# New NPT Shrimp Tanks



## dwalstad

It seems the aquarium hobby has all kinds of recession-proof entertainment. Recently, I set up two 1 gal bowls for some Red Cherry Shrimp. Cost per bowl (from Wal-Mart) was $6 each. I like the magnifying effect of the bowls, because its easier to see the shrimp. 

The bowl on the right has been going about 1 month. I used Miracle Grow's Organic Choice Garden Soil for it. I just set up the second bowl yesterday with MGOC's Potting Soil. Just a little sand to keep the soil in place. I put the shrimp in the same day. I used aged water from my other tanks so that there wouldn't be any metal toxicity (aged aquarium water has organic compounds that chelate heavy metals, which are very toxic to all invertebrates).

Lighting is window light plus a 13 watt CFL desk lamp. Perfect growing conditions for plants.

Plants and shrimp are doing great. No water changes so far.

I found that the Cherry Shrimp absolutely love to eat the same shrimp that humans eat. Thus, I keep a cooked shrimp in the freezer for them. I chop it up and feed the bits to them. Otherwise, they seem to eat just about anything.


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## clearleaf

These are beautiful! But the shrimp are too...shrimpy - I'm not seeing them.


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## melauriga

Pretty bowls! Shrimp are ok at room temperature? I thought about doing shrimp in a 1 gallon acrylic tank that I have, but was worried that my house is too cold.


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## dwalstad

Red cherry shrimp seem to do okay at room temp and in tanks without a heater. This is one reason I chose them.

I only have 4 shrimp in each bowl, so they're hard to see. I see today that one is actually carrying eggs. I have been patiently waiting for them to multiply. I'll post more pictures of the shrimp later on. 

I am not a shrimp expert and am still learning.


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## Tominizer

I tossed in 7 cherry shrimp into my 120 gallon.............. and can't find them anymore. They've totally disappeared.


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## melauriga

Tominizer said:


> I tossed in 7 cherry shrimp into my 120 gallon.............. and can't find them anymore. They've totally disappeared.


What do you have for fish in there?


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## Tominizer

10 red eye tetras, 10 silver tip tetras and two small red tail sharks.............. the 30neon tetras are still in quarantine.


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## melauriga

Tominizer said:


> 10 red eye tetras, 10 silver tip tetras and two small red tail sharks.............. the 30neon tetras are still in quarantine.


It could be that the shrimp have been eaten, or are hiding from the fish to escape being eaten. Most fish will see the shrimp as food.


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## Tominizer




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## dwalstad

Here's a picture of a female in the new bowl carrying eggs. Looks like a heavy load with a few eggs sort of dangling. I anxiously await what happens next.


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## davemonkey

Nice bowls, and beautiful shrimp. 

This is WAAYYYY off topic, but what kind of tree is that outside your window? I really like the light color of the bark. It's not a white oak is it?

-Dave


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## Tominizer

...............back on topic :fish:

Was passing by the tank last nite and found at least one of the seven happily grazing about.......... so there's at least one survivor !! 

Mind you.............. all 20 tetras were seriously concerned about this snail crawling up the front glass and kept dive-bombing it. I don't know where the snail came from............ but something is shooting off warning bells that snail are bad !?!??!?!?!


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## dwalstad

Many fish (Bettas, Clown loaches, etc) like to eat snails, so it doesn't surprise me that your fish would be poking around them. 

Snails are good! They help recycle nutrients, thereby speeding up the conversion of fish waste to plant nutrients. In addition, MTS aerate the substrate. So sad that snails have gotten a bad "rep".

Yes, Dave, the tree is a White Oak. You must love trees if you can recognize the bark. I'm impressed!


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## davemonkey

dwalstad said:


> Yes, Dave, the tree is a White Oak. You must love trees if you can recognize the bark. I'm impressed!


:clap2: Whoo hoo! Yes, I do love trees. My first year with NRCS was spent working in NE Texas where there are TONS of different trees. White Oak quickly became my favorite because of their beauty and their wildlife value.  Thanks for confirming it for me.

Back on subject, I recently put some "Blue Pearl" shrimp in my daughters NPT. They almost looked blue when I got them (they were TINY), but now they just look clear. Any ideas? There are no other shrimp with them. The Red Cherries in my other tank are...red.

-Dave


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## dwalstad

davemonkey said:


> Back on subject, I recently put some "Blue Pearl" shrimp in my daughters NPT. They almost looked blue when I got them (they were TINY), but now they just look clear. Any ideas? There are no other shrimp with them. The Red Cherries in my other tank are...red.
> 
> -Dave


No, I don't. However, I'm amazed at the color changes that my Red Cherries have gone through since I purchased them. Clear to orange/red. Perhaps what they eat makes a difference?


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## Evil-Lynn

Diana, your bowls look lovely. I see they are uncovered, how do you keep the shrimp from jumping out? I remember I bought a couple of white ( I think the correct name is "ghost") shrimp and the next day I found them dead laying the floor. They escaped from a glass lid through a small orifice (less than one inch). I guess they were suicidal shrimp....


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## mommyeireanne

Dave, I'm afraid you may have been misled. There are blue shrimp (Neocardinia sp.) that are artificilially colored.

http://www.petshrimp.com/neocaridinaspblue.html

There are also 'blue' shrimp where blue is one of their color changes (like a mood ring ) , but I can't find it on Mufasa's website, not sure where I saw them, now.

I love my red cherry shrimp. They are hearty. I too thought they disappeared for a while, in my planted aquarium. Some months later I noticed lots of babies about. Also, the males (lighter) get agitated and swim a lot around breeding time (makes the boys crazy!) and they are in danger of jumping out, then, or if chased by fish in the tank. I've covered my tanks now because I've had fish jumpers, too (and to control evaporation).
I was worried about keeping the shrimp with fish, but I have a huge healthy colony (at least a hundred, maybe hundreds in my 75g) with Rainbows and a Beta, even. They reproduce like crazy, and I haven't seen the fish bothering them. I even see Mollies feeding from the same algae tabs an not bothering them. My fish are well fed, and I've never seen any of them hunting shrimp, amazingly.


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## dwalstad

Evil-Lynn said:


> I guess they were suicidal shrimp....


I haven't had any shrimp jump out. Indeed, they seem fairly subdued unless I try to catch them.

If your shrimp jumped out within a day of a water change, the agitation you speak of could be from metal toxicity.

Shrimp are exquisitely sensitive to heavy metals. Just a small amount in tapwater can easily set them into a frenzy. That's why I only use aged aquarium water to refill the bowls. It has the dissolved organic matter that chelates heavy metals (my book, pp 9-16).


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## Forgotten Path

Those look very nice Ms. Walstad... Excellent!

Maybe I will set up my two Bettas this way... Thanks for the inspiration!


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## Tominizer

I've only had my shrimp for a few weeks and actually saw 2 (of the original 7) yesterday............. hoo-lee crap they grow fast. A silver tip tetra swam at one and got stared down by the cherry shrimp that anchoured to the driftwood !!!  It's nice to see them back .............


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## cell

What is the plant that grows emerged? And how much potting soil did you put in? I'm impressed that you managed to grow emerged plant in a mini tank!


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## dwalstad

Plants growing emergent are _Rotalia rotundifolia_ and _Bacopa monnieri_.

I used two cups of Miracle Gro Organic Choice potting mix covered with about 1 cup of pool filter sand.

Intense light is what counts. The 13 watts of ordinary, desklamp CFL over the two bowls plus window light has apparently kicked these two species into "high gear".

However, all plants are growing like crazy!


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## clearleaf

Well that's good news! Can I ask how did the shrimp eggs fare?


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## dwalstad

I'm still waiting for babies. It apparently takes 30-45 days. I have a couple other females carrying eggs now.

Here's a great website for shrimp.

http://http://www.planetinverts.com/Red%20Cherry%20Shrimp.html


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## brenmuk

Any update on the shrimp tanks? I am thinking of setting up a small tank for cherry shrimps but might just use some large jars set up as NPT's.


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## dwalstad

Thanks for asking. My two shrimp bowls are doing great! These shrimp bowls have provided me with so much entertainment for so little space and so little cost. I just gave away several juvenile shrimp to other hobbyists in the local aquarium plant club. The female shrimp are all carrying another load of eggs, so I don't know where this will end... 

In the future, I'm planning to set up a new 1 gal bowl for some new plant species and Bumble Bee shrimp, which are more demanding than Red Cherry Shrimp. 

Again, I would caution anyone wanting to raise shrimp to be careful about metal toxicity. This is what will kill them. I only use "aged aquarium water" from my other tanks to set up shrimp bowls. There are other ways to avoid metal toxicity, but this is what's convenient for me.


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## Tu13es

Wow, these tanks look pretty cool. I'm wondering if I could do something similar but place them in or near a window in lieu of having to run lights over them?

I have a few 2-3gal hex tanks that are sitting unused, as well as some Miracle Grow's Organic Choice in the garage and plenty of plants I could grab trimming from.

Have you done any water changes yet? I'd ask if you've run into any issues but I guess you pretty much have this NPT thing down.


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## dwalstad

I haven't had to do any water changes in the shrimp tanks. I do prune the plants, because they're growing like crazy.

I'm not sure that window light by itself would be enough to maintain these bowls. You get so much better plant growth with artificial lighting. And the more the plant growth, the healthier the environment for shrimp.

For the two bowls, I'm now using a 8.5" diameter clamp light with a 13 watt screw-in CFL (GE Bright White). Both came from the Home Depot store and cost less than $15 total. In my opinion, the clamp light is a perfect reflector; it maximizes the output from the 13 watt bulb. For one bowl, a 10 watt CFL would probably work fine. Here's photo of a clamp light with screw-in bulb.


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## Tu13es

dwalstad said:


> I haven't had to do any water changes in the shrimp tanks. I do prune the plants, because they're growing like crazy.
> 
> I'm not sure that window light by itself would be enough to maintain these bowls. You get so much better plant growth with artificial lighting. And the more the plant growth, the healthier the environment for shrimp.
> 
> For the two bowls, I'm now using a 8.5" diameter clamp light with a 13 watt screw-in CFL (GE Bright White). Both came from the Home Depot store and cost less than $15 total. In my opinion, the clamp light is a perfect reflector; it maximizes the output from the 13 watt bulb. For one bowl, a 10 watt CFL would probably work fine. Here's photo of a clamp light with screw-in bulb.


Very cool. I assume you have to start the tank pretty heavily planted to provide adequate oxygen for the shrimp? Any specific plants you used, or mostly just stuff that does well with low light/CO2?

I'm really liking the idea of this sort of setup. Cheap AND easy!


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## dwalstad

Here is photo of my second shrimp bowl on setup day (5/30/09). You'll get an idea of how many plants to start out with. 

Second photo is 3 weeks later on 6/20/09. In looking at these photos, I couldn't believe the growth rate! There's no way I could keep fish in these bowls. They are packed with plants.


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## Tu13es

Thanks for the pics, Diana.

I set up a bowl yesterday with some soil, sand, and plant trimmings. I used a piece of water wisteria from another tank and some java moss. I put a few snails into the tank and gave them some blanched zucchini to munch on for now. It'll probably be a few weeks before I can get shrimp into the tank, but that'll give it time to settle and the plants to take root. Wee!


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## wicca27

I was just wondering if there were any updates. New babys or the bee shrimp u talked about


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## Seagul

cool idea! an cheap.


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## dwalstad

Question. Because of cold weather, my unheated shrimp bowls are at about 67-68F. The plants are doing fine, but shrimp reproduction and activity has stopped. They're alive but I don't think they like the cold temperature. I couldn't find anything that would safely heat the 1 gal bowls. 

I would like to move the shrimp into one of my tanks that's heated. But I am afraid that my fish will eat them, even the adult shrimp. I have a new 5 tank with 24 juvenile Bettas that I'd like to put them in. Any ideas?

Otherwise, I'll try putting a few of them in my 10 gal "Worm" tank that I've started heating.


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## Sumthin Fishy

I don't have any RCS yet, but I'm planning to set up a shrimp bowl like this very soon, so this is a problem I'll be having also. (Thanks for the idea, btw!) According to most sites, RCS are very cold tolerant and can even be kept in outdoor ponds as long as they don't freeze over. The profile on Petshrimp.com says:

_These animals also display a wide range of temperature tolerance. My shrimp were kept at temperatures between 50°F and 86°F and were eating even at the 50°F mark. Others report that they have kept these shrimp in garden ponds in frost free environments where the Red Cherries were able to withstand temperatures in the 30s°F. Breeding, however, seems to only take place at temperatures of 68°F and above._

But if you wanted to keep them warmer and more active, you could try the Hydor Mini Heater. It's specified for 2.5g minimum, but judging from the comments about them on various sites, some people use them in 1 gallon bowls with no problem. I imagine if it got too warm, you could position it only partially submerged or place it under the bowl or maybe put the bowl in a cooler location.

Just some thoughts...


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## dwalstad

Thanks for temperature info. Its right on!

For several winter months now, I maintain room temperature of 60F at night and 65F during the day. I am pleased to report that shrimp and most plants are doing fine. However, the shrimp have stopped reproducing (they had lots of babies last summer).

In addition to the bowls, I set up two 2 gal tanks for shrimp. I put a 7.5 watt Hydor mini-heater into each tank for better plant growth. Anyway, the shrimp immediately molted and have had babies. Many times I'll see the adults and babies attached to the heaters. The little heaters keep the 2 gal tanks at 70F to 72F.


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## Sumthin Fishy

Sounds like you'll be overrun with shrimp pretty soon. I'm using the 7.5w Hydor in my 1 gallon shrimp bowl. It made it too warm so I plugged it into a 30 minute interval timer to cycle it on and off. An half hour on, a hour off keeps temps in the low 70's. But then, my house is at 68. I've found that a lid helps quite a bit in keeping the temperature up. (I cut a piece of glass into a rough octagon shape to use as a lid).

I attached a picture of my bowl taken shortly after I set it up. It's now a month and a half later and the plants have completely taken over (dwarf hairgrass, dwarf sag and Rotala indica). I added 4-5 shrimp a few weeks ago. They were juveniles, so I probably won't get babies for a while.


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## mudboots

dwalstad said:


> Question. ... I have a new 5 tank with 24 juvenile Bettas that I'd like to put them in. Any ideas?
> 
> Otherwise, I'll try putting a few of them in my 10 gal "Worm" tank that I've started heating.


Glad to hear about the temp tolerance for the shrimp. On the betta issue in particular, I placed some blue pearls in with a young, but more mature, betta and they were done away with in minutes.


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## dwalstad

mudboots said:


> I placed some blue pearls in with a young, but more mature, betta and they were done away with in minutes.


You are saying that "Blue Pearls" are shrimp? If so, are they pretty? 
I was wondering if I could use excess Red Cherry Shrimp as live food for the fish? If so, that's another bonanza for keeping them.

Attached is today's photo of my two shrimp bowls-- still going strong in winter weather. The _Bacopa monnieri_ has grown out and around the bowl. The 10.5" diameter Clamp Light with 14 watt screw-in CFL provides enough light for two bowls and the herb Cilantro. I'm thinking there might be room for some parsley.....


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## dwalstad

Here's photo.


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## OrangeCones

I've never kept shrimp (well, not freshwater shrimp), and was wondering how you would harvest cherry shrimp to feed fish. Seems like they'd be hard to catch in a mass of plants without tearing up the plants!


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## dwalstad

I would not raise cherry shrimp to feed fish. Its too much trouble, and I haven't gotten _that_ many babies. Blackworms are much better for that!

But its nice to know that an excess can be so easily disposed of.

The way I catch them in the bowls is to use a large diameter siphon hose that is clear and flexible. I just suck them out with the hose into a separate container. Then I net out the shrimp.


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## OrangeCones

I wasn't thinking to be a food source, but to be able to feed them out if they bred a lot and I was being overrun by them. 

Would a turkey baster be too small? Shrimp pellets work well to get the blackworms to an area to harvest. Can food be used to get cherry shrimp to congregate like that, making them easier to gather?


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## NatalieT

OrangeCones said:


> I wasn't thinking to be a food source, but to be able to feed them out if they bred a lot and I was being overrun by them.
> 
> Would a turkey baster be too small? Shrimp pellets work well to get the blackworms to an area to harvest. Can food be used to get cherry shrimp to congregate like that, making them easier to gather?


I've heard of people making a trap from a plastic water bottle, and baiting it with food. I think the trick is to cut off the top third of the bottle, and stick it back on upside down so it's like a funnel facing inwards--makes it easy for the shrimp to go in but hard for them to find the way out again. I haven't tried it, but it sounded promising to me.


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## OrangeCones

I use one I made like you describe for small fish too. Works well.


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