RCS in bowl/vase?

[aviva90]

So sometimes I'll read on this forum or other random places that people keep RCS or other hardy shrimp in a vase on their table or in a 1/2g bowl in the office or whatever. I was wondering if you could do this successfully? It always seems to be people who have been in this hobby for years who say it, so I thought it was feasible. For the people who do this successfully do you need a heater in the small bowl/vase? Because I have a plastic 1/2 gallon "betta tank" bowl (never will use as such) that I just use to throw my plants that I don't know what to do with in there because I found with no light they still seem to at least stay alive, if not thrive. My RCS in my 10 seem to be reproducing well and was thinking that soon I'll have some extra shrimp to play with. So could I do this?

 

[jaysen]

i have medium and high grade crystal red shrimp in a 5 gallon vase and a 2.5 gallon aquarium on my window. they are not heated but the room is 70 degrees all year. there are tons of plants in there as well. i have population explosions with the shrimp and sell them off when it is warm enough to ship them. some shrimp are more delicate than others. in a 0.5 gallon bowl i would do a 50% water change at least once a week, depending on the amount of shrimp in there. make sure to vacuum gravel since that led to a population crash in one of my bowls 2 years ago. try it first with 5 or 6 half inch shrimp. you dont need to feed them much, and shouldnt. i put in a crushed pellet once a week in the 5 gallon bowl which has around 50 crs as of now. the more you feed, the more water changes you will need to do. dont let them starve either. watch them for signs of stress (swimming up and just dropping) so you know if the water or temperature is working for them. good luck. i have pics of my bowl that i can post if you want to see it. they make great centerpieces on tables instead of dying flowers.

 

[aviva90]

Unfortunately my room doesn't stay very warm in San Francisco unless I raise the heating bill A LOT but what if I put it on top of another tank? Would there be enough heat transfer for them since 1/2g isn't much water to keep warm... just a thought. The bowl definitely has a lot of plants (baby vals, 1 java fern, one needle nose java fern).
I would love to see pics of yours.

 

[jaysen]

cherries are hardier than most shrimp. experiment with a few if you want. smaller tanks dont hold temps as easily as larger ones so i dont think it would work. how low does the temp go in your room? ill try to post pics before shabbos.

 

[aviva90]

It'll be interesting to see if my 15 can provide enough warmth maybe? Not sure if I should tho... Um, it probably gets down to 65 easily in my room after sun down, if not a little less... I know I'm usually wearing a sweatshirt and sweats and still cold... and that would be great!

 

[jaysen]

65 is on the low end but it may still work. if you have enough crs to spare then why not give it a try.

 

[aviva90]

Only have a few babies, but once they grow I think I will. Any idea how long it takes babies once they hatch until they come out of hiding? I have babies that are hiding under my moss balls for a couple weeks now

 

[happypoet]

65 is fine. I had blue pearls breed at significantly lower temps than that. I have Rilis doing fine in a 1.8 gallon bowl at around 65 right now.

 

[jpappy789]

I have my RCS at room temp which is hardly above 70F during the winter months. In about a 1 gallon vase...thingy.

 

[jaysen]

so then it is settled. the shrimp will grow depending on available food and water temperature. in another few weeks they should be large enough to easily spot.