I am displaying bowls with Neocaridina shrimp for the Raleigh Aquarium Society’s annual workshop. I set up two 1-gal bowls with shrimp taken from my guppy breeding tanks. I used a 7.5 watt reptile heating pad to keep bowl water temp at a nice warm 74F for good plant growth. (Winter house temp is 65F.) Shrimp article on my aquarium page here describes setup for bowls. Lighting for red shrimp’s bowl is 13 watt CFL. For blue shrimp’s bowl, I have a 3 watt LED desk lamp plus window light.
For first 1-2 weeks I have had to change 80% of water almost every day to remove ammonia and nitrites. (The 2 cups of potting soil was probably too fertile; I probably should have diluted it with sand.) Most important for shrimp health, I only use aged aquarium water from the guppy tanks for water changes. [The DOC (dissolved organic carbon) in aged aquarium water protects the shrimp.] I don’t need or use the drip method, but I when I pour water into the bowls, I always use a small cup to block the water’s force. That way, the incoming water does not disturb the soil layer.
The RAS workshop [March 24-26, 2023, Raleigh, NC (USA)] will have native fish collecting, talks by fish, plant and shrimp experts, an auction, shrimp judging contest, banquet, etc. I have been going for decades. Later in the year, I’ll revise my shrimp article based on what I learn at the workshop from a shrimp expert (Robert Lupton) and from setting up these new 2023 bowls!
Diana Walstad's Books and Articles 
Always your work is so beautiful
Thanks so much for your knowledge and for sharing
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You are very welcome!
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How many shrimp for a 1 gallon bowl?
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Hello Diana, I’m a complete beginner. I want to set up a 5‑liter shrimp aquarium using the method you mentioned. In my country, I don’t have access to what you call potting soil. Instead, can I use a mixture of homemade compost(which includes powdered coffee grounds and leaves and chopped grass)zero‑6 sand (which is limy), and garden clay (also limy)? Here, most of our garden soil is clay that contains lime. All of these materials are limy because they react with vinegar and produce gas bubbles.
If this mixture doesn’t work, given the ingredients I have available, could you suggest an alternative option for the substrate? Also, does the presence of calcium carbonate, lime, or any other alkaline substance that reacts with vinegar cause problems in the substrate? What would be the solution?
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Whatever country you live in, I am sure that there are stores that sell potting soils for growing houseplants. I would try one of them first. If not, just go with your homemade compost with a large variety of plants, particularly brackish ones (Bacopa monnieri). The lime may or may not be offensive to plants. For such a small tank, the soil layer should be very shallow, maybe only 1 cm. Please send any future questions like this to the ‘El Natural’ forum within Aquatic Plant Central where you may get additional feedback.
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