Question About Hawaiian Red Shrimp

merlin03 · Post by **merlin03** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:39 am

16 gallon tank, Opae ula only. how often do i need to run the sponge filter? Can it run continuously?

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 10:00 am

How many shrimp do you have/plan to have in the tank?

merlin03 · Post by **merlin03** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 10:29 am

200 animals have been there for a little more than two weeks now. From very small juveniles to full size, huge, +- 0.5 inch adults. I monitor all pertinent parameters daily. My concern is that ammonia readings are constantly on the raise. nitrites and nitrates are ok. PH is ok, alkalinity ok. Should just change water, run filter, both? Right now I dont have any plants growing on the tank, but some green algae growing on the rocks. Should I consider introducing plants and if so what type. My understanding is thst theres no plants growing on their natural environment.

DanHagan · Post by **DanHagan** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 10:41 am

If you are having problems, your tank is not cycled all the way. You should allways have your filter running. The good news is those shrimp can really take abuse. Change a fair bit of water and keep that filter running!

dhavoc · Post by **dhavoc** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:00 pm

I have mine in a 2.5g and i always run a small filter, if anything more to keep water movement so it doesnt get stagnant. if you have ammonia problems, it means the tank isnt cycled yet, i let mine sit for a month with rocks and gravel and only a few opae in it before i added more. 200 in a 16g is not a high bio-load as these are very small shrimp and they can take bad water conditions. as for plants, i have green algae that grows like little fuzzy bushes to it looks good, and i have added some java fern (can tolerate brackish water) for color. it doesnt grow well like in a high light planted tank, but it doesnt fade either, its still the same dark green it was the day i put it in there over 2 months ago. try some to help with the ammonia until your bacteria can catch up. i also only feed once or twice a week. good luck, they are unique shrimp...

merlin03 · Post by **merlin03** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:17 am

Thank You all for your input. is great to hear and learn from the experience of other people raising these shrimp. Another question that I have what is the more practical way of controling the temperature for these shrimp? I have no problem getting a chiller/heater unit sized for my tank, but will the shrimp tolerate the temperature and/or current changes? what about noise?