Another Ecosphere Rescue

[alexinmadison]

Hi all! @Mustafa, thank you for hosting this page. I found you through Rus at Aquarimax.

I received an Ecosphere for Christmas last year and quickly learned about how cruel they are to the shrimp. It didn’t take long before I set up a tank and freed them from their tiny universe. I mostly used YouTube vids to learn everything and now wish I’d landed here first!

Here’s my current concern... overall the tank is doing well. They haven’t bred yet but the tank has been relatively stable with the exception of a blue algae that concerned me. Eventually, I cleaned the tank to remove as much of the blue algae as I could and that seemed to work. However, about a month ago we had a crazy hot spell in Madison and now I have a MASSIVE brown algae bloom in the tank. The shrimp seem to be enjoying it but I’m worried about the amount. Is there ever too much algae in an Opae’Ula tank? Would it benefit the shrimp if I cleaned the glass? I know I would prefer it as the algae is inhibiting my view of the little guys and it also makes my tank look filthy. What can I tell you... I like a pretty tank. LOL

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Dch48]

Get a small Nerite snail. The Horned ones seem perfect for a small tank. They love to eat brown algae and will have most of that cleaned up in short order. Just make sure to gradually acclimate the snail to the brackish water and it will do fine. I actually think they prefer it.

[alexinmadison]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[Vorteil]

One thing to consider and think about is are you feeding the tank? The amount of alge is also based off much much food or nutrients are present in the tank to feed it. If you don't feed then it should always stay in balance. If you are feeding the amount of algae will continue to grow. How big is your current tank? That may determine how many snails you should have. Also keep in mind the snails you do add will take care of the alage but they will produce waste which in turn will feed the alage which will start the cycle all over again.

[alexinmadison]

2 gallon tank. I only feed them once a month, if that, and then just a single sinking pellet. They have that green hairy-looking algae that they eat and then they just sort of pick around the tank. My fresh water take developed the same bloom. I can clean that easier and also treat it with a very weak hydrogen peroxide “bomb” combined with a period of limited light. Not sure I can do the same for the shrimp and didn’t want to assume.

[Dch48]

I have a one gallon tank with 16 shrimp (2 are berried right now) and a Horned Nerite snail in it. I had some brown algae and even some green spots develop as the tank was maturing. Then I put the shrimp in and a few days later, the snail. My tank now has no visible algae of any kind except for the macro stuff that is slowly growing. I can only see a small amount of clear film on the lava rock and sea fan decorations. I get worried the shrimp don't have enough food and I wind up putting a tiny amount of Spirulina powder in about every ten days. They get very active and start grazing everywhere after the powder goes in. I know some people never put any food in their tanks but I have a real hard time resisting. I would like to think it is the reason why I have berried females after only 6 weeks of them being introduced when most have reported it took much longer for them to see any signs of eggs being carried.

I would avoid putting chemicals of any kind in there.

[Super Jess]

The brown algae won't harm them, but you should refrain from feeding until it's gone. Scrape it off the front of your tank if you want--the shrimp will just eat it up wherever it lands! Don't do the H2O2 bomb.

[Vorteil]

I forgot to mention that be careful with what you feed. What food is the pellat? I've never fed any food that was protein based. I've stayed away from those and at the time I did feed it was only pure spirulina powder. Hair algae is what you want to avoid. The Opae Ula will not eat that or I've never seen mine eat hair algae. The brown alage should eventuallt turn to green. Can you post pics of your tank? What's the light cycle?

[alexinmadison]

The green hair-like algae is what came in the ecosphere. I’m sure it’s fine. The pellets are shrimp specific and don’t have protein. I was providing about 10-12 hours of LED light a day plus they get very indirect sunlight for most of the day. I stopped providing additional light when the algae bloom got so bad. I’m going to buy a horned nerite for both my shrimp and freshwater tanks. I can always take the shrimp out after the algae is under control.

[Mustafa]

Do you have a picture of your tank? In most cases you just stop feeding and wait for your tank to normalize. In the meantime you clean your glass so you can see your shrimp. As SuperJess mentioned, the shrimp will eat the algae that falls off the glass. The macroalgae sold here helps with the nutrient export too and may accelerate the process. I wouldn't undertake drastic measures beyond that.