Opae Ula

[aberfitch]

I got my Opae Ula in a couple days ago and I am absolutely loving them. They are such amazing creatures!! I recieved about 27 of them and they are doing real well. Now here is my question. I am liking these guys so much I am tempted to order more!! If ordering again I want to get another 100 or so. What do you think? Should I be happy with what I got and go from there or should I go ahead and order more. I know they are slow producers and I really want a tank full of them asap. so is it the more the merrier or stick to a small tank

[Neonshrimp]

Good to hear that you got the shrimp you have been waiting for. I think you should take your time with the ones you have right now and become more experienced and comfortable with them for a while. I think this will help both you and the shrimp in big way since you will gain knowledge and skills along the way which you can pass on to us The shrimp that come along down the road, be they offspring of the original 27 or shrimp that you later purchase, will benefit from what you have learned.

Be sure to post up some pictures and keep us updated if you please

[aberfitch]

LOL Ok Neonfish I will take your advice. I just need some nudging in a direction. I'm glad you replied if someone else said to get more I think I might just have. Anyways here are some 2nd day pictures.

[zapisto]

good luck with them
i think soon one of my dream will become reality, look like i will have thoose guy sometime soon

[Neonshrimp]

good luck with them
i think soon one of my dream will become reality, look like i will have thoose guy sometime soon

I understand, I feel the same way

[janbee]

I agree with Neoshrimp. Stick with what you have for awhile. In the past when I have increased my supply of the hawaiian reds, I have experienced some loss. I wonder if like fish, these shrimp can introduce new bacteria and parasites into a tank. Perhaps it would be best to set up a separate quarantine tank when you do ge more. Jan

[southerndesert]

Very nice shrimp and photos! Thanks for sharing your experiences....

Bill

[aberfitch]

Today was their first official feeding. I used spirulina to feed them. measuring using the tiniest custom spoon I scooped half and tapped it in the glass. It took them about 5 minutes to figure the food was there and it was like magic after that. One by one they starting swimming upside down and starting to pick and filter feed the surface. It was amazing. later in the evening I noticed them swimming upside down at the top of the tank again. Its is like they are begging for food!!!! They are really relaxed cool and calm.... AMAZING!! since this is only their third day. They must be really happy because they are getting really dark in color.
I picked up another tank yesterday, it was PERFECT. I got it home and started the cycling right away. This is the third Opae Ula tank.. I have set each one up differently to see which habitat is the best for breeding.

[Neonshrimp]

They must be really happy because they are getting really dark in color.

sure is a good sign, best wishes down the road

[Baby_Girl]

great pics and thanks for the update. Please continue to tell us more, as you learn it

One by one they starting swimming upside down and starting to pick and filter feed the surface. It was amazing. later in the evening I noticed them swimming upside down at the top of the tank again.

I have heard that opae ula were 'filter feeders' and that they often eat at the surface. My question is: what would happen if you soak the food first so it sinks? Will they simply lose interest? Is feeding upside-down at the surface really what they prefer in the wild?

[Mustafa]

I have heard that opae ula were 'filter feeders' and that they often eat at the surface. My question is: what would happen if you soak the food first so it sinks? Will they simply lose interest? Is feeding upside-down at the surface really what they prefer in the wild?

Of course that's not how they prefer to feed in the wild. They feed like any other dwarf shrimp...they pick off of surfaces. They are *not* filter feeders. They can actually filter-feed like the large filter shrimp, but display that ability extremely rarely...so rarely in fact that I have only observed it once.

[Baby_Girl]

They feed like any other dwarf shrimp...they pick off of surfaces.

that is what I figured, based on pictures I've seen of them in anchialine pools. They indeed were picking at algae and surfaces just like 'normal' dwarf shrimp I'm used to seeing.

display that ability extremely rarely...so rarely in fact that I have only observed it once.

so does that mean it's preferable to feed them by soaking the spirulina powder first, so that it becomes waterlogged and sinks?

Of course, I don't have the opae yet so I can't give any personal experiences on which feeding method has worked better... yet. While it certainly sounds neat to watch, I don't need to 'train' the shrimp do perform a rare behavior Besides, I know fish can develop swimbladder and digestive problems if continually forced to feed un-naturally at the surface. So maybe ingesting too much air in the floating food will also have detrimental effects on shrimp?

[Baby_Girl]

so does that mean it's preferable to feed them by soaking the spirulina powder first, so that it becomes waterlogged and sinks?

Nevermind, I got that question answered in this thread
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2883&start=15

[Mustafa]

so does that mean it's preferable to feed them by soaking the spirulina powder first, so that it becomes waterlogged and sinks?

Who says they need/have to eat spirulina? Just spirulina is most likely not nutritious enough anyway. You can just give them very small sized sinking fish food pellets (just one is enough) or some flake food that you coax to sink to the ground. You don't even have to do that all that often..maybe every few weeks. If they don't touch the food, that means they have enough to eat in the tank. As long as algae is growing on the glass and other surfaces for them to pick on they will grow and reproduce. I have constantly about 30-70 Larvae floating around in one of my tanks and tons of larvae in the other Opae tanks, too) and the last time I fed that tank was probably about a month ago. I'm pretty sure I have written down how I keep these guys in one of the threads here...maybe have been a year or two ago maybe. The less you do with them, the better. You really, really do not want to overfeed the tank.

[janbee]

Mustafa-Do you sell these shrimp from time to time? Jan