Any corals compatible with supershrimp?

[Mustafa]

Yeah, the Supershrimp Macroalga (to distinguish it from the purely marine Chaetomorpha) is really great for starting up Supershrimp tanks and making sure that excess nutrients are taken care of. As I mentioned in another post, the Macroalga also competes with nuisance cyanobacteria (works even better when the brackish snails are used in conjunction). And yes, you probably also introduced a bunch of nitrifying (and other useful) bacteria to your bowl, as the Macroalgae all come directly from established tanks (established for many years) with hundreds/thousands of shrimp in them. I was really thrilled when I discovered this plant.

In any case, hope things keep turning for the better for you. Please report back with any updates.

[shrimpy4]

Hi Mustafa,

Thanks again for the new shipment of Shrimp, they seem to have settled in well. I hope you counted them out better then I could, pretty much impossible to tell how many were in that bag since they wouldn't stay still! I also assume the green thread was yarn instead of more algae, so I tossed that after I poured them into my bowl.

I was wondering if it's ever too early to get the snails? Even after several weeks there's never been any real buildup of algae on my substrate or coral. The substrate is made up of sizeable aquarium stones, so it's not a fine crushed coral sand. I'm guessing the shrimp mostly eat the chaeto; I dropped one shrimp-head sized pellet of fish-food in there last week and after about a day it was completely consumed. Is that enough to feed them every two weeks? I'm just concerned that the snails won't have anything to eat and will starve to death if there's no visible algae buildup.

Here are another couple of closeups:

[Mustafa]

Thanks for the pics! Looks like your tank is doing quite well now.

Hi Mustafa,

Thanks again for the new shipment of Shrimp, they seem to have settled in well. I hope you counted them out better then I could, pretty much impossible to tell how many were in that bag since they wouldn't stay still!

--There were 16 in the bag. And all 16 should be right there in your tank...some visible some hiding.

I also assume the green thread was yarn instead of more algae, so I tossed that after I poured them into my bowl.

--Oh no! That was green yarn algae!!! You wasted it...

I was wondering if it's ever too early to get the snails?

--Nope.

I'm guessing the shrimp mostly eat the chaeto;

--They don't eat that; they eat whatever grows on it..and on other surfaces. Even if you don't see anything growing on the substrate and the glass, there is still stuff there...just microscopic...the shrimp will find more than enough food.

I dropped one shrimp-head sized pellet of fish-food in there last week and after about a day it was completely consumed. Is that enough to feed them every two weeks?

--Sounds about right for your situation. The algae will start growing in a few weeks. Depending on how much algae growth you have, you can adjust the amount you feed. Too much algae = less food next time...and vice versa.

I'm just concerned that the snails won't have anything to eat and will starve to death if there's no visible algae buildup.

--The snails will be just fine...as I said, there is more food in any given tank than visible to most people.

[shrimpy4]

Thanks for the pics! Looks like your tank is doing quite well now.

--There were 16 in the bag. And all 16 should be right there in your tank...some visible some hiding.

--Oh no! That was green yarn algae!!! You wasted it...

You gave me a freebie!! Hahaha, I still can't even count them. A lot of them stay still, but there are so many hiding spots between the shells and chaeto I can't keep track. Thanks Mustafa, honestly that's why I trust this site, I know you believe in the Opae first and foremost .

Maybe that's how they get their fiber!?!? I was literally worried somehow that was the only thing giving them balance for their ecosystem; they were all over it!

Looking forward to placing the snails in there soon!

[Mustafa]

Thanks Mustafa, honestly that's why I trust this site, I know you believe in the Opae first and foremost

--You're welcome. My motto is to be honest with yourself and your customers. I only sell animals that I know very well and that are all captive-bred, in top-notch condition. All the species I breed and sell have been researched and observed thoroughly. I could do what most others do and sell imported/wild-caught animals in terrible shape (basically be an animal broker) to customers who don't know much about the animals and who assume that a certain percentage of deaths during shipping, and even after they arrive, is "normal." That's not how you build a hobby. You need to establish trust, and the only way to do that is to deliver top-notch quality animals, and provide the most accurate and reliable information available.

[shrimpy4]

Oh no!! I lost another one this morning. That makes two, one from the original ecosphere not long after I transferred them and I think this was one of the newer ones since it was a juvenile. There may have been too much going on yesterday when I had to top off the water in the tank from a long weekend of evaporation and I fed them. I also decided to lower the SG from 1.016 to 1.014/1.013 because I was worried it would get too high over long weekends when a fair amount of water evaporates. Bummer.

[Mustafa]

That's too bad. Were they going for the food at all when you fed them? Were they running around actively picking on surfaces before you decided to fee them? If not, you should not feed them until you actually see them actively run around the tank and pick at things...pretty much all the time. And if you do feed them, take out the food immediately if they don't go for it after they discover it. I know I keep saying this, and it's counterintuitive to most people, but leaving the tank alone is really the best thing you can do for your Supershrimp.

[shrimpy4]

They definitely went for the food, in fact they would duke it out over it, one would pick up the pellet and then another would come grab it. After a couple of minutes there were a half dozen sitting around the pellet watching whoever was eating it, I've never really seen them gather otherwise. Between the two small pellets I put in there (each is a bit bigger than an Opae's head) they're completely consumed after about 2 days. Is that still too long to leave the food in there?

I still find it difficult to tell if they're running around and eating though. There's no real substrate that they can pick at, unfortunately all of the aquarium stones are 2 - 3 times bigger than they are so they can't move them. What I can tell from looking at them up close is that their little pincers are often picking at whatever they're sitting on (the various coral, shells, or Chaeto), but they don't "walk" or move around the bowl very much. Mostly they just sit in one place, sometimes stone still, or occasionally swim to a new spot.

[Mustafa]

This is how you want your shrimp to behave when your tank has finally settled:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvkc5kU57D4

That's one of my breeding tanks. As you can see they are picking constantly and walking around. Of course there will be a few that don't pick for various reasons (usually because they have molted recently or are about to molt). The majority should be active, though. Two days for the food to be finished is way too long. A few hours to half a day is more appropriate. Then wait again for two weeks. It takes some time, but your tank should settle eventually, especially with the help of the Supershrimp macroalga and algae growth on rocks and glass. Again, the less you mess with the tank, the better.

[shrimpy4]

I think I may have discovered what was upsetting them, my SG was too low. Previously when I used to refill the bowl just a bit higher they wouldn't move around much. Then I noticed as the water level dropped there was a point where they became much more active like the shrimp in the video. The level it's at right now must be just the right SG to keep them happy, since the 1 gallon bowl is so small adding just a cup or two of water makes it fluctuate quite a bit. Now I just want them to start breeding!

[Mustafa]

Unless your salinity was bordering on freshwater I don't think that was the issue. It's just the nature of the beast that artificial aquatic environments take time to recover from possible issues in the beginning, and also from mistakes made later. When one makes sure not to overfeed and follows the every 2 week schedule, things usually work out just fine. And...when in doubt (e.g. if you're not sure if you feed recently or not, or even two weeks ago), *don't* feed and wait another two weeks. This is especially important when you have only 1 gallon to work with. A little bit too much food, and things go awry.

[shrimpy4]

Well, about 2.5 months in and they more or less seem fine. As I noted in another thread they stay pale/gray pretty much all the time, very rarely pink or red, so I guess they're not completely comfortable yet. That color very much mixes in with their substrate and the grayish color of my flourscently lighted office environment though; shrimp camouflage? They are pretty frequently active though, right now half the population is swimming/walking around picking at things.

I was just away for two weeks, I had a coworker adding distilled water in my absence. One good thing is I noticed the briney smell is completely gone. On the other hand, there's a somewhat viscous white powderish film on the surface of the water. Is that normal/organic? I can't tell if it's organic or if something got spilled into the bowl. I've been trying to scoop it out.

Looks like I may have to take my dead sand dollar out too. It used to be bleach white but it's been growing brown spots that almost cover the entire top of it. They love hanging out underneath it though.