Temp quesion

[narutoonepiece95123]

Hi everyone,

I have a situation that some of you might have regarding the recent temperature change. I brought a few opea ula from you a few months ago. I would like to inform you they are doing well till of recent. The temp where I live has dropped tremendously. I brought a heater for them. The temp is now 68.5; however, The shrimps are now hiding. I see a few hiding and they look dead. They are not dead but refuse to move to the surface like before. What can I do to make them feel better ? Please let me know soon.

Thank you,
Brian Ha

[Mustafa]

Just relax, Brian. Just because they are hiding under rocks upside down does not mean they are "belly up" (which would mean they are dead). These shrimp can take a wide range of temps, so unless your house cooled down to below 55-60 degrees (and even then they would be fine), there is no need for a heater. The fact that they are acting weird probably comes from the fact that you increased the temperature all of a sudden. That never happens in nature and stresses out the ecosystem in a tank. If they were acting fine before, why even bother changing anything by buying a heater? I think I have told you this before, but please go read *all* of the information available on this website. On the species description page it says that they have a very wide tolerance for temps, so your freaking out (SIX contact form inquiries within a few minutes, plus a private message) is completely unwarranted. If you must increase temperatures, then do it *very* slowly *IF* your water was especially cold for a long period of time.

Having said that, something completely different may be the issue...if there is an issue at all. As in all cases, if you shrimp become inactive..just do *nothing*...absolutely nothing (i.e. stop feeding, stop fiddling with the tank...just leave it alone until your shrimp run around picking at stuff again).

[narutoonepiece95123]

Hi Mustafa,

I am very sorry for spamming the contact us page. I just that every time I submitted the form it would bug out and say error. I have gotten the water tested and taken out the heater and currently waiting. I have read all of the things for the opea ula shrimp that were posted in the super shrimps tab regarding the temp and what could be the problem. I will be posting the pics of my shrimps in this form. Again I am very sorry that I have caused you any inconvenience.

[Mustafa]

It's ok, not a big deal. I hope things turn out fine in the end.

[narutoonepiece95123]

Update on shrimp

I am sad to inform you that all 18 shrimps have passed away. I took the water to pet co to get the water tested and found nothing wrong with the water a few days ago. Since my last post I left the shrimps alone and notice none of them coming the surface to enjoy the light. Yesterday I took microalgae out and the lava rock. I found found 4 bodies and the rest gone. I cleaned the tank and the rocks and found small patches of white goo like substances. I think this is what killed them.

I am starting a new set up with the same layout but with less lava rocks on the bottom. Would like any advise on the new tank to hopefully not have them die again.

Thank you
Brian

[KenCotigirl]

Brian sorry to hear about your loss. Be patient. Follow the minimalist approach. It is recommended by this site, there are fewer variables to worry about and it works. As i suggested to 'iwantshrimp' start with a clean tank. I use warm water and table salt to clean the tank. No soap. Use ro water or bottled water. Add one half of recommended reef salt per water volume as indicated on label. This gives you brackish water. Add substrate and a few pieces of broken coral as a buffer. The lava does not buffer the water but you can add some for decor. Run this setup for a month with a light on. Order algae and snails. Wait another month. Tank should be cycled or very close. Order shrimp. For piece of mind check water parameters, pH and ammonia. Should be around 8 and zero respectively. No heater. Room temps are fine. No filter and No water changes. Not needed as they should only be fed once or twice a month and small amounts at each feeding. Top off with ro or distilled water. When shrimp arrive do not feed. There should be plenty of biofilm available. If shrimp produce waste they are feeding. Give them a month or so before you supplementally feed. If you start now you should be ready for shrimp in March. Keep us updated.
Ken

[narutoonepiece95123]

HI

Thanks for the information. For the topping off part with RO or distilled water, dose it have to be brackish water ( mixed with salt) ot just plain R.O/ distilled water? Also do you know where I can get coral?

Thank you

[Jackal148]

If you remove water from the tank or if you remove solid objects (stone, ornaments etc.) from the tank for some reason, and you want to return the water level to what it was before the removal, then you must use water with the same salinity. If on the other hand, you are simply replacing water that has evaporated, then you must use RO or distilled water. The reason for this is that when water in the tank evaporates, the only thing leaving is water (H20) the salts and other dissolved solids remain in the tank. This is the reason why crusty white stuff appears when water splashes evaporate. The water left but the dissolved stuff remained behind. As the water in the tank evaporates the salinity will rise, if you replace evaporated water with more salt water, the salinity will rise even faster.