How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Moderator: Mustafa
How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Hello everyone,
I'm a newbie to the hobby. I absolutely love my little guys. I live on Oahu and have purchased 100-150 Opae for my 3 tanks respectively. I bought from 2 local fish stores Aquascapes 808 and The Pet Depot. I made my own brackish water and provided my sand, rocks, and coral from the beach . My shrimp are really thriving, however I'm wondering if I'm feeding them enough or too much. My 4 gallon Eheim tank has about 100-120 Opae plus 4 brine shrimp that hitched a ride when I bought my opae, I gave some spirulina powder and a few days later it was gone. Algae has started growing on the rocks and glass. Now, my brine shrimp have babies and the glass is now clean. I have been giving powder every other day, just a sprinkle. They seem to want more. Is it too much to feed them every couple days?
Thanks in advance for your input.
I'm a newbie to the hobby. I absolutely love my little guys. I live on Oahu and have purchased 100-150 Opae for my 3 tanks respectively. I bought from 2 local fish stores Aquascapes 808 and The Pet Depot. I made my own brackish water and provided my sand, rocks, and coral from the beach . My shrimp are really thriving, however I'm wondering if I'm feeding them enough or too much. My 4 gallon Eheim tank has about 100-120 Opae plus 4 brine shrimp that hitched a ride when I bought my opae, I gave some spirulina powder and a few days later it was gone. Algae has started growing on the rocks and glass. Now, my brine shrimp have babies and the glass is now clean. I have been giving powder every other day, just a sprinkle. They seem to want more. Is it too much to feed them every couple days?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Welcome to the forum! First thing I would recommend is to read the "Supershrimp" link above and probably browse this forum and do some specific searches about topics you're wondering about. A lot of the questions that newbies have usually get answered that way immediately.
Having said that...yes, you're overfeeding. These shrimp only need to be fed tiny amounts every 2-6 weeks or so. The smaller the tank the more time between feedings...my half gallon to a gallon tanks only get food every few months...if that.
I would not recommend Spirulina powder as a food source...it's messy and it's hard to measure. And you will never know how much the shrimp are eating because it goes all over the tank. Get some fish flake food or fish food pellets. Much easier to dose and more "complete" nutrition too.
Having said that...yes, you're overfeeding. These shrimp only need to be fed tiny amounts every 2-6 weeks or so. The smaller the tank the more time between feedings...my half gallon to a gallon tanks only get food every few months...if that.
I would not recommend Spirulina powder as a food source...it's messy and it's hard to measure. And you will never know how much the shrimp are eating because it goes all over the tank. Get some fish flake food or fish food pellets. Much easier to dose and more "complete" nutrition too.
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Wow!! Thank you so much for the info.
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
No problem!
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Hi Mustafa,
One more question. I did not feed them again, but now because of the previous over feeding and algae growth, my tank is greenish. Should I wait it out? Do a water change ?
Any advice is appreciated.
One more question. I did not feed them again, but now because of the previous over feeding and algae growth, my tank is greenish. Should I wait it out? Do a water change ?
Any advice is appreciated.
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- Shrimp
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Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
I wouldn't change the water. Just be patient and in time your tank will come into balance.
If the algae is really bothering you, get a nerite snail or two.
If the algae is really bothering you, get a nerite snail or two.
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Thanks Jenny!
I think I will get a nerite snail.
I think I will get a nerite snail.
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- Shrimp
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- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2015 7:49 pm
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Post a picture of it if you do! My favorites are thorned nerites.
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
As Jenny said.
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Is it true that too much light will cause more algae growth, thus making my green tank greener
I have an LED light above the tank. It is on 7a-7p. I'm thinking I should cut the time down a bit. Any advice ??
I have an LED light above the tank. It is on 7a-7p. I'm thinking I should cut the time down a bit. Any advice ??
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Only if you have too many nutrients in the water. I'd just wait it out. Light alone without nutrients can't really grow much of anything.
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
[edit] Ninja'd by Mustafa!
If your tank is getting too green you may want to just not feed at all. It may take months but eventually the water should clear.
That only happens if there are excess nutrients in the tank, as it takes more than just light for algae to grow. My tank has always had a light on 12 hours a day but there has never been an algae problem. Thanks to how little you need to feed supershrimp you can have a light on a lot without any algae problems.Aloha919 wrote:Is it true that too much light will cause more algae growth, thus making my green tank greener
I have an LED light above the tank. It is on 7a-7p. I'm thinking I should cut the time down a bit. Any advice ??
If your tank is getting too green you may want to just not feed at all. It may take months but eventually the water should clear.
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Thank you so much for all the support!!! This forum is great
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
Sorry, one more thing.
I now have bubbles accumulating. Given my tanks history, is it OK ?
I now have bubbles accumulating. Given my tanks history, is it OK ?
- jonesinfershrimp
- Shrimp
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- Location: Sturbridge, MA, USA
Re: How much do Opae Ula eat ??
i had bubbles all over my tank also. i never had any issues with them. some even turned into these cool algae bubbles that can only form in saltwater because of surface tension.