Where have they gone?

[ShrimpGuy]

I've had my supershrimp for 14 days now, and I haven't seen them since I put them in my tank. Now I do have quite a bit of rock set up to look like a small reef. This is for my own personal need to have my tank look nice and for no other reason. For the first day I would see a couple crawling around, but now I see nothing. I've only fed once since their addition (just a micro pinch) and still saw no activity. I see no dead shrimp, so I have to assume they are in the rock. I have ten shrimp and ten snails. The snails seem fine. I have my water at 1.011 and 69 degrees. Don't they ever come out to play?

[Harry]

You say you saw them crawling around the first day. Your situation does sound odd. I also received my shrimp about 14 days ago. But in addition to crawling around, my shrimp have been actively swimming throughout the tank. I see them feeding on the rocks, feeding on the glass and swimming upside down at the top of the tank feeding from the film at the top of the water. I have 16 shrimp and can see at least half of them at any given time. Perhaps you should provide specific details about your tank, salinity, contents, etc and then Mustafa might be able to diagnose your problem.

[ShrimpGuy]

You say you saw them crawling around the first day. Your situation does sound odd. I also received my shrimp about 14 days ago. But in addition to crawling around, my shrimp have been actively swimming throughout the tank. I see them feeding on the rocks, feeding on the glass and swimming upside down at the top of the tank feeding from the film at the top of the water. I have 16 shrimp and can see at least half of them at any given time. Perhaps you should provide specific details about your tank, salinity, contents, etc and then Mustafa might be able to diagnose your problem.

Well.... let's see. It's a.....

2.5 gallon tank with....

1.011 - 1.012 salinity
Fine sand substrate
Real Fossilized Coral Rock
No filter
No heater (stays about 69 degrees)
No air stone
No current
50/50 light (on 12 hrs, off 12 hrs)
Microalgae
10 snails (from this site)
10 supershrimp (from this site)

Can't think of anything else. If you need more questions answered, just ask.

Thanks!

[Mustafa]

Sounds like there is something wrong, obviously. Did you make up your brackish water with RO or distilled water? If you used tap water, that would be your problem. Other than that the only culprit I can think of is the food you gave them. Even if it seems like a tiny pinch to us, it's a huge amount of food for these guys and for a 2.5 gallon tank. So, there are two things you can do depending on your situation. If you used tap water originally to make up your brackish water, make a new batch of brackish water with distilled or RO water and perform an almost total water change (obviously you need to leave some water in there so the shrimp don't sit on "dry" land). If overfeeding is the issue, then just wait it out. The Supershrimp Macroalgae that you bought (and possible microalgae that will grow on surfaces) will eventually take care of the ammonia that has likely formed due to the feeding. Now, keep in mind that you won't be able to measure these amounts of ammonia, but even tiny amounts are toxic to decapod crustaceans like Supershrimp.

You'll know when your tank has settled and is in balance when you see your shrimp crawling around and picking for food on various surfaces. Depending on the situation this may take a few weeks...or a few months.

[Harry]

If it is not a big bother, you might also consider lifting the rocks to see the condition of any shrimp under there. But I agree with Mustafa that there is something wrong with the environment. These "supershrimp" are much more active than freshwater shrimp and are constantly swimming around and performing various acrobatics in the water. When not doing that, they are actively crawling and feeding.

[ShrimpGuy]

Sounds like there is something wrong, obviously. Did you make up your brackish water with RO or distilled water? If you used tap water, that would be your problem. Other than that the only culprit I can think of is the food you gave them. Even if it seems like a tiny pinch to us, it's a huge amount of food for these guys and for a 2.5 gallon tank. So, there are two things you can do depending on your situation. If you used tap water originally to make up your brackish water, make a new batch of brackish water with distilled or RO water and perform an almost total water change (obviously you need to leave some water in there so the shrimp don't sit on "dry" land). If overfeeding is the issue, then just wait it out. The Supershrimp Macroalgae that you bought (and possible microalgae that will grow on surfaces) will eventually take care of the ammonia that has likely formed due to the feeding. Now, keep in mind that you won't be able to measure these amounts of ammonia, but even tiny amounts are toxic to decapod crustaceans like Supershrimp.

You'll know when your tank has settled and is in balance when you see your shrimp crawling around and picking for food on various surfaces. Depending on the situation this may take a few weeks...or a few months.

Yes I've always used RO water. The ONLY thing I can think of that I did wrong was the addition of Quick Start. It automatically cycles your tank. I have used this on my most sensitive shrimps (cardinals) and it worked like a dream, as well as all my other shrimp types. I figured since these were such hardy shrimp, the addition of the quick start wouldn't be a problem. Am I very very wrong in thinking that?

I just did about a 90% water change 50% RO and 50% sea water purchased from my LFS.

I really dont think food is the problem. I literally only put a few dust particles of food in there.

Lets hope this water change does the trick?

[Rob in Puyallup]

Shrimpguy,

I used Nutrafin Cycle when I set up both of my Opae Ula tanks. It's a bacteria additive. Cycled my tanks virtually overnight. I occasionally add a small amount as a food supplement. Quick Start is a similar product. I'm thinking it wouldn't cause you any problems.

My opae ula also get fed the same foods that I feed my freshwater shrimp. They eat anything that I put in their tanks.

I have very small HOB filters on both tanks. One of the filters is a bit more powerful and stirs up the water a lot. The opae ula are very active in both tanks. Both tanks also have fairly stong lighting, as well. 50/50 fluorescents.

One of my tanks has about 250 opae ula, the other around 100. Could be they are more active when there's lots of company?

Recently one of my opae gave "birth", there are two more berried opae in one of my tanks.

I've only had these guys since last November.

Rob

[Mustafa]

Hmmm...unless your bacterial additive caused a bacterial bloom, the only thing I can think of is a problem with the saltwater you purchase from the store. Have you checked that saltwater for nitrates, phosphates, ammonia etc.? Anyway, even if we can't figure it out here given the information, all you can do right now is sit and wait it out. You already did the water changes; that's all you can do. The more other things you mess around with, the more likely you are to change something that will affect something else, which in turn will mess up some other thing. Just stop feeding altogether and wait until the shrimp are more active. It's not for lack of company for sure (I've had tiny setups with just a handful of shrimp hapily picking away).

[ShrimpGuy]

I still have not fed my Opae's. With the exception of a few, they hide for the most part. I finally wiped the inside/front of the tank. Now I notice bubbles appearing on the glass. Is that normal? They seem to be multiplying. Any ideas?

I'm still wonder if I should do another water change???

[Rob in Puyallup]

I'm wondering how the opae would react if you dropped a tiny piece of food in the tank. When I do that it's like when one detects it, they all do. A regular feeding frenzy.

It might be worth a try. Perhaps there's not enough of a film on the new tank to encourage them out of hiding.

You can always remove it...

[Harry]

I think it is normal for them to sometimes stay hidden. I have one container with about 20 Opae and they are all always out and about. I have another with 40 Opae, created at the same time, and those stay mostly hidden. Maybe only six come out at a time. Lately, more and more of the 40 are coming out. I think that the hidden area doesn't get light, so any algae down there will become depleted. Then they will have to come out to get the algae growing in the light. These are very active creatures, but as Mustafa says, it will take some time for things to balance out.

[Mustafa]

I'm still wonder if I should do another water change???

Nope, leave it alone. It just takes time. I messed up a tank pretty badly in the past (heavy organic pollution) and it took months to get back to normal. Lost a few shrimp, too. I just put the Supershrimp macroalga in there and waited it out. The alga grew, the shrimp slowly started grazing again (as opposed to hiding), and now they are breeding non-stop in that same tank. Never changed the water. Water changes should only be done in real emergency situations...i.e. you see shrimp deaths every day or every other day. Just one water change...that's it.

[ShrimpGuy]

I'm still wonder if I should do another water change???

Nope, leave it alone. It just takes time. I messed up a tank pretty badly in the past (heavy organic pollution) and it took months to get back to normal. Lost a few shrimp, too. I just put the Supershrimp macroalga in there and waited it out. The alga grew, the shrimp slowly started grazing again (as opposed to hiding), and now they are breeding non-stop in that same tank. Never changed the water. Water changes should only be done in real emergency situations...i.e. you see shrimp deaths every day or every other day. Just one water change...that's it.

Ok, I'll keep waiting it out. It just drives me crazy looking at what seems to be an empty tank, when I know there are 30 opae's in there. LOL

[Harry]

You might try checking at night when the light is out. Sometimes I see my Opae out and active at night.

[ShrimpGuy]

You might try checking at night when the light is out. Sometimes I see my Opae out and active at night.

I have never done that, but I do notice they seem to be more active when the lights first click on in the morning. Do you think my lighting has something to do with them hiding? I use a 6 inch - 10 watt - 50/50 (Blue/White) Mini Compact Florescent, and it's a 2.5 gallon tank.