New shrimp

[cspina]

yes the lids is able to be removed. We were told when we bought the containers that we did not have to do anything accept open and add water if it evaporated. No food, nothing, all self contained. After 6 months there was maybe an evaporation of 1 tbls. Which I replaced when I opened and put in the new shrimp. The 2 of them were defiantly fighting. I just went and looked at a video on mating and the one shrimp may have been trying to mate with the other. I keep coming up with more questions. What does the coloring mean. The one I had was a beautiful red. The news ones I rec'd from here are clear. I am noticing a little more red in the clear ones since I have had them. I know they can change colors but what makes them change? Something in the water? more light? less light? I actually like the clear ones vs my red one as I can tell them apart. What makes them male or female? do they change sex or are they unisex. thanks again.

[Varanus]

They have sexes, the main way to tell a female is that when mature they often have a dark mass in their body (developing eggs). As for coloring, they tend to darken as they acclimate to a new environment (getting pale when stressed), though color can also change with age/over time.

[cspina]

Thank you very much. so the goal is RED shrimp. If they are turning colors than they are happy shrimp. good to know.

[Vorteil]

The Opae Ula come in several different colors. Some may be white, pink, red, orange, yellow, or striped white/red, pink/white. I believe when stressed the colors can get duller but should come back. I don't think you can get the shrimp to get any redder than it originally is. Make sense?

Red vs. Pink

White

[Varanus]

They also can naturally change color as they grow and age.

[crittersni]

The advice to place it near a window is good, but only for indirect (shaded light). You do not want it in direct sunlight, as that may overheat the water.

Read (and reread) the how to set up a tank info on this website, especially since you've been doing it and it's not all new and overwhelming anymore. You'll likely pick up some tips that you may have missed the first time around.

I'm glad your shrimp are adjusting well.

[Vorteil]

@Varanus
I didn't know that. Good to know.

I think it's good to just figure out what works best for you. I have a quart & half gallon jar that I keep near a window. I feed a few times at the begining to jump start it and to give the algae a food souce which was the shrimps waste. Other than that it just sits there. I open the lid once a week and evaporation is minimal. The quart jars produces babies and not the half gallon has a berried female. I don't clean the sides. As you can see there's biofilm and algae present in both.