Peppermint Shrimp in an unheated pico

[Chris's Fishes]

Hello!

 

I recently received a peppermint shrimp, and a few days after placing it into my tank, I noticed that it was developing a habit of picking at my already-ailing BTA. Long story short, he got removed, and I planned to take him to the nearest store that sells saltwater fish. Until then, he'd reside in a bucket with a couple gallons of saltwater, a cycled filter, and some caulerpa.

 

I never did make it to the store, and I started to feel sorry for the little devil - plus, I was bored and had a spare tank lying around. So, I set up a 3 gallon jar using some old base rock and a cycled sponge. I threw in the Caulerpa and the Peppermint, and kinda plan to use it to grow out macro trimmings from my main tank. I threw on an old Finnex planted tank fixture, and it seems to be doing okay, but I'll probably replace it with something a bit more powerful soon. 

 

The main question I have is whether or not peppermint shrimp can thrive in less-than-tropical temps. I've seen online that they're found as far north as Charleston, and that puts water temps down into the low 60's during the coldest months. Room temperature is at a minimum 68, and usually hovers between 70-72. So far, I haven't noticed any behavior or color difference, but if it's going to be a problem when it comes time to molt (or causes long-term immune system issues) I'll consider adding a heater or just taking the shrimp to a store. 

 

We are talking about L. Wurdemanni, here, to be clear.

[Christopher Marks]

I can't be certain, but I suspect a peppermint shrimp could tolerate room temperature quite well. I bet @johnmaloney would know, maybe he can help?

[Chris's Fishes]

For what it's worth, we've had a successful molt. It's eating well, has good color, and is just as aggressive and annoyingly cute as it was in my main tank. Unless John has something negative to add, I think he'll be fine! No one else seems to think differently, from what I've found online.