Shrimp and aquarium dummy

[shrimpme]

Thank you for the info on what and where to buy... Very helpful - and I am in the USA...

The shrimp in my round Ecosphere look a luittle redder this morning... thinking maybe they slept well, lol... it's very quiet in my office, so not a lot to disturb them... but they are swimming about a lot while the ones in my egg shaped Ecosphere are just hanging out... those are bright red, as usual...

[Mustafa]

Welcome to the Supershrimp world! Looks like your questions were answered expertly. Have you gotten around to setting up your tank yet?

[crittersni]

Hello again! Been off of this site for a while. Read your past posts.

My opinion? Colors and design should be pleasing to you. The shrimp won't care as long as the materials are safe, and they feel safe, with places to hide. I've looked at pictures of "natural" environments and have been jealous of the absolute beauty of them.

I chose brightly colored aquarium décor. Different colors, different textures, and lots of places to hide.

I'd cycle the tank per the instructions for a few weeks. When you're ready to add shrimp, add them from one of the ecospheres first. Include some of the water and materials that already have microorganisms in them to help fuel your new tank. Maybe a pet shop can help you get them out of the ecospheres. If they do well for a couple of weeks, then add the rest. If they all do well together for a couple more weeks, then introduce some of Mustafa's shrimp if you want more. If you have difficulty at any point, it gives you time to figure it out instead of putting them all at risk right away.

You're in the hard part now. Once you have it set up right, they're easy to maintain. You'll do great!

[nightsmusic]

I read often but rarely post however, I thought I'd tell you my experience with my Ecospheres and 'setting them free'...

I had one left in one Ecosphere and two left in my daughter's and I felt so bad for them! So I followed a lot of the information here, but didn't want a huge tank set up (I have three Nerite snails in a three gallon tank and I think they're immortal!) so I used a half gallon jar that has a cork lid that 'almost' fits, meaning it doesn't seal, just sits on the jar.

I went to my local aquarium shop and got a gallon bag of brackish water from one of his well established tanks, set up my jar using Carib Sea for the base. It's also what I use for my snails so I had a huge bag of the stuff. I let it sit for a week or so in a fairly sunny spot until the algae started growing, and then carefully freed my shrimp. I pried the plug out of the bottom and tipped them into a bowl with most of the water from the orb. The rest of the water, the rocks and other flotsam from their orbs went in the jar and I also managed to remove the inert brown twig looking things and add those to the jar as well, then tipped the shrimp into the jar and plopped the cork on. Put it back in that same sunny spot and left it alone.

It's been almost a year now and they're reproducing at a surprising rate so I think, unfortunately, I'm going to have to go with a bigger set up after all. I don't feed them anything at all, the sun makes enough algae grow to support them. They seem happy. They're active, they hang out together and I love watching them.

Anyway, just thought you'd be interested in someone who had gone through the process.

[crittersni]

I've been told, by this site and by friends with tanks, that some fish will breed beyond tank capacity but that these shrimp will not. They can happily live with a large number of them in close proximity.

[shrimpme]

Free at last...!!!

My Ecosphere shrimp have been set free...!!! Interesting story, all happened rather unexpectedly. I kept debating over what type of home to get for them... and the holidays rolled in and I kept getting side tracked... but a couple of weeks ago, I was cleaning up around my desk and dusting around the Ecospheres when the round Ecosphere accidentally got knocked up against the marimo ball glass aquarium that was next to it - and the Ecosphere ACTUALLY CRACKED...!!! BTW - what FLIMSY GLASS they make those Ecospheres out of... it was NOT a hard knock into the marimo container, it was just a tap, really...

At any rate, it was an emergency time - thankfully the sphere didn't shatter, but it was leaking so I scrambled for a plastic bowl. I put the sphere in the bowl and gently tapped the area where the glass was cracked, didn't take much it fell apart, but all shrimp survived!

I transferred the shrimp and the contents of the Ecosphere into a glass container and help my breath - they didn't die! So far, so good... and today I finally got up the nerve to set free the shrimp from my other Ecosphere. I put them in a different container for now, to see how they do. Eventually I'll combine the two containers when I get them all proper home.

It's amazing how much better the ones that won their freedom a couple of weeks ago are now doing! TOTALLY different creatures. I hope the ones I set free today will be ok - there were 4, but sadly only 3 survived. I put the 4th one in the new container with the others, wasn't sure if maybe he was just stunned. But, apparently not - the other three shrimp IMMEDIATELY started to FEAST on his body! So - it IS true, shrimp in Ecospheres slowly STARVE TO DEATH... that's just CRUEL... no wonder the shrimp in that Ecosphere were so *chill* - no food, no energy...

At any rate, I will eventually get them a proper home, but for now, they are happy in the glass containers... and at least they can get some air and I can feed them so they will no longer have to worry about starving to death...

[Ula Hula]

Hi. I just want to say I hope you do free the shrimp from the ecospheres soon. I first got interested in opaes when my sister bought a sphere. I read up on them and set up a 5-gallon tank with 25 shrimp for myself. I then sent supplies to my sister so she could spring her captives. They survived and are doing well in their new, bigger home -- one that actually gets air and has a clump of algae and lava rock crevices for them to hang out in. They are hardy and it shouldn't be too hard to transfer them into a better home. Good luck!

[crittersni]

I love a happy ending!! Good for you!