# Burrito's Shrimp Bowl



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

ooooo
that is an interesting scape there. though i think a grey rock would have been better, still if you love it it makes no difference =)

Friendly warning: around month 2 or sooner you will get your characteristic algae bloom. idk what type it will be for you, for me it was cyano, but just keep up the maintenance and you'll defeat it =)


----------



## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

Very interesting! I'll be following this since I'm setting up a 1.5G tank for Cherry Shrimp as well! Your experiment couldn't have come at a better time!

I'll be putting a ZooMed 501 thats collecting dust on my tank (with some form of flow baffle)...hopefully limiting me to one water change a week - same as my big tank.

Good luck!

Btw, how many shrimp do you think is appropriate for your bowl?


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

in my opinion around 4 adults should easily be able to live in a 1 gallon bowl.
I started with and adult pair and they bred into the 30s-40s. things get hectic in 1 gallon when there are 30+ shrimp in there even if the majority is babies, so i move them all out by the time they are juveniles. My adult pair always stays in the bowl though.

I advise him to start with a pair and let the fun begin


----------



## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

I see. I may have been a bit too optimistic with this 1.5G tank lol.

The main point here is to introduce a different type of shrimp into my 20G. With a pair of bubble rams, I will only put adult cherries into the tank. In the case that they did successfully reproduce, I can move them into my 1.5G until they're adults then move them back into my 20G.

30-40 growing shrimp in a 1.5g might work no? We'll see how it all works out lol.


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

astrosag said:


> I see. I may have been a bit too optimistic with this 1.5G tank lol.
> 
> The main point here is to introduce a different type of shrimp into my 20G. With a pair of bubble rams, I will only put adult cherries into the tank. In the case that they did successfully reproduce, I can move them into my 1.5G until they're adults then move them back into my 20G.
> 
> 30-40 growing shrimp in a 1.5g might work no? We'll see how it all works out lol.


I plan to start with maybe 2-4 juvies. Keep in mind this is unfiltered (except for what the plants remove) so it is very limited by waste buildup. If you do hook up a filter and can provide more stable water conditions you could probably have quite a bit more shrimp. I know I had probably a 100 or so in a 5 gallon at one point, but as tanks get smaller and smaller it is harder and harder to provide stable water conditions.


----------



## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

Good to know! Thanks Jorge.


----------



## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

See what you started Newman?


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

rofl, demon make a thread for yours


----------



## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

I sure will.. once it gets past that festering cesspool stage and into more like something where life can be sustained.


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

yes lol, i regret putting my cherry shrimp into my bowl so soon...


----------



## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

Careful, you may come home to find a mutant shrimp in your bowl.


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

Added shrimp yesterday, 4 juvies. Water has settled out nicely and ammonia consistently reading zero with twice weekly water changes. Growth is slow, but present which is good. Getting a little bit of algae on the glass, especially the lower portion of the bowl, but nothing too bad so far.


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

looking good


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

That didn't take long...


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

You can see a little bit of the algae on the glass I am dealing with in the previous post, nothing too bad yet though. I replaced the rock with one I picked up on a recent hike, I think it looks better in there. Rotala is starting to take off as is the pygmy sword. Moss on the driftwood doesn't seem to be doing much, it is not dead though so I am sure it just needs some time.

Getting some bad glare off the glass (bonus points to those that can identify the mess on my coffee table), but it is a nice photo to demonstrate growth.


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

looks good !


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

Somewhat interesting development. For awhile now I have noticed two very small fauna swimming around that I assumed were baby shrimp that got caught up when I netted my juveniles. As they are getting larger though it is quite clear that they are not shrimp. I am thinking now that some eggs got transferred in with the plants from my main tank. Possibilities are neon tetra or threadfin rainbows. Amazing that water conditions have been stable enough to support fry. I am going to leave them in the bowl for now as they are still too small to go in my main tank. We'll see how they do.


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

so they turned out to be fish?


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

Newman said:


> so they turned out to be fish?


Yeah definitely fish. Still to small to try and capture on my camera.


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

that is great. now you just have to be careful when changing out the water to not siphon out a fry lol


----------



## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Too cool man, I dig it!


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

I have an idea, take a picture of the tank at night so all those reflections dont get in the way.


----------



## jamiex09 (May 13, 2011)

Still very impressed with your wonder bowl! You're tempting me to start one!


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

Alright, quick update. Still getting some algae on the glass which I am often too lazy to scrape off, but has been pretty algae free really. I am starting to feed the fry pulverized flake which they seem to be eating, but also means I am having to do increased water changes. I am going to try and get these guys big enough to put in my main tank though (and big enough to figure out what they are). I have probably 10 or so baby RCS from the previously mentioned berried mother that are doing well in there. Updated full tank shot and my best attempt at a pic of the fry, which is really tough with my cheapish camera.


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

it looks great! the bottom sandline is the toughest part to clean the algae from lol.


----------



## ISail (Mar 13, 2011)

Great bowl Burrito! The mystery fish is the best part. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what they are!


----------



## jdm68 (Jun 2, 2011)

Any ideas on the little guys?


----------



## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

Nice bowl. I might have to pick one up and join the fun with:

Jorge Burrito
iSail
Newman


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

jdm68 said:


> Any ideas on the little guys?


I am about 95% certain they are threadfin rainbows. They would be coloring up by now if they were neons and I think I see double dorsal fins. They are not growing very fast. Largely because of my hesitance to over feed and foul the water in such a small space. They are getting big enough that I should be able to get decent photo soon (if I can get them to stay still).


----------



## ISail (Mar 13, 2011)

Coool! Congrats. Looking forward to the pics!


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

I have held off updating due to a lost camera and so no nice pics. The bowl has gone through some major fauna changes further following Newman's bowl, so figure an update is in order. Starting off the fry have gotten big enough that they got transferred to my main tank. I now have two about 1 inch sized threadfin rainbow juveniles that appear to be quite happy with a much larger space to explore. I should have moved them earlier, their rate of growth has really accelerated in the larger tank. I did not want them to be snacks for my rams though. 

Back to the bowl, I have wanted to try CRS for awhile but just didn't really have room for another full sized tank. Seeing Newman able to keep them alive and my own observations of extremely stable water quality in my bowl have led me to switch out the cherries for CRS. Introduced 6 juveniles, A gradish. Hopefully Newman will have figured out how to get them to breed by the time they are adults and I can further piggyback off his success. They have been in about a week. Water temperature has been a bit of a concern forcing me to crank up the AC a little bit, I am not looking forward to next months bill, otherwise they look quite happy and active.

Algae has pretty much completely gone away. I have two other tanks and the bowl now has the least problems with algae out of all of them, go figure.

One really bad cell phone photo attached, researching new cameras so pics maybe in a few weeks.


----------



## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

good luck with your CRS


----------



## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

nice bowl!


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

yes, best of luck! starting with A grade probably means that they are hardier, which is good. i think they should all last and do great in that bowl =)

Trying to get my SS to breed in the bowl has been frustrating since they constantly drop their eggs lol. maybe i'll have much better luck in the winter time, when the temperatures are cooler, without fluctuations. perhaps then my shrimp will cooperate.


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

Newman said:


> yes, best of luck! starting with A grade probably means that they are hardier, which is good. i think they should all last and do great in that bowl =)
> 
> Trying to get my SS to breed in the bowl has been frustrating since they constantly drop their eggs lol. maybe i'll have much better luck in the winter time, when the temperatures are cooler, without fluctuations. perhaps then my shrimp will cooperate.


That was my thoughts as well. I actually like the looks of the mid grade A/S shrimp more than the higher quality anyways so it is nice fit.


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

New camera, so some of the first photos taken with it are of my bowl.

Last photo is a pic of one of the threadfin juvies now in my main tank.

P.S. I want to enter my bowl in the great shrimpbowl competition of 2011. I assume some sort of award is being provided


----------



## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Wow! I really like how this looks - it's like looking at a giant glass paperweight!


----------



## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

looks like fun. a bowl competition would be sweet. xD


----------



## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

new camera makes a big difference. bowl looks great!


----------



## Charuru (Apr 8, 2011)

Jorge_Burrito said:


> That didn't take long...


That reminds me when I got my first 6 cherries in my 10 gallon I was like "Yay!" And then give or take a few months I had a LOT of cherries and I was like "OH MY GOD!!" Now... They are gone before I lacked feeding my fish last semester .


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

Charuru said:


> That reminds me when I got my first 6 cherries in my 10 gallon I was like "Yay!" And then give or take a few months I had a LOT of cherries and I was like "OH MY GOD!!" Now... They are gone before I lacked feeding my fish last semester .


When I switched out for CRS I had gone through two berries on the same female. Must of pulled out 30+ juvies and the female was berried again. In my main tank they are in with rams so cherry population keeps in check and the rams get lots of protein. Cherries truly are the cockroaches of the shrimp world both in terms of how hard it is to kill them and how quickly they reproduce.


----------



## jerkosaurus (Jul 17, 2011)

Any updates? And how have the CRS been? I've been reading through the many shrimp bowl threads, and I _really_ like the way this one looks! It's amazing the growth you guys can get with like no tech at all!


----------



## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

Nothing too interesting really. The CRS are all still alive and looks like they should be approaching breeding size pretty soon.


----------

