# Shrimp Bowls Revisited



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

I thought you all might enjoy seeing a progression of two 1 gal bowls. In August, I set them up to compare STS v. sand as a soil cover. I got rid of all the other comparisons, but I grew attached to the bowls.

The light is a 19 watt LED. As time went on, I added some Riccia and a pygmy water hyacinth. The very long emergent stem is _Hygrophila difformis_. The _Bacopa monnieri_ is blooming and also growing emergent.

Bowls were so pleasing, I put in some RCS. Ten years ago, I kept shrimp bowls and wrote an article on it. I never dreamed that I'd be repeating it. But when something is so nice, why not do it twice?

Pictures show the progress at 2 days, 26 days, and 10 weeks. Last picture is one that I took today (10 weeks).


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Your article from 10 years ago got me back in the hobby--thanks!

What was your conclusion about Safe-T-Sorb versus sand?


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## zolteeC (Dec 26, 2017)

I read the article about "Small Planted Tanks for Pet Shrimp" some time ago and that inspired me to start some NPT nano setups.

Recently I have also started a Hemianthus callitrichoides ''Cuba'' monoculture in 35 liter. So far so good, I will let you know the results. No DSM and plants have almost "grew in" in 4 weeks.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Michael said:


> Your article from 10 years ago got me back in the hobby--thanks!
> 
> What was your conclusion about Safe-T-Sorb versus sand?


Funny, but that article ('Small Planted Tanks for Pet Shrimp') continues to be downloaded every day from multiple people. It is by far the most popular article on my website.

As to STS, I bow to your longer experience! And careful observations.... I don't think my experiments were that definitive other than STS's incredible absorption of tea-colored tannins from one potting soil.

STS's virtue is low price, and based on your experience, not a bad idea. I have started to use a thin layer of STS in my tanks now instead of a bare bottom. I like it.


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## Bwooster (Apr 4, 2018)

Beautiful bowls! Love it when there's emergent growth. 

Enviado desde mi CLT-L29 mediante Tapatalk


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## Uproar (Jan 25, 2019)

Wow this looks awesome. I’ll be sure to try this for my next project!


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Lots of pleasure for so little effort!


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

dwalstad said:


> Lots of pleasure for so little effort!


Exactly right! The bowls develop so quickly, and allow you to try so many different things. They are a great introduction to the planted aquarium hobby.


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## Guibang (Nov 11, 2019)

dwalstad said:


> The light is a 19 watt LED.


Your light looks like it only has red and blue LEDs is that right? at least it looks like most of them are red and blue.

Do you have any advice on LED lighting? Are blue and red lights to be selected? What Kelvin range would you recommand?

My light has yellow/white LEDs and Blue/red ones on two different canals. I'm hesitant to use the blue/red ones. I thought algae might benefit from it. Am I wrong to think that?

Thanks a lot. Your shrimp bowls look really nice. I'm thinking of making one which I plan to stock with shrimps showing undesired colors.


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## FrankWhite (Dec 26, 2019)

dwalstad said:


> I thought you all might enjoy seeing a progression of two 1 gal bowls. In August, I set them up to compare STS v. sand as a soil cover. I got rid of all the other comparisons, but I grew attached to the bowls.


They look fantastic! And they prove you do not have to have 90 gallon aquariums to enjoy the hobby.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Guibang said:


> Your light looks like it only has red and blue LEDs is that right? at least it looks like most of them are red and blue.
> 
> Do you have any advice on LED lighting? Are blue and red lights to be selected? What Kelvin range would you recommend?


I have red and white LED lights plus window light. My advice on LED lights is that it doesn't matter that much.

Despite a little algae, which I remove manually every week, the shrimp bowls are still going strong. The RCS are thriving, despite no heaters. I've transferred many of the juvenile young RCS to my guppy tanks where they grow very fast with the higher temperature and lots of feeding.

Note: I was surprised to see that the RCS get very excited when I add nauplii to the guppy tanks. Possibly, RCS eat baby brine shrimp!


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Re LED lights, 5,000 to 6,500 K gives the best color rendition and most natural appearance. For a shrimp bowl, a hardware store LED "bulb" and a desh lamp work perfectly.

Re temperature for shrimp, wild-type Neocaridina (cherry shrimp) thrive in my outdoor ponds year-round. The ponds never freeze, but water temperature does go down into the low 40s F during the winter.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

I did not know that RCS could survive such cool temperatures.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

A member of our local club told me about this years ago, and I've confirmed it in my own ponds. Surprised me too!


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## jibbajab14 (Jan 21, 2020)

These are lovely! Your post and article inspired me to create my own bowl this past weekend. I used cuttings from my other tanks (bacopa monnieri, ludwigia repens, rotala indica, dwarf sag, alternanthera reineckii "mini") and got new Taiwan moss for the fry. Right now it's sitting outside enjoying the sun and mild southern California winter. I hope it does half as well as yours despite the lower temperatures.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

jibbajab14 said:


> These are lovely! Your post and article inspired me to create my own bowl this past weekend. I used cuttings from my other tanks (bacopa monnieri, ludwigia repens, rotala indica, dwarf sag, alternanthera reineckii "mini") and got new Taiwan moss for the fry. Right now it's sitting outside enjoying the sun and mild southern California winter. I hope it does half as well as yours despite the lower temperatures.


Welcome to APC! Outdoor aquariums, year around, are just one more of the reasons why so many people want to live down there. Probably the main reason??


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## zahtar (Sep 29, 2019)

jibbajab14, nice combination of shapes and colors!


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