My Opae Ula are dying for an unknown reason

[KiwiCordell]

I have a 2 gallon set which I had established about 2 years ago.
In the past week, I have had numerous deaths for no reason. First it was about 5, then 3, then 2 and today another one.
I have not added anything new to my setup.

I really have been looking for a specific coral which no one knows the name of. They look like white coral sticks with black rings.

Anywho, I have attached a pic of my setup (nothing special).

Thanks in advance!

[JDillon]

I would suggest removing the sea fan and getting some macro algae. I’m not seeing any lava rocks in your tank either. Stress, toxins or lack of food could be the cause. Examine the ones that are dying and the ones still living to see if they are getting enough food. If you can’t see a black spot indicating they are eating I would start giving them a tiny bit of spiralina every week or other week. My tank is healthy and I still feed them weekly.

[sliphorn]

..
I agree with JDillon. A pile of lava rocks would help give them some shelter. Definitely get some macroalgae from this site and get rid of the sea fan too. Is that coral in the foreground? I ask because you need a pH buffer and coral should do the trick. Do you ever feed? And the stopper. Do you ever remove it?
..

[shrimpy4]

I agree with the above posters. It looks like a bit of a desert/wasteland unfortunately. No craggy rocky surfaces for algae or bacteria to grow, no areas for the shrimp to hide and de-stress from excessive stimulation, and no obvious pH buffers (coral, calcium carbonate rocks, etc.). Without enough pitted surfaces for algae and bacteria to grow though they would also run out of food, especially if you’re not occasionally feeding. The shrimp are very hardy so they may have just been living to the point the environment finally got unsustainable.

Definitely pick up some macroalgae from Mustafa, and get some lava rock and coral or calcium carbonate rocks to stack up and put in there. I would also suggest not keeping it airtight stoppered. With evaporation I think the addition of the clean fresh distilled water is probably the closest we get to water changes.

[KiwiCordell]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. The sea fan was part of ecosphere I purchased 4 years ago, so I know it's not the sea fan. I know my tank looks barren becuz I have been looking for white and black coral "sticks".

I did send an email to Mustafa about the macroalgae and was planning on purchasing some along with more Opae & salt so I can replace 90% of the water.
I also was going to get some lava rocks.

I do keep the stopper on there and I feed them 1 or 2 fish flakes every 3 months.
So I should take the stopper off completely?

[JDillon]

I would still remove the sea fan. Without any algae or anything growing in your tank it’s likely breaking down and polluting your water. I bought one when I first started my tank and didn’t have a lot of algae and I lost two shrimps. So I removed mine and instead bought a small fish tank castle and put lava rocks around it and don’t really miss it at all. With the algae growing I could put it back but don’t want to take the chance.

I’d also note that these guys don’t like water changes at all. I would also not use fish flakes the powdered spiralina powder works best. I think Vorteil’s recommendation of a Spiralina powder from Hawaii is best as it’s got all the minerals naturally in it and no synthetics. Think it’s made by Nutrex? I’d also start feeding them every week or other week till the algae forms. I still feed mine a tiny amount once every week. I think of it as medicine for them and so far they are pretty healthy.

Definitely leave the topper off so you can get some fresh air in there too. As nasty stuff is released from the water as a gas keeping the topper on traps it making the environment even more toxic.

[KiwiCordell]

So I did purchase the Opae Ula for from Shrimp Bubble.

Again, everyone, thank you for all the advice!

[KiwiCordell]

I had another Opae pass away today, unfortunately this one had berries. Should I leave it in the tank becuz of the berries or not?

Any info is greatly appreciated!

[roygbiv]

Do you have any test strips that would indicate if amonia levels are safe? Just trying to narrow down the variables.

[JDillon]

I’d leave it in the tank. The babies may hatch? If not they will become food for the algae and other things in the tank.

Here is a picture of my tank. I’d strongly recommend you get rid of the sea fan.

[KiwiCordell]

I don't have any test strips and I have removed the sea fan.

I love your set up, how do you keep it so clean? I have a magnet scrubber I use to clean the sides with.

[JDillon]

I don’t ever clean it. Between the snails and the shrimps they keep it clean. I still feed them every week a teeny tiny amount of spiralina powder. I have the Malaysian Trumpet Snails and so far they haven’t been a problem. I do see a bunch of babies growing and I like to watch them too. The algae sucks up any excess nutrients and so it all balances itself out. Tanks do cycle and I had a ton of brown algae at first, then the green algae. Water was hazy for about two weeks when I added some new shrimps from petsmart but it cleared up. Saw this happen when I had a freshwater tank years ago, so no biggie. Since then no issues with cloudiness or algae buildup. My tank is now nicely balanced and the shrimps are happy.

I bought my initial shrimps and startup kit from a seller on eBay. Think you can still find it on there. Once my tank was going I then bought more Shrimps from Petshrimp, including the moss ball, which floats around my tank. Hoping it will eventually sink to the floor but have pretty much given up on that as it’s been like that since I got it 2months ago. The light is a bio orb mini light which was expensive but worth it as it has a timer and runs for 12 hrs as long as the power doesn’t go out. I just hot glued it to the lid of my cheap 1 gallon jar I got from Walmart. It’s a bit stronger than I like but the shrimps still come out so think it’s good. The castle I purchased at the petsmart. It was tiny but the curved jar makes it look bigger. I liked the fact that it was hollow underneath so I could stack the rocks up around it to make a dark cave for the shrimps to hide from the light. Overall, I think it looks good. I do plan on getting some long tweezers as I have noticed the macro algae getting a bit big and some little pieces have grown so I’m going to use those to fish out the unwanted algae. My tank is 5 months old now and hoping for babies in another month or two if not sooner. Saw some molts a couple weeks back. So hoping!

[Dch48]

They are selling Opaes at Pet Smart?

[JDillon]

Nope just fish tank decorations. Got some opae from Petshrimp and off of a seller on eBay.

[KiwiCordell]

Thanks to all the advice from Mustafa and everyone, I have gotten rid of the sea fan and added lava rocks.

I kinda made it look like a cave and the new & old shrimps love it.
I'm thinking about getting a medium lava rock & add macroalgae to look like a mountain, then put the smaller rocks around the bottom to look like caves.
Just an idea.

Again, thanks to everyone for the great advice!
Diana