How to safely relocate shrimp in ecosphere?

[kelseylynn0725]

Hello everyone! I was first introduced to Opae Ula shrimp because of a poorly thought out purchase of four of them within the smallest sized ecosphere available. Since realizing the error of my ways I created a tank and bought ten more shrimp that I just released into the tank. I'd like to get the four shrimp still in the sphere out and into the tank. I've heard of breaking the glass to get them out but it seems dangerous and could harm them, or I could try to cut out the silicone bottom and get them out that way but I'm worried that the vortices it would create (along with the sharp pieces in the sphere) might harm them. Has anyone done this? Any recommendations?

[JDillon]

I’d try using a utility knife maybe to break the seal?

[LittlePenny]

hi kelseylynn0725, I did the exact same thing so don't feel bad. Fixing it made me feel better and gave them a much better life.
I set up a tank following Mustafa's step by step, and let it cycle for 3-4 weeks until algae appeared on the water surface. I read that some people broke the seal, but mine seemed to be fused shut. I took a bowl (about twice the size of the sphere) put some water from the tank I set up, set the ecoshpere in the bowl, and hit it with a hammer to it (Not too hard to shatter it into lots of little pieces, just hard enough to break it). Then I quickly got all of the pieces of glass out and poured the shrimps with the water to their new tank. They seems fine and happy very shortly after. (i was surprised how warm the water in the sphere felt).

Good luck! You got this!
Please post pictures of your tank

[kelseylynn0725]

Thank you for the advice! My tank is only 1.1 gallons so how much water would you recommend putting in the bowl from my tank? I think I will try this today but here is a picture of my tank from right as I'm posting this. There are ten individuals in the tank already so I don't want to disturb it too much.

[LittlePenny]

Ummm you don't need much, a cup maybe? I added the water to the bowl to soften the blow to the glass, but also so that once the sphere broke they had enough water to swim in for a minute until I got all of the glass shards out and poured them into the tank.
Good luck!

[Neil]

I just opened mine. I was able to put my round one in a plastic container that happened to be a similar diameter. Here's the steps to open it up:
1. Remove the sticker on the bottom.
2. Feel around the bottom. Notice that there is a clear sealant; perhaps silicone around a hard "plug".
3. The plug is a plastic disk. To remove it, take an exacto knife and slowly cut through the sealant. It is safer to hold the knife in one place and then rotate the ecosphere.
4. Once you cut around the plug, you can then get your knife under it and remove it.

I was very surprised by the amount of pressure in my ecosphere. Perhaps as much as a 12 oz can of soda (about 100 psi).

Be careful. "An exacto knife is the most dangerous tool in the shop" -Adam Savage