Shrimp and aquarium dummy

[shrimpme]

Hi - I would like to set up a one gallon tank with opae ula, but am afraid I will botch it.

I became interested in these amazing little critters when I bought a couple of Ecospheres... but after having stumbled across a post online about how these are just pretty torture chambers, I decided I'd like to set up an aquarium from scratch, with some new opae ula, and perhaps one day even liberate the shrimp from my Ecoshperes. However, I have never had an aquarium of ANY kind, EVER... so this is REALLY uncharted territory for me...

I intend to buy most supplies from this site, but the tank and other items, I'm unsure if they will be a good match for the shrimp. Can someone help if I post some links to some items I was looking to buy?

Thanks in advance!

I can watch these shrimp for hours, I just feel so bad for the ones trapped inside the Ecospheres I have...

[Super Jess]

Welcome! Post away and we'll try to help

[SuperProofer]

Happy to help! Just remember this isn't like other aquariums in the sense that you don't want a filter, don't need any chemicals, don't clean and rarely, if ever, feed depending on your conditions. So if you just buy any kind of glass, acrylic or plastic tank fit to hold water and decor that is aquarium safe, follow the set-up instructions on this site you should be good to go.

But go ahead and ask away... There's a lot of knowledagble people here.

[shrimpme]

Thanks much! I've always liked shrimp, and I've gotten attached to the ones in my Ecospheres... hopefully I'll be brave enough to try an liberate them, eventually... am afraid I'll have a disaster trying to get them out, though... so for now will start with a new tank and some new shrimp... and maybe the ones from my Ecospheres can join them someday...

I got a bit overwhelmed just looking at SAND... but, would something like this be ok? It's ph neutral, is that good/bad for these little guys?

https://smile.amazon.com/Carib-Sea-ACS0 ... ound+white

This is the tank I was looking at - no filter, just a tank with LED light...

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00 ... 0DER&psc=1

And of course they need a place for privacy once in a while... so figured this would be good, it's made of clay, as long as clay doesn't pose a problem for the shrimp...

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... 1ODU&psc=1

Not worried about supplies sold here, since I know they will be appropriate for the shrimp, of course...

I stumbled across this for food... is it ok? Does anyone have a recommendation? Or, if I buy the macroalgae, would I even need to give them any other food?

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01 ... 4TJD&psc=1

So, from what I read, I would want to set up the tank with everything and then let it sit for several weeks - then order my shrimp?

I would like to add snails - would those go in when I set up the tank? Or would those go in later, when I add the shrimp?

If anyone has any suggestions for tank or sand or anything else, would love to hear it! A one gallon tank would be good for me - but would that be good for the shrimp? It would be a good size for my desk, which is where I am most the day, since I work from home.

Thanks much in advance for suggestions and advice!

[Varanus]

Thanks much! I've always liked shrimp, and I've gotten attached to the ones in my Ecospheres... hopefully I'll be brave enough to try an liberate them, eventually... am afraid I'll have a disaster trying to get them out, though... so for now will start with a new tank and some new shrimp... and maybe the ones from my Ecospheres can join them someday...

Well in the meantime if possible it would be good to at least unseal the Ecospheres so the shrimp have access to gas exchange with the outside world.

I got a bit overwhelmed just looking at SAND... but, would something like this be ok? It's ph neutral, is that good/bad for these little guys?

Neutral is preferred. The minerals, ph adjustment, etc. will be provided by the sea salt (Instant Ocean is a good brand) and your calcium source.

This is the tank I was looking at - no filter, just a tank with LED light...

I know some people have success with tiny tanks, but personally I would go with something bigger, a few gallons at least (that should still fit on a desk I think). This will give you a bit more of a safety net as the smaller the tank the easier it is for it to go out of balance, plus it will give more room for your shrimp population to grow. But do whatever you think is best.

And of course they need a place for privacy once in a while... so figured this would be good, it's made of clay, as long as clay doesn't pose a problem for the shrimp...

Its noted to be inert so it should be fine.

I stumbled across this for food... is it ok? Does anyone have a recommendation? Or, if I buy the macroalgae, would I even need to give them any other food?

These shrimp are not picky at all when it comes to food, and will readily consume pretty much any fish or shrimp food.

As for the macroalgae, they can't eat the living, intact macroalgae directly. Rather they will scrub at the surface to get biofilm that grows on it.

If/when you get a fair amount of normal algae in the tank then you likely need not feed, but until then its recommended to give them a little food every month or so.

So, from what I read, I would want to set up the tank with everything and then let it sit for several weeks - then order my shrimp?

Basically, and a good sign the tank is ready is when you start to see algae growing.

I would like to add snails - would those go in when I set up the tank? Or would those go in later, when I add the shrimp?

Adding the snails and macroalgae (or moss ball) to the tank as soon as even a few days after setting it up can help speed the cycling. I did it with mine with no issue and the snails thrived. But if you add the snails that early you may want to give them a tiny bit of food (i.e. no more than it takes them a hour or two to eat) just for peace of mind.

[crittersni]

Hi,

Before you do anything, read and re-read How to Set Up Your Tank under SUPERSHRIMP heading on this website.

I bought gravel rather than sand, but lots of people use sand. I bought substrate from bulkreefsupply.com after calling and e-mailing them to assure that it would be appropriate for brackish water opae. I chose the Carb Sea Indo-Pacific Black reef sand, but it's really more like small gravel. It is a live sand which this website warns against, but they assured me it would be fine and I've had no problem with it. Lots of people here have used different products if you read a lot of the posts here.

Any tank you use that is covered (to minimize evaporation and reduce the risk of dust and chemicals entering the water) is fine. LED lights are great to have. Your choice seems fine. I use a large, covered, glass vase.

I used dollar store decorations the first time and killed a lot of shrimp when the cheap plastic leached into the water. Ceramic is made from clay. If it's glazed, it should be fine. Hiding places will be frustrating for you, but really good for the opae. I decorated with plastic again, but bought them at PetSmart and Petco where the quality was much better.

I went to a local reef and reptile store and had them mix the water for me (their reef salt and reverse osmosis water). I picked a salination level in the middle of the suggested range (1.010) went through several weeks of cycling the tank, per this website's instructions.

I added the shrimp I had left, waited 2 weeks. When I saw they were ok, I ordered more shrimp from this site last March. They must be happy, because they've been breeding like crazy. The first ones hatched in June, then a bunch gave birth at the end of June into July. I've had several more hatches in the interim. Have 24 new larvae now with another female ready to start birthing soon.

I bought one Nephrite snail from PetSmart. Then I got a couple more. Too many. I kept my most active one and gave the other 2 to a friend with a new beta tank.

I don't really have a lot of algae, but they're eating the bacteria and stuff in the water. I see them on the decorations, and their intestines seem full. I feed them VERY little 1-2 times a month. I tried some tiny shrimp wafers once, but they seemed to fight over them. So I bought some algae pellets at PetSmart and ground them up. I just bought a container of opae ula shrimp food from Amazon, but I haven't tried it yet.

There are a lot of great people on this website. They helped me a LOT. Keep asking your questions.

[shrimpme]

OMG! This is GREAT info...!!! Thanks so much for the guidance...!!!

There's a lot more to having aquatic pets, even if its just supershrimp... but this seems doable, or rather, something I think I can do. Have always been afraid of having an aquarium because it's really a science...

I will look for a bigger tank. Want them to be happy.

I'm concerned about my Ecospheres. I have a small round one and a small egg shaped one. Each has 4 shrimp, and the behavior and appearence of the shrimp in each sphere varies GREATLY.

In the round sphere, they are pale or very light pink, and they seem to be ANGRY, or at least agitated. They dart about and don't tolerate other shrimp to be near them, they seem to keep their distance from one another.

The egg shaped sphere, the shrimp are all bright red and they are very *chill*... they happily swim around, but often cluster all together on the bottom and tolerate each other very well, they seem to like being together.

I will have to watch the YouTube video on how to get the plugs out... I'm so afraid I will smash the spheres and kill my shrimp...

[shrimpme]

BTW - I had stumbled across this... its "shrimp sand" but it's black... had not thought about using any color other than natural or white...

https://smile.amazon.com/U-P-Aqua-D-550 ... hrimp+sand

... do these little guys have a preference? I mean, these are Hawaiian shrimp, right? Would they feel more comfortable in a habitat that more closely resembles where they originated? In and around lava?

Which brings to mind tank decorations - do they need anything else? Besides a place to hide from prying eyes? lol

[shrimpme]

Been looking at more tanks... something like this, perhaps? 3.5 gallons, it comes with a little filter, but it's just the kind that hangs over the edge of the tank, I don't have to put use it or even put it in...

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00 ... 0DER&psc=1

Would give them more room... I intend to buy 10 opae ula and then hopefully free my Ecosphere shrimp, if they survive that, then would be a total of 18 shrimp in the tank...

[mike.d]

My opinion on that tank is: beware.

A lot of times the cheapest part of a tank kit like that is the hood/lid/light. If that goes out and the tank is an odd shape, you're stuck. If you get a rectangular tank and the hood/lid/light goes out or isn't bright enough or isn't what you expected (overly cheap), you can easily replace it with glass panels or acrylic purchased from your local Home Depot type store. You can get generic LED lights from Amazon as well.

This is what I did when I bought a 10-gallon kit. The hood/light was garbage. It never got bright enough, cost more than I wanted to spend in replacement bulbs, etc. Eventually I got sick of it and replaced the hood with acrylic and bought an LED light from Amazon.

In the future, if I want a new tank, I'll buy the tank itself (Pet*smart*co has $1/gallon tank sales every so often). Buy an LED light. Buy acrylic for the lid.

[shrimpme]

Thanks for the tank advice - is there a good place online to buy things like this? I've been looking at Amazon just to get ideas, because they have a lot of everything in one place...

I know where to shop and what to buy for my dogs, but aquariums are uncharted territory for me... just don't have a clue... And don't know anyone who keeps an aquarium, so no help there... and besides most people seem to keep fish anyway and not shrimp. Shrimp are fun to watch, and I know they are just crustaceans, but they seem to have their own personalities. I swear there is one in the round sphere who watches me while I work. He (she?) sits on a piece of gravel closest to where I sit, and he just sits there watching - doesn't move. I know he swims around, because when I come in my office he's doing that most of the time... he's the largest shrimp, so kind of easy to identify. I guess maybe he just wants to keep an eye on me...

I've always wanted an aquarium, but felt it was more than I would be able to handle - always seemed so complicated, and I'd hate to kill something because I'm an idiot. You know, girls are bad at math and chemistry, lol...

I suppose that's why the Ecospheres interested me - nothing to do, so can't kill anything, right? But apparently just being in an Ecosphere is unkind to and unhealthy for the shrimp... so now I feel like a prison warden than a caretaker...

I have some very tiny *aquariums* with marimo balls, no bigger than a glass of water, really, the glass containers - those seem to be doing well, have to change their water every two weeks and they are bright green. I am *assuming* they are happy and healthy, of course...

[Varanus]

I'm concerned about my Ecospheres. I have a small round one and a small egg shaped one. Each has 4 shrimp, and the behavior and appearence of the shrimp in each sphere varies GREATLY.

In the round sphere, they are pale or very light pink, and they seem to be ANGRY, or at least agitated. They dart about and don't tolerate other shrimp to be near them, they seem to keep their distance from one another.

The egg shaped sphere, the shrimp are all bright red and they are very *chill*... they happily swim around, but often cluster all together on the bottom and tolerate each other very well, they seem to like being together.

Odd, are they identical in appearance aside from color? As I recall there is a larger, more aggressive species of shrimp found in the same pools (they are not suited to aquarium life though in that nobody has managed to successfully breed them as far as I know), but its unlikely you have any of those.

BTW - I had stumbled across this... its "shrimp sand" but it's black... had not thought about using any color other than natural or white...

https://smile.amazon.com/U-P-Aqua-D-550 ... hrimp+sand

... do these little guys have a preference? I mean, these are Hawaiian shrimp, right? Would they feel more comfortable in a habitat that more closely resembles where they originated? In and around lava?

I don't think the shrimp have a color preference, indeed as adults they seem to have rather poor vision (owing to how they spend a lot of time in dark caverns in the wild and don't really use their eyes for much). That said, I do think the shrimp look nicer on dark substrate, it makes their colors pop more.

However, I would avoid that shrimp sand. Note how its stated to have plant nutrients in it. That may be good for various freshwater shrimp, but the supershrimp prefer very spartan water nutrient conditions. Wood and decaying plant matter as well as nutrients for plants growth are best avoided for them.

In other words go with inert sand, i.e. a brand like Super Naturals.

[shrimpme]

Thanks for the sand tip! Inert, then - ok... good to know...

The shrimp in the round sphere are a bit bigger, I just assumed they were older, perhaps, than the shrimp in the egg shaped sphere. They are definitely cantankerous - but that's probably because they do not like their home. The water in that one is not as clear as in the egg shaped one - it gets cloudy then clears up, but never as crystal clear as the egg shaped sphere. And they do try to avoid each other in the round sphere - if a shrimp gets too close to another, the one that's approached will dart away. In the egg shaped sphere they cluster together a lot. Both spheres are Ecospheres... same company made them...

Its easy to count the ones in the egg shaped sphere - they are frequently together. But in the round one? They are always moving about and trying to keep out of each other's way - I do a morning shrimp count to make sure they are all ok, and it takes forever to count the ones in the round sphere... all that darting about and avoidance... usually by the time I've finished my coffee I will finally spy all four at once, lol...

[shrimpme]

These are the shrimp in their spheres... was pretty easy to snap a pic of them all together at once in the egg shaped sphere... they seem pretty healthy and happy... but took forever to get pic of the ones in the round sphere... they are always on the move, but finally got at least two of them in one shot...

Egg shaped sphere
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lxf1p2dfrrf6u ... 0.jpg?dl=0

Round sphere...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kjvg898wbyixb ... 0.jpg?dl=0

You can see the ones in the round sphere are not quite as bright as the ones in the egg shaped sphere... and these tend to change colors... I've seen them be almost white, translucent... then they pink up again, but they are never a really bright red like the ones in the egg shaped sphere.

I've had both these spheres for about a month now...

[mike.d]

Thanks for the tank advice - is there a good place online to buy things like this? I've been looking at Amazon just to get ideas, because they have a lot of everything in one place...

I'm not sure which country you're in, but Walmart.com has an "Aqua Culture 10-Gallon Glass Aquarium" for under $15. If you're in the US, Petco and PetSmart often tank sales for $1 a gallon. If a 10-gallon is too much they also sell 2.5 gallon and 5 gallon tanks. You can buy these on Amazon, but they're a lot more expensive. Maybe it's the extra cost of shipping glass...

Acrylic can be purchased online. McMaster.com has every shape and size. You can cut it to the size you need. I used the 1/8". It's tough stuff. Google how to cut/snap acrylic. Amazon.com has it too.

I bought my LED from Amazon.com. Search for "NICREW ClassicLED Aquarium Light." I bought the 20" for my 10-gallon. A 48" does the job for my 50 gallon fish tank. They're very bright.