My grandmother has one that is more than 5 years old (one of the small ones at that). She likes it, and the shrimp is very active, molts regularly, etc. It's not reproducing because there's only one, but it is very healthy. Why is that cruel? We aren't talking about an animal that is cognizant of it's surroundings, and it has lived well past it's wild life expectancy--those things are food for everything they encounter. The care for them is very specific--putting it in sunlight is specifically in the 'don't' list. I know the joy my grandmother has gotten from hers, and how well she cares for it. Where's the harm in that? Cruel? How so? I believe in giving my animals every benefit--but calling it cruel to keep a shrimp alive for twice it's expected life in the wild, protected from predators, with food readily available, is absurd. If it was starving, it would have died long ago.
