# Walstad Shrimp Bowl or Not



## BarryR (May 30, 2016)

I have been experimenting with a Walstadt 1 gallon shrimp bowl for about a month or so. Today I am just about through the cycle and think in about a week I could safely add shrimp. It does not have a major algae outbreak or cloudy water but it just does not look very pleasing to me and I don't think I would be happy with just a few shrimp. The only plant species I really like in my bowl are Staurogyne Repens and Temple Compacta. So i am leaning towards a variation of the shrimp tank that i think would be more pleasing to me. Here is what I am thinking.

1. Start the bowl as usual with dirt and sand substrate.
2. Plant Staurogyne Repens and propogate until the entire bottom is populated.
3. After the Repens are fully populated plant a few Temple Compacta or similar stem plants in the center of the substrate.
4. After the tank has cycled add one Beta.

The idea is to have a nice carpet of Repens lightly shaded by the stem plants in the center and have room for the beta to move around in. I am not sure about the Temple Compacta as the leaves tend to grow very broad and may cover too much so I am open to suggestions. As a beginner I welcome any constructive criticism and ideas.

What do you guys think?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

It will work. I've kept bettas in planted bowls several times, but usually larger than 1 gallon. That is likely to be the most common criticism of your plan: bettas need more space than 1 gallon. I agree with that, but a planted 1 gallon is a lot better than the bare 2 quart jars I see betta breeders keeping them in.

Partly for the health of the fish and partly because such small containers are inherently less stable, you will need frequent water changes.


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## BarryR (May 30, 2016)

Michael said:


> It will work. I've kept bettas in planted bowls several times, but usually larger than 1 gallon. That is likely to be the most common criticism of your plan: bettas need more space than 1 gallon. I agree with that, but a planted 1 gallon is a lot better than the bare 2 quart jars I see betta breeders keeping them in.
> 
> Partly for the health of the fish and partly because such small containers are inherently less stable, you will need frequent water changes.


Yes I know how Betta Fish are treated and my bowl is small. But it is much better and healthier than a drinking cup sides container at the fish store. When i woke up this morning my Nitrites have dropped to zero and i measure no Nitrates so the plants are doing their job.

I am going to let this bowl run for as long as it is healthy because I have no other choice. I have no other climate controlled place to put a second bowl and I have no place to house the 2 White Cloud Minnows I have in there now. I will have to put the idea on hold but that does not mean that I am giving up on it.

Thanks for the feed back.


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## BarryR (May 30, 2016)

Things are going well so i think it is a success. Toxins are zero across the board and the bowl requires few water changes. It supports the 2 White Cloud Minnows, 1 Snail and 1 Ghost Shrimp. Since there are no pumps, filters or heater in the bowl i chose each resident for a purpose. They are all small to keep the bio load low and can deal with unheated water. The minnows are fast swimmers so they stir up the water, the snail and shrimp are the cleaning crew. Here are some pictures of the progression of the bowl. Excuse the cheap camera it does not do the bowl justice as far as i am concerned.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

That's a nice bowl, but way too small for any fish. Small snails, couple of small shrimp maybe.


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## BarryR (May 30, 2016)

Thanks.

So far the fish have done fine. They have even had fry but they got eaten. The Shrimp and Minnows got along fine until for some reason the Shrimp jumped out in the middle of the night, I suspect a Minnow scared him. I won't get another one until I have something larger with a cover.


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