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I am frequently asked if it is ok to keep shrimp in a bowl or vase.
In this video, I answer that question
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0:00
So you find yourself wondering, can you keep shrimp in a bowl? And the answer to that question is yes
0:09
But there's more to it than that. In this video, I'm going to explain how we can go about keeping shrimp healthy when we keep them in a bowl or vase
0:18
Hello friends, welcome back to the channel. If you're new here, my name is Richard and I'm a fish and shrimp breeder based in the UK
0:23
So a quick look over my left shoulder will show you that I do keep, in this case
0:28
red cherry shrimp and yellow shrimp in both bowls and vases. But to do so there
0:35
are a number of factors I need to take into consideration. Now if you've done
0:38
any research into shrimp keeping you will know that shrimp love stability
0:43
They like their water to remain stable. They're not good when conditions
0:48
fluctuate massively. Now the problem we have here when it comes to bowls or vases
0:53
is, is they typically hold a very small volume of water. The smaller the volume
0:58
of water, the more difficult it is to keep that water stable. It's actually far
1:03
easier to maintain a fish tank that contains 5,000 gallons than one which
1:09
contains only five gallons, and these vases typically contain one, one and a
1:13
half, or two gallons of water, which is not a great deal. So if we're going to
1:17
shrimp or even sometimes fish in a vase or a bowl, we have to make sure we work
1:24
hard at keeping the water stable. So how do we go about doing that? Well unfortunately most vases and bowls are too small for a filter and they're too
1:32
small for a heater. So keeping the temperature stable. We need to make sure
1:38
we keep our vase or a bowl somewhere where the temperature doesn't fluctuate
1:44
wildly. Now in my setup here typically because of all the other tanks I have
1:49
around the temperature does remain stable. I don't need to keep a heater in
1:54
those bowls or vases They typically stay in the mid 70s Fahrenheit which is in the low 20 centigrade What I couldn do would be to keep one of these on a windowsill because during the day when the sun pours in the temperature in the bowl
2:08
would rise, and at night when it's a lot cooler, the temperature would drop
2:12
The water temperature would fluctuate far too much during the course of the day
2:16
and that wouldn't be healthy for the shrimp. Now again, when it comes to maintaining the water
2:22
bowls and vases are typically too small for filters. So we can't run a sponge filter or a hang-on-back filter on a vase
2:28
So you'll notice the one thing my vases all have in common is lots of live aquatic plants
2:35
And live aquatic plants are essentially nature's filter. They absorb ammonia, nitrites, nitrates
2:41
They absorb all of those things that are bad for the shrimp out of the water
2:46
keeping the water cleaner and healthier so the shrimp can live in it
2:50
without suffering stress and suffering from diseases. But plants alone won't keep the water completely clean
2:58
I also have to carry out regular water changes. Once a week, I drain about 50% of the water from each of these vases
3:04
and top it back up with fresh, dechlorinated tap water that I've got from the tap at about the same temperature
3:11
I wouldn't want to pour ice-cold tap water into there because, again, the temperature of the water would fluctuate far too much
3:18
Now, another factor I have to take into account when keeping shrimp in bowls or vases
3:22
is not over feeding them. When we feed our shrimp or our fish, any food that doesn't get eaten
3:29
tends to just rot away. And as it rots, it releases ammonia. And ammonia is highly toxic to shrimp
3:36
Under normal circumstances, the bacteria living in our filters would convert that ammonia
3:40
to nitrite and then to the far less toxic nitrate. But we're not running a filter
3:46
And whilst that same bacteria does live on the glass of the bowl and on the substrate
3:52
and on the leaves of the plants and the rocks and the wood
3:55
it doesn colonize in the same numbers as it would in a filter A filter is basically the perfect environment for beneficial bacteria to live in And without a filter we don have the perfect location for those bacteria to
4:09
live and grow and multiply and keep our aquarium water free of ammonia and nitrites and nitrate
4:17
So I have to feed little and often, and I really do feed them probably five or six times a day
4:23
one or two pellets, and they'll consume that in its full within two or three hours
4:27
and then I might put another one or two. And again, they'll consume those
4:31
And that's one way in which we can keep shrimp in a bowl or a vase. Now, another parameter we need to be aware of when we keep shrimp in a bowl or a vase
4:38
is the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. Again, in a regular aquarium where we're running a filter
4:44
we've got almost constant surface agitation. And surface agitation allows carbon dioxide build up in the water
4:50
to be released into the atmosphere and fresh oxygen to be absorbed back in to the aquarium
4:55
for the fish and the shrimp to use to breathe. For when we're not running a filter
4:59
we don't get the surface agitation. So again, we have to make sure we grow plenty of live aquarium plants
5:05
because during the day when the lights are on, the live aquarium plants absorb carbon dioxide
5:10
from the aquarium water and release oxygen back into the water for the shrimps to be able to use to breathe
5:17
Again, pretty much the same as plants do on dry land for us humans to breathe
5:22
To be able to successfully keep a shrimp in a bowl or a vase, in my experience, you really do need as many live plants as possible to give
5:31
that water as much dissolved oxygen as possible to keep the fish and the shrimp healthy
5:37
Now there is one real crucial factor you need to be aware of if you're going to keep shrimp in a
5:42
bowl or a vase. Now shrimp, as we all know, when you keep at least one male and one female together
5:48
they will typically breed readily. And a female shrimp can have 30, 40, 50 babies
5:55
every four to six weeks. There no way a bowl or a vase of this size could sustain a population of two three 400 shrimp In fact in most of these I only got between five and 10 shrimp So I do have to be aware of that and I do have to constantly keep
6:11
the shrimp population under control. I can't afford for it to spiral out of control. If I had two or 300 shrimp in a bowl this size
6:18
I would essentially just constantly have hundreds of dead shrimp. There's no way the ecosystem can survive
6:24
with that many shrimp. So you do have to be aware that if you're gonna set up a bowl or a vase for shrimp
6:29
You will have to constantly keep the population under control. And the easiest way to do that is just to keep scooping out the babies as and when
6:38
When I do my water changes, I typically get my small shrimp net, scoop out as many babies I can find, pop them in the other tanks
6:45
and then keeps the population down and keeps the whole system working. On the face of it, having a small bowl or vase with a few shrimp in might seem like the easy option
6:55
Many people think it's easier to keep a small bowl than it is a large fish tank. And in fact, the opposite is true
7:00
I probably have to put more effort into these three containers, these bowls and vases
7:06
than I do many of the rest of the tanks added together. But it's so much fun. It's such a pleasure. It's so enjoyable to do
7:15
Keeping shrimp in a bowl or a vase adds an extra dimension to the whole hobby
7:20
Now, generally speaking, I don't recommend keeping fish in bowls or vases
7:24
They're typically too small. although they do have a cheeky pair of male guppies in this vase just here but again that
7:31
requires a lot of water changes and an awful lot of live plants to keep it healthy and and keep the
7:37
fish happy and well generally speaking I wouldn't recommend keeping fish in a vase or a bowl just
7:43
stick to the shrimp now if you are new to shrimp keeping and you're just either doing your research
7:50
or you've just got your shrimp and you're trying to find out the best way to keep them and keep
7:54
them healthy and breathe them etc why not check out this video which is my seven essential tips
8:00
for new shrimp keepers
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