Closed Aquatic Ecosystem, Small Pod, Clear (SP-385)

This item arrived within 3 days without special shipping, and over the weekend. It was packaged securely and the contents appeared to have traveled well. When we opened the box-WOW-what a surprise. The pictures are amazing and accurate but do not do it justice at all. Quality, quality, quality. I purchased the small pod (oval) and it contained a good layer of white stones, shells, 3 pink and 1 grey shrimp. I recommend reading the booklet, it contains alot of information. It literally takes 2 minutes and gives a complete overview, especially regarding the lighting and cleaning. My family is very excited to have this and have been watching it all day. It requires no care for a ton of enjoyment. This has been way beyond my expectations for an unusual and unexpected gift for our house. I will provide an update as time goes by but for now, feel extremely satisfied with this purchase. UPDATED ON 9/15/2012 (4 WEEKS) The shrimp are still alive and moving around. The algae has maintained its same size and no build-up. Again, just read the booklet and there is no maintenance required for such an unusual gift. Everyone that visits our house from youth to adult is amazed and continues to watch it. Something that I noticed is that our pod has more gravel and a variety of shells more so than the pictures show. I would highly recommend this purchase for anyone-quality product with tons of enjoyment and no maintenance. UPDATED ON 2/22/2013 (6 MONTHS) All the shrimp are still alive and moving around. The algae has maintained its same size. About a week ago, I noticed a few smaller than pea size spots on the glass. I read the booklet regarding the spots and got the small booklet with the magnet. You just put the open exposed magnet GENTLY at the bottom to find and attach the inner magnet. I say GENTLY because you might not see it before it shoots up to your magnet and might injure a shrimp. I had about 5 spots and gently rubbed them out. It took maybe a minute. Again, just read the booklet for proper care then there is literally no maintenance required.

Coolest gift I ever gave my kids. 11 years later and the shrimp is sitting on our living room table getting the perfect temp (they don’t like it too warm: mine dont anyway) and light (definitely do Not let them sunbathe, direct sun is too much. This dude is thriving in his own ecosystem and it’s amazing to watch. I hope these come back because the quality was top notch compared to the competitors that came after. Would and want to buy again.

Just ordered mine a week ago, and it arrived a couple of days ago! Woohoo, fash shipment! It came in breakproof packaging that was suprisingly easy to open, and IT... IS... GORGEOUS!!! I spent the better part of 3 hours just staring at it, transfixed! Came with 4 shrimp, a gorgeous underwater tree/branch/thing and a couple of tufts of green algae. Three shrimp are still grey, but one has already turned pink/red. I am stoked about it, and have found what I believe to be the perfect place for it, where I can gaze into its hypnotic splendor without subjecting it to too much light. I have read the instructions carefully, and I recommend that anyone considering this product read the booklet that comes with it VERY carefully, as well as google it and read what the website says about them. Overall, completely recommended! Pretty cheap for what it is, being handcrafted and put together just for your specific order. This is a great gift for people who love fish, people who like pets, people who like cool things that don't need maintenance, people who don't like pets but should, people who like ecosystems, people who are even slightly interested in science, people who like to watch things, people who like art, people who like living art, people interested in the interactions within ecosystems, people who like to breathe, people who like to watch just about anything.... the list goes on and on BUY ONE, you won't regret it!

It's beautiful! Came with at least 5 shrimp. They are hard to count. I am so happy I didn't get an EcoSphere with dead shrimp in it!

Excellent Christmas present for my son.

Very cool little ecosphere. It arrived safely with great packaging. Only one shrimp didn't make it but there are several others still kicking.

Came with 4 little shrimp inside and happy to say 4 months later they are all still alive and doing well!

There was no life when this arrived. We returned the product.