that the pH at my fish store is also 7.8. Whenever I bring a fish home, from anywhere, I always check the pH of the bag water just to see what I'm dealing with.

I could move the shrimp to my other tank, but my shark may make dinner of them. :)

Z