Planted tank help!

here's a sticky i wrote for keeping shrimps in betta tanks hun

https://betta-paradise.forumotion.com/the-general-fish-tank-f13/tips-for-keeping-shrimps-in-betta-tanks-t895.htm

If you have tons of hiding places and put them in first, maybe, just maybe the shrimp might make it, they are so small that bettas will eat them up fast or just kill them.
I have got two dedicated planted tanks for the red cherry and yellow shrimp, I do use their tanks for grow-out of my betta fry until the betta fry/juvie are big enough to eat the baby shrimp, and looking now I need to move some fish today...lol boy these betta grow fast, they are only about 8 weeks old, my special stuff works well......
You might have better luck with ghost shrimp, they would show up nice on your black gravel you plan, they are bigger, but IME, betta can and will kill them too, just too big for them to eat, but they do try or at least mine do.....

i keep shrimps happily in all my betta tanks - yes they might munch some babies but as long as cover adequate - see post then be ok

Ok thanks for that pip, I will probs go with the cherry shrimp, Also would khulis be alright with bettas? I suspect they will as they are very fast if they want to be. Oops, just answered my own question there :D

Thanks
Joe

yup khulis too are fine with bettas hun

Cool I'll have 4 khulis on one side of the divide and tons of cherrys on the other side.

Also Modaz is selling a mat with riccia on but it is only 4x4 inches, would it start spreading onto the gravel or would I have to buy loads of mats?

Thanks
Joe