MiniShrimps

[minishrimps]

Hi Everyone, i just wanted to introduce myself and let you know there is a new member fascinated by Opae Ula. I was originally going to buy one of those ecospheres but then I read that thing about the ecospheres! Oh No! I bought one for my dad for christmas before I knew... I don't have the heart to tell him yet about the downfalls of his beloved ecosphere, he thinks it's the coolest thing and even talks to the shrimp while having his morning coffee...

Well that's is why i'm here now. I decided to build my own shrimp friendly ecosphere with a glass Ball jar. I thought i was all ready to order the stuff i needed but then i found this place. This forum opened up a whole world of shrimp rearing that i was unaware of. I learned quite a bit over the past week or two and now I'm inspired to have more shrimp and some algae balls and even some snails... and breed these little guys...

After reading some of the articles and threads on this site and seeing all of your setups I decided to go a little bigger than the gallon jar. I ordered a 2.5 gallon tank, arag-alive rock, lava rocks & coral for some aquascaping, 3 gallons of distilled water, a giant box of reef salt (32 gal mix was smallest i could find), A light, and and then an Algae Ball from Mustafa. I also picked up a marine test kit so i can test the waters before i add anything living. My tank is now full and has been sitting for about five days. My algae ball is on' its way and will be the first living addition to my tank. I can't wait and am really excited for my tank to cycle through so I can add some snails and then some shrimp.

Eventually, i'll tell my Dad about the downfalls of his Ecosphere. But my goal is to have a breeding stock to supply him with a few more shrimp and then free his ecosphere inmates into his own tank.

Anyway, i'll keep posting some updates as things move forward. If there is anything you all have to offer in the way of advice or tips for beginners to the hobby feel free to let me know! Thanks!

[JennyPenny]

My only recommendation is to make sure you have a liquid test kit to check your water. It sounds like you are on the right track.
And hopefully you can save the shrimps from your dad's ecosphere soon. I wish they didn't sell those awful things! If a shrimp in there does die, you need to release them ASAP. The water will become toxic with ammonia and they might all die.

[minishrimps]

Thanks for the recommendation JennyPenny. The kit I bought is the API Saltwater Master test kit. It is the liquid kind.

The poor shrimps in my dads ecosphere will be free soon! I only wish i knew ahead of time!

I'll try and post some pics when of my setup when everything gets settled...

[Varanus]

Thanks for the recommendation JennyPenny. The kit I bought is the API Saltwater Master test kit. It is the liquid kind.

The poor shrimps in my dads ecosphere will be free soon! I only wish i knew ahead of time!

I'll try and post some pics when of my setup when everything gets settled...

While I echo the encouragement to free the ecosphere shrimp, at least know there is no huge hurry. Despite the conditions the shrimp can live for a few years in there so hopefully they will be fine with the few weeks/months it may take for you to get the alternate setup ready.

Also, regarding the live rock you mentioned, you may need to be careful about that. From what I've read the organisms on the live rock may not survive the salinity/nutrient level of a supershrimp tank and the die off could cause an ammonia spike.

The biggest advice to offer I think is to not be in a hurry. These shrimp are incredibly hardy but the tank needs to be ready for them before they are added. Snails and plants will of course speed the process up (and I found watching the snails made it easier to wait too).

[minishrimps]

While I echo the encouragement to free the ecosphere shrimp, at least know there is no huge hurry. Despite the conditions the shrimp can live for a few years in there so hopefully they will be fine with the few weeks/months it may take for you to get the alternate setup ready.

Also, regarding the live rock you mentioned, you may need to be careful about that. From what I've read the organisms on the live rock may not survive the salinity/nutrient level of a supershrimp tank and the die off could cause an ammonia spike.

The biggest advice to offer I think is to not be in a hurry. These shrimp are incredibly hardy but the tank needs to be ready for them before they are added. Snails and plants will of course speed the process up (and I found watching the snails made it easier to wait too).

Hmm, this is what i bought... http://tinyurl.com/jeo55nr I thought it's designed specifically for these types of tanks, no?

I've been told i have patience but i don't think so...

[Varanus]

Hmm, this is what i bought... http://tinyurl.com/jeo55nr I thought it's designed specifically for these types of tanks, no?

Thing is its designed for marine tanks and this is brackish water. I don't have personal experience with live sand, but when I was setting up my tank I was advised here that live sand could cause problems in a supershrimp set up. That is I was told that often the sand has set in the bag for so long that the microorganisms in it have largely died (which produces ammonia), or they may not be able to adapt to the salinity of a brackish water tank, causing them to die from that.

Just check ammonia levels regularly until the tank is cycled and you should be fine though. After all you want some ammonia at the start, just not too much.

[minishrimps]

Got it thanks... I keep forgetting the test kit on my desk at home and the tank is at work... I only got the test kit this weekend so I'll do some testing. The sand was wet when it came, so i hope its ok. I appreciate the heads up. I wanted the black Hawaiian sand since that's the natural homeland of these little guys. I'll make sure i test everything before adding the shrimps, my Algae ball is arriving tomorrow. Do you think it's to soon to add this into the tank? I hope not!

[Varanus]

If anything the algae should help, since it absorbs/feeds on some of the potentially harmful chemicals in the water.

[minishrimps]

Ok, so i finally remembered to bring in the test kit to work. The Ammonia test shows i'm right around .50. It seems like the Ammonia is indeed a little high. Nitrite and Nitrate are both at 0ppm. The High Range pH test showed 8.0. Is a pH of 8.0 to high for this environment? (every time i search the forum for "pH levels" the search engine excludes "pH" from the search so i'm having difficulty finding what the best level is for these tanks...) I added a few pieces of coral to the tank two days ago to help as pH buffers. I will retest in a couple days. Do you all think it is ok to add the Algae ball now?

Oh, and i also picked up a refractometer and my salinity is 1.017 should i try to lower that a bit too?

(edit: I pulled out some water and added some fresh distilled water and my salinity is down to 1.011-1.012... I feel better with this number as my tank is only 2.5 gallons)

Thanks for any help!

[Varanus]

Ok, so i finally remembered to bring in the test kit to work. The Ammonia test shows i'm right around .50. It seems like the Ammonia is indeed a little high.

Well that is actually a good level to start with, its where my tank set at for several weeks until the cycle was completed and the ammonia reading went down to zero. I tested the water once a week until that happened. viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5771

The High Range pH test showed 8.0. Is a pH of 8.0 to high for this environment? (every time i search the forum for "pH levels" the search engine excludes "pH" from the search so i'm having difficulty finding what the best level is for these tanks...) I added a few pieces of coral to the tank two days ago to help as pH buffers. I will retest in a couple days. Do you all think it is ok to add the Algae ball now?

It should be fine, brackish water creatures are very adaptable. My tank's ph is somewhere between 7.5 and 8.0.

Oh, and i also picked up a refractometer and my salinity is 1.017 should i try to lower that a bit too?

(edit: I pulled out some water and added some fresh distilled water and my salinity is down to 1.011-1.012... I feel better with this number as my tank is only 2.5 gallons)

Thanks for any help!

1.017 is indeed slightly higher than what the site recommends for breeding at least, 1.011-1.012 is a good middle ground.

[minishrimps]

Thanks for the reply! I went ahead and added the algae ball, and placed an order for some macroalgae and some snails to help speed up the cycling... I retested the Ammonia level after the water exchange and though it's sometimes hard to tell when the coloration is between a number, but i think i'm right around .50 but not higher, so that should be good. I'm getting excited and hopefully in a couple more weeks after the snails get here i'll be able to place my order for Opae. Thanks Varanus!

[JennyPenny]

Ph of 8.0 is fine. I think my ph is actually 8.2.
My salinity is around 1.013, and I think 1.017 is too high. I think you should try to lower your salinity before adding your snails. Your plants will be fine.

[minishrimps]

Thanks! I did do a water swap to lower the salinity. I'm reading 1.012 right now. I might try to get it down around 1.010 eventually.

[JennyPenny]

I think 1.012 is perfect. I don't think you need to do another water change at this point.

[minishrimps]

Here's a pic of my tank so far...

and a happy algae ball!