1/4 gallon tank - OK for 10 shrimp?

[SuperProofer]

Hi,

I see the minimum order for shrimp on this site is 10. Is my 0.25 gallon jar sufficient for 10 shrimp? My original ecosphere was half this size and had 7 shrimp in it for a time. They didn't seem to be crowded.

Or should I make 2 jars and split them up?

Thanks!

[Varanus]

A quarter gallon could be pushing it according to the main site at least. It says a half gallon is fine for 10-20 shrimp, but I don't know if that means a quarter gallon can handle 10 shrimp. Hopefully someone who has tried it or knows can chime in.

I think though it is less about crowding and more about there being enough water to dilute and process the waste the shrimp produce.

[SuperProofer]

Ahhh, OK. Yes, please, if someone knows for sure, let me know! I can easily set up a second tank if necessary. I just wanted to make sure I did this one right first to see if they survived before I attempted multiples.

[SuperProofer]

Hi All,

Just bumping back up to the top for suggestions... Still have a couple weeks before I need to order my shrimp - just trying to figure out how many I should get.

I now have 2 tanks: (1) 0.25 gal and (1) 2 cups. I planned on putting Trooper (my existing ecosphere survivor) and about 3 or 4 new friends in the 2 cup version and up to 10 in the the larger one. Does that sound ok or will there be issues?

Thanks team!

[jcfrank922]

I'm not sure with a 1/4th gallon. I personally would go with a minimum of 1/2 gallon. I have read that 1/2 gallon is around the smallest size where they will reproduce. Although they live a long time, I like the idea of keeping the population going from one generation to the next.

[SuperProofer]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm not really sure I want them to reproduce. I'm not really looking for a whole "aquarium" type set up (my cats would torture the crap out of the tank!). I'm trying to stick with the ecosphere concept, just a more humane version. Small for the desktop with an open top for oxygen circulation and access for maintenance if necessary. Ideally, I would like to keep one on my desk at work like I used to; but where I work currently, I can't. But maybe again some day.

But since there was a minimum purchase of 10, originally I was thinking I would split them up - 6 in the larger tank, 4 (plus Trooper to make 5) in the smaller. The original ecosphere I had came with 7 and it's not much (if any) larger than the new 2-cup jar. They lasted a good long while in there but one by one slowly started dying off. So, I figured 5 in the smaller was good. But, I also thought: The 1/4 gallon jar is twice as big (if not a little bigger) than his sphere that had 7 - so I could probably get at least 7 in there comfortably. But they are so small, what's 3 more? I just needed to decide up front because if I only order 10 and change my mind later, I can't just order 4 more - and another 10 would be too many! (Wow, that sounded way less convoluted in my head! LOL) So, I keep going back and forth on it.

I may revisit trying a larger tank in the future once we're moved into our new house; but right now, I wanted to make sure I could even get these two off the ground before I set such lofty goals for myself.