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Opae Ula, Hawaiian Red Shrimp, SuperShrimp, whatever...

178K views 765 replies 78 participants last post by  Laika 
#1 ·
For months I've been reading about these very cool shrimp. Finally I gave in to them and after further research decided to take the leap.

I did things in a sort of backward kind of way, as well. I got in contact with a vendor in Hawaii who, through numerous emails, convinced me that with the live rock that I would get with her shrimp a new tank would cycle without a problem, after the introduction of the shrimp and live rocks, that is.

Not sure that I really believed her I ordered some anyway. Fifty shrimp, with live rock, "live" water, food and instruction manual. All for $50.00 plus shipping.

So... right after placing that order I ran out to the LFS. I have a Petco Bookshelf tank set up with red and black crystal shrimp along with some Java moss and some accidentally introduced Celestial Pearl Danio (or whatever they're being called these days) fry. Long story short, they hatched from eggs that had been laid in the moss. (I will remove them before they get big enough to harass the shrimp.)

Anyway, I love the look of the Bookshelf tank (just wish it was made of glass!), so decided some Opae Ula would look really cool in one, too, so bought one for em.

Grabbed some white Live (bacteria infested) Aragonite sand, a little over a pound or two of cultured live rock (man made out of red lava rock instead of collected off a coral reef somewhere), a 2.2 gallon jug of Live Sea water (sea water infested with bacteria!), a hydrometer (measures the salt in water, kind of looks like a thermometer with a long narrow glass stick for an end) and ran home where I already had jugs of RO water...

I set the tank up last Sunday, October 27. I tend to be a bit dense at times so it took me a lot of work to dilute the Live Salt water from 1.025 to 1.016. Ended up using just over 2 gallons of the salt water and 2 gallons of RO.

Dumped in the live sand, tossed in the live rocks, big ones on the ends, live "rubble" in the middle, then live water over all of it... I placed an airstone and dosed the water with Cycle (yes, the bottle says that it's for both fresh and marine aquaria) and crossed my fingers.

All that bacteria, from so many sources may seem redundant, but that may be a good thing!

Here's a pic of the tank a couple days after setup after I decided to get brave and threw in a sprig of Java Moss.
 

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#2 ·
The shrimp, their live rock, live water and food all arrived in perfect condition yesterday.

I was awakened at about 10:30 by the postman carrying a pretty white box with "Live Aquarium Shrimp" written all over it. I was overjoyed looking through my partially open, cataract filled old man eyes to see the guy with his cute grin. (I work the night shift and he woke me about two hours after I went to bed).

I managed to wake myself up enough to toss the live rocks from the box into the tank then reclosed the box and hit the hay.

Off course I had one hell of a time trying to sleep knowing that 50 some odd shrimp were swimming in the dark on my kitchen counter so I crawled out of bed about an hour later, had a cup of coffee then tried to figure out through fogged senses how I was gonna acclimate these shrimp from their bag to my tank. The hydrometer was too tall to fit in their bag and I didn't have any narrow tubes sitting around where I could float their water and the hydrometer... yada, yada, yada...

Anyway, I gave up and just started taking water out of their bag and replaced it with tank water. I did this over a good hour, with a good ten minutes between each introduction. I did as I was told and placed the water from their bag into the tank, as it was "live water". (Nothing at all like Moonshine, I've been told!).

So... they are now in their tank. They looked so pretty all dancing around when I first put them in there...

This afternoon after getting up theirs was the first tank I checked. The shrimp were all hiding in the cracks and crevices in, under and around the rocks, no one was swimming. After a bit of sleep filled thinking I decided it may be the current made from the bubbling airstone so I turned the pump off. Within a few minutes they were all out looking around, swimming like crazy!

The food that was included in the purchase is the gunk that's growing on the live rocks. (I was thinking I was gonna get a jugs of spirulina or something!) I wrote the vendor and told her that she forgot to include the food... she told me about the goodies on the rocks... (Duh!)

I've dosed the tank each day with Cycle.

Here's the tank last night after setup with the live rock that came with the shrimp and another of a close up of the shrimp. The shrimp are in the tank too, of course! Java fern is still in the corner...
 

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#9 ·
Thanks for the comments, all.

I am thinking of replacing the fluorescent tube with something a little less pink.

I've got to find something that I can use to wipe the haze off the inside of the tank. It's plastic and will probably scratch easy. Has anyone tried those scrubbers meant for acrylic tanks? Think one of those would be safe?
 
#10 ·
Etane,

I have a 35 gallon hex with gobs of different kinds of shrimp always berried but never any babies. There's also 5 Celestial Pearl Danio in the tank (and one male Tiger Guppy). Only thing I can think of is that those CPDs are getting fat on shrimplets!
 
#13 ·
Etane... Lots of moss, ferns and floaters in the Hex, no shimplets, just fat danios! LOL
 
#14 ·
Stopped at the local mom and pop pet store (always so much better than the chains!!!) where I found a huge piece of Chaetomorpha algae that may survive the brackish water for $5.00. Ended up taking most of it back as it would've filled the tank! Another reason I returned it is because two brittlestars rode home in it, and they most definitely wouldn't have.

Got a new fluorescent for it as well. It's a 50/50, like you recommended, Jake. Comparing the old lighting in the photos (attached and in post #2) I'm trying to decide which color lighting I prefer. The shrimp were much brighter in color under the old light, though the tank itself seems brighter with the new light.

So... some fun if you all want to play along. Which lighting to you prefer before, in post #2, or that in this post?
 

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#15 ·
By the way... I gotta say... watching these shrimp zoom around in water or on the stones is way too cool! They dart very quick while walking, moving an inch or so, then stopping as quick as they start. Very fun! And they all get along so well, no squabbling wrestling like the other shrimp I have.
 
#19 ·
Thanks, Green...

These shrimp have rather similar requirements, IE: High pH, etc, so yup, it looks like a salt water tank!

Hoping it's not as messy, though!

(I used to have marine aquaria, guess I'd like to have em again someday!)
 
#20 ·
Since I stopped the airstone bubbling I've noticed occasional tiny bubbles being released from the live rock and sand. Guessing it's from the algae...

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2
 
#22 ·
#23 ·
Ummmmmmm.... seems those cute little bubbles have turned into Diatoms.

Pretty typical in a new marine aquarium, wasn't expecting it in brackish.

Any idea if the Opae Ula will eat them? How about the MTS?
 
#24 ·
Have just completed a roughly 25% water change. Probably not needed, but just in case...
 
#25 ·
Okay... Room is dark, the Opae Ula and the MTS are on the sand grazing, the MTS leaving trails. A good thing, I'm thinking!

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#26 ·
Still not using the airstone...

The diatoms are loving the fluorescent lighting... they're pearling like crazy, assuming it's the actinic spectrum that does it. Is kind of fun watching the pearled diatoms catch rides to the water's surface where the bubbles are released... the diatoms and the sand grains raining back down to the ground.

The shrimp are doing well, too. Noted several fresh molts under their shared shelter this afternoon.

Seems the chaeto is growing. No pearling on it that I've noticed, though.
 
#28 ·
I'm keeping a close eye on it. Will continue to post about it and everything else related to this tank.

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