Customer Reviews

Ecosphere Small Sphere 4"

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this for a coworker of mine for Christmas. When I ordered it, I wasn't aware that it is shipped alive and you need to be present to receive it (otherwise it may die). So it came the first week of Dec.

It's been about a month and the little guys are still doing fine. I find myself wandering over to her cubicle to look at it every day. The shrimp are tiny and cute. It's also a little soothing to watch when you're having a stressful day. The shrimp get sluggish when it is cold so you may want to keep them near a warm lamp or sunny window. They are loads of fun to watch and I recommend this for anyone. Be sure to buy the stand that goes with it so it doesn't roll around and drop onto the floor.

Update - Four years later: Two out of the original four shrimp are still alive. During the summer months, my coworker had to move it away from the window because it started growing excess algae. That took care of the problem and all is well in eco-land.

These ecospheres are fascinating. My son received one as a Christmas gift three years ago and loved it. Beware, the ecosphere does die out after two years. We didn't realize it at the time and thought we had done something wrong in its care.

It is very easy to care for and ships well, too. I had one shipped to my niece who is a sophomore in college. She loves animals and had to leave all hers behind when she went to college. She loves it - just the right kind of "pet" to have in a college dorm. My daughter discovered I gave one to her cousin and she wanted one, too. She is a college freshman (different college), so I sent her one. It has come in very handy for a freshman in making new friends. Everyone wants to marvel over the living shrimp. So far, she and her dorm mates have named one "Big Red."

My daughter wanted the ecosphere so we bought it through Amazon, but I believe the

actual supplier was Target. It arrived on our front porch - the delivery man did not

ring the bell. We found it at 4 PM. It was 37º outside. On opening the box there

were 2 "warmer" packets which were now cold. There was no "outside" magnet that they

said would be provided to help keep the sphere's walls clean. There were no

directions for care of the expensive ecosphere - I had to obtain these on the web

from Ecosphere Associates in Arizona.

There was only one live shrimp!! I thought there was also a dead one but the web

directions said that if it was translucent it was a shed exoskeleton [we felt like

we were in the Monty Python sketch were John Cleese tries to demonstrate that the

parrot he was sold is dead, an ex-parrot.] We were pretty diappointed. The web

directions note that the average life-span of these units is 2 yrs, or $30/yr. They

further state that while there is 1 shrimp left it is a functioning unit. We wonder

how long the unit will last starting with only one shrimp...

This product does not seem to be a good value for the amount of money charged, so I

would not recommend it.

I really enjoyed watching my little shrimp swimming around, and it made a good conversation piece, too. However, a month or two after I got it, one of the shrimp died. I was sad, but figured it would be okay, since there were three others.

But then they kept dying off, one by one, and I guess the others were eating their bodies. Finally, the last one died and there's no one to eat him, so he's still in there.. I'm not sure why they all died (maybe it was too cold?), but I enjoyed having them around while they were there.

I intend to get the system recharged as soon as I am able, and leave it sitting with only the algae growing in the meantime. I am assuming that my experience was not the norm, as most people seem to have nothing but good things to say about this product, but I do wish the warranty on it had extended a little bit longer. The brevity of the lives of my little creatures was pretty disappointing... for all of us involved, I am sure.

World in a Jar! My students love this Ecosphere this is our second one the first met the floor at high speed after being dropped. This one is being viewed each day and kids love them.

I bought mine for a Christmas present for my mom because her cat died and she said she wasn't going to have any more pets. With this she doesn't need to do anything except make sure the algae doesn't grow too fast. No feeding, no changing of the litter box, no hair-balls on the floor. I think it's cool. Came with three shrimp and empty snail shells. I'm surprised it doesn't have snails. You think that would be a good idea to have in order to clean the surface. Price is high but I'm sure there was a lot of research involved in order to get it to work properly. I hope it lasts.

I gave this Ecosphere as a gift to my husband. I would consider him an environmentalist, so it was right up his alley. His coworkers each have a sphere sitting on their desks at work. The Ecosphere is a compact "aquarium" that sustains itself. I had to sign for the sphere at the time of its delivery to ensure its warranty for replacement shrimp, etc. A replacement sphere saves you about $10-$20. It arrived well packaged with very detailed care instructions. The only problem I had was that the product didn't arrive on the day they said it would, so I had waited around all day for something that never arrived. Nonetheless, it was worth the wait. My toddler was fascinated by the little shrimp. too. It's your own little part of the world in a glass sphere.

My sister got me one of these as a gift way back in the day -- maybe 2000, 2001... around then.

Anyway, when I first got it, there were (if I recall correctly) 4 little shrimp in there.

It's been close to 10 years now (maybe more), and the second remaining shrimp just died. When I noticed that, I decided to look this product up on Amazon and give it a review.

I'm down to my last shrimp, and after that, I'll have to order more I guess. What it boils down to is this little glass sphere and its residents survived half a dozen moves and a DECADE of enjoyment. I moved this thing from my bedroom at home to a series of college dorms to apartments to rental homes to my first real home. It's been with me from high school until full-fledged adult life, and there's still a shrimp left swimming around in there. That shrimp has lived longer than the combined years of my pet dog, and my sister's pet dog.

If you're looking for a unique gift that functions as a source of entertainment, a decoration, and maybe even some kind of 'motivational' prop (for your corporate types out there), this is it. I've had mine for around a decade now and it still amazes me to watch the little guy flitting around in that tiny sphere, completely isolated from the outside world.

What a cool gift!

My sister got me the ecosphere as a gift in 2000. The last shrimp just died (it arrived with 2 shrimp). It lasted 10 years!! My middle school students love to look at it. I'm buying another, hopefully it will last as long.

We got the small ecosphere for a Christmas present for our son-in-law because he has a small office that he spends a lot of time in. We wanted a fun diversion for some of those long days. While he does love his ecosphere and has already enjoyed it a lot, two of his four little shrimps have already gone the way of the dinosaurs. It seems like too much trouble to send it back, etc., so we are just watching the other two and hoping for the best! If you are looking for a clever, unique gift, this is it!