Really? I really hate to be a kill joy but there is a lot of informatio on the web that is negitive towards these things. Before I started reading up on ecoshperes I really wanted one too. But it turns out that they aren't a sustainable eco systems and the shrimp will usually die of starvation in 2 - 3 years. Here's a quote: "Sadly, this little shrimp is currently being abused by being sold in tiny, spherical, fully sealed glass containers widely called "ecospheres." It is claimed by the companies that sell them that they are selling a fully functioning ecosystem with the shrimp and the algae keeping each other alive. However, that is a sad and devious lie, which is being propagated by these companies for the sake of profits and to the detriment of these wonderful animals. The truth is that these shrimp are slowly *starving to death*, *suffocating* and being *poisoned* in those containers, due to lack of food and oxygen, and the accumulation of shrimp waste. This kind of container would kill any other shrimp within a few days, but it takes 1-3 years for Hawaiian Red Shrimp to finally die, since it has developed such a remarkable physiology to deal with extreme situations. During this 1-3 year torture, they actually *shrink* (every time they molt) due to lack of food, which means that they are basically consuming their own body. They could perfectly well take all the other extreme conditions in those "ecospheres" (lack of air etc.), but what kills them in the end is the lack of real food over a long period of time. The little algae they find in the container lacks in nutritional value and is just not enough to keep these shrimp alive for long. It seems to be "in" and "cool" to have these tiny torture containers sitting on one's desk nowadays, but hopefully this website can contribute towards informing the general public about what is really behind those "ecospheres." It is my sincere hope that this shrimp becomes widespread in the hobby at some point in time, so that there will be no need to buy "torturespheres." " >From this website: http://www.petshrimp.com/hawaiianredshrimp.html Once again, I dont mean to be a grinch. -Bryan Nichols Shango Los <Shango@shangolos.com> wrote: I just got one of these for Christmas. If you haven't seen them, you should. Right up our interest area. http://www.eco-sphere.com/ Shango _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.com http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.com http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member