Not stupid, just uneducated. All my life I was told that goldfish are good in bowls, and that they dont live very long. Oldest goldfish lived to be 43 years. Even fish companies spout how their tiny 1 gal tanks could house a couple of goldfish. You'd think they'd know better and want to give their clients the best possibility for caring for their fish. It wasnt until a few years ago that I actually read up on goldfish and their care. The reason everyone thinks they can be put in bowls is because the japanese used to scoop them out of their ponds and put them in bowls for their parties. After the party was over though, they'd go right back in the ponds. European tourists and visitors to the parties didnt know that part though. All they saw were colorful fish being kept in small bowls and fell in love with the idea.
As fun as that would be to watch, I would be very worried about them escaping since it doesnt have a top. My old crayfish snuck out of a 4" hole in the top of my 20g tall and I found her in the kitchen the next morning (about 75 feet away; quite the trek for a little thing). She was dry, but alive. Pretty much everything I've read about snails and crays is that they can and will escape. With dogs in the house, I dont think escaping inverts would be a good idea.
I was considering using that as my RCS breeder. It would be hard to control the temp for it though and a waterfall might make too much of a current. It would be neat though to have it surrounded by plants with a tall overhanging lamp above it, some lilies, and then to look in and see all these little red shrimp movin around...
