Fish bowl cherry shrimp

[Dotrskeeper]

I have an empty 2 gallon goldfish bowl that I would like to try cherry shrimp in. I haven't done shrimp before and I have been reading previous posts about how to do this. Let me see if I have this right. I don't need a heater (agree?). I should use a sponge filter (how big?). I will put at least some java moss in there so I will need a light. Any ideas? A small sho compact fluorescent? If so 13 watts? Other choices? Some have said it should be well cycled so that means some fish (agree?). I want as few fish as possible. I don't want tetras I have them in my other tanks. A Betta might work but I am thinking smaller than that and also wont need heat. And how many shrimp can the 2 gallons support? Do I start with that many or will they propagate on their own?
Thanks for filling in the gaps.


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[Tacit Blues]

Following because, I uh, just started a 2 gallon shrimp tank (literally an hour ago). Here is the thread where I was getting encouraged to do so. There's some more links in there to other threads about fish bowls and the like.

 

[Fishfur]

A suggestion. You may not need to filter at all. I've been keeping Betta fish in 2.5 G tanks, without doing water changes and without filters or air stones. I do top up to make up for evaporation.
What makes it work is the heavy load of plants in their tanks. Not just moss, though there is a fair chunk of java moss in each one, but Hygro difformis, which is one of the most efficient users of ammonia, etc., along with Anubias, java fern and a couple of frogbit. I have a utility clamp lamp on each tank, 8 inch round reflector sits right on the rims, with a 6500 K spiral bulb in it. I think they're 11 watts, might only be 9 watts.
These tanks have tested at zero ammonia, zero nitrite and nitrate <10, and the fish seem very happy. I feed mostly live things, but with shrimp, you can feed shrimp foods and just make sure you don't over feed.

The plants all came from established tanks and likely brought BB with them. A bowl with nice plants and no filter will look a lot nicer.. and if you want, you can easily add an airstone, which will circulate the water a bit more. A floating plant or two, even a couple of difformis leaves, will keep the water surface clear of any film that may form. Betta fish, because they make bubble nests, tend to get a film on their water, but the floating plants keep it down to a minimum.

Just a thought.. you sure don't need heat for a bowl like this and shrimp will really enjoy climbing around in the plants. A bit of substrate to hold some roots, and a rock or two, it should look really nice.

Because shrimp do need calcium for their shells, it might be to their benefit to do a partial water change every couple or three weeks, to replenish the minerals in the water. You may also find adding a minimal bit of fertilizer helps the plants do better, because shrimp have such a low bioload compared to fish. I put one drop of Flourish in my Betta tanks, twice a week, because I want the mosses to grow better, and I add 3 drops of Excel 3-4 x a week for the same reason. The excel is optional, but I'd consider some plant feeding, as keeping them healthy is essential to making the no filter system work.

 

[cherokeeluvr]

Ok I wouldn't put any fish in there. You can skip the heater. You might want to get a small filter (if not a sponge then block off the ways to get into it with filter floss. For light maybe put it near a window, but make sure you have enough shrimp to eat the algae. If not that just use a small lamp. Probably 10watts would be enough. And for the shrimp them selves, do you plan on breeding them? If not then get them somewhere where they are sexed (good luck finding!) if you do them get about 5-10 shrimp and wait. They also like moss balls


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[Fishfur]

If you're buying shrimp, tempting though it might be to buy adults, juvies ship better. They handle the stress better. If you got 10 or 12 juvies, you'll end up with both sexes, and once the females saddle, [ they get a lighter colour patch on the back behind the head], they are sexually mature and able to breed. When they've bred, you'll see that patch begin to get larger and the eggs will drop into the belly, where you can observe them as they grow. From mating to birth is roughly 4 weeks.
You'll see some moults.. the cast off shells. Always leave them in the tank, because the shrimp eat them to reclaim the calcium in them.
Once in awhile you may want to use a very small siphon [ narrow diameter], to suck up any crud on the gravel. If by chance a shrimp goes up the siphon, don't panic. You'll be able to fish it out of the bucket and put it back, and it's rare for them to be harmed by this, though of course we all try not to suck up anything alive.