I have an empty traditional goldfish bowl. I'd like to aquascape it and put in RCS only. Would it need a filter? do I just do small water changes with dechlorinated water?
Well how big is the bowl? Shrimp do need a filter, but as long as he is not to cramped, and the parameters are fine, he should be fine for a while. Shrimp have a very low bioload. In the long run, get a larger tank with a filter.
There is an old thread on AA on Planted Bowls. Several members kept a few shrimp in these no tech containers. Not sure how long though or what the survival rate was.
If you keep the parameters stable via routine WCs and avoid temperature fluctuations, then you should be able to keep a few in the bowl.
my grandson caught some glass shrimp at the stream he wanted to keep set up a 1 gal with tiny airpump and sponge filter . few anacharis . I had to care for it for 2 years.