Hey, awesome blog! You seem to have a lot of experience in keeping betta as well as general knowledge so I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. I'm upgrading my male betta from a 5-gallon (where he is alone) to a 10-gallon and I'd like to try having some tankmates. I was thinking about cherry or ghost shrimp, do you have any tricks to minimize aggression on his part? I tried introducing a snail in the 5-gallon, but he kept attacking it until it died =(
Unfortunately, there are not many tricks. A lot of betta aggression usually stems from their personality. You can try putting the shrimp in first to minimize aggression, but if he was that aggressive with a snail, I think tankmates are out of the question for him.
I would suggest not introducing any tankmates.
Good luck, I hope that helps!