New To The Forum & To Opae Ula

[jpccusa]

Hello there,

I have been reading the forum for a few months now. Today I finally logged in and decided to introduce myself. My name is JP and I live in Orange County, CA. I have kept a large saltwater tank in the past but I got out of that hobby a few years ago. That tank is now being setup for some poison dart frogs.

I have once kept two ghost shrimp in a 2.5 gallons tank. I managed to kill them. Their nano tank has been empty for a while now. Luckily I have found information on the Opae Ula shrimp - I truly hope they are supershrimp! They are perfect for my small tank, they are almost maintenance free (the nano tank is in my work's desk), and they are active and attractive.

I cleaned the nano tank, removed the small filtration system, and removed the water heater. On Monday I made brackish water with RO water and marine salt. Salinity was 1.014. Today I added the water to the tank, which will remain shrimp free until March. I am hoping to purchase shrimp, a few pieces of live rock, and macro algae from Mustafa during Microcosm (March 1st and 2nd, San Diego).

Anyway, I can't wait to start keeping a few of these guys and watching them. Until then, I will continue learning about them and getting setup ideas from other members here.

Talk to you all soon!

[dan d]

Welcome to the forum

We have a similar background as I too use to have a saltwater reef tank setup & then switched over to dart frogs (azures)
Like you I had a few tanks sitting empty & missed not have aquatic pets. When I found out about these super shrimp I had to try them ! So far I am very happy with them & the more I see & learn, the happier I am with these shrimp !
Dan

[Mustafa]

Welcome to the forumm, JP! Shrimp keeping in general is more difficult than people imagine. But this species is as foolproof as they come when the instructions on this website are followed. I'm pretty sure you're going to enjoy them.

[jpccusa]

Update: The tank set idle until one week ago (02/18/13), when I added 27 Opae Ula that I got from a local person leaving the hobby.

The previous owner fed the shrimp 100% spirulina from Fuku-Bonsai on 02/17/13. After being added to my tank, the shrimp swam around for a couple of days then disappeared into the rocks/shells/decoration. Now it has been one week and they are still hiding.

Worried I had killed them all, today I turned their tank around and saw them alive, red, and apparently well (moving/darting for cover).

I read in another thread that they may be hiding due to unfavorable water parameters. I don't know if that is the case since I do not have live rocks or plants in the tank (no amonia spike?). I am contemplating doing a major water change (75%) to see if they become more active. Something I am thinking is that they could just be digesting their full guts (no need to graze). Could that be the case? Is one week too soon to take any action?

The tank has gravel, plastic plants, shells, coral skeletons, black lava rock, and a resin pirate boat that holds all the rubble towards the back. The water was made with RO and Instant Ocean. SG is 1.014. Temperature is between 60 and 75 (night and day at the office). Please see picture.

[KenCotigirl]

I do not know the reason for them to hide. I would check for ammonia and nitrite to be on the safe side. I am assuming the test kits were not thrown out when you started with the frogs. Most aquarium people hoard their old equipment at least I do. Maybe the waterscape material is an issue. I lost freshwater shrimp when I added a resin rockscape. If all the water parameters are ok the 75% water change may cause more problems than just waiting. With these shrimps patience is rewarded.

[jpccusa]

I sold my test kits. Will try to get a cheap one somewhere.
Anyhow, I will follow your suggestion and wait to see if they come out of hiding once they get hungry again.
(I just found my AmQuel+ and dosed that accordingly. Hopefully if it is a case of nitrate, nitrite, or ammonia it will be taken care of. If not, no harm no foul).

[jpccusa]

WOW... After only a couple of hours of dosing AmQuel+, I already started seeing shrimp swimming around.
I just hope I didn't lose any or that they are swimming in order to find a more oxygenated area (AmQuel+ reduces the dissolved oxygen).



Perhaps it should be part of their care sheet (hinting Mustafa here ) - if the shrimp is not moving around, check your water parameters since these tough shrimp will hide under unfavorable conditions.

[jpccusa]

Got home and prepared another batch of water. This time I used distilled (just in case my RO has a problem). SPecific gravity again is around 1.014 and I'll leave it aerating overnight. I'll take the water to work tomorrow (where my shrimp are) and will start doing slow water changes throughout the day(s).

[jpccusa]

Shrimp are hiding again. #baffled.
Not sure what to do and hoping experienced members will give their opinions.
I am afraid of doing water changes and stressing out the shrimp. I am not even sure if the water is the problem since AmQuel+ supposedly would take care of the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc. I am not even sure if water quality is the issue.
I do not know if shrimp have died. They were originally 27 but now I can only see about 3 or 4 at the time (they get into the shells and rocks, etc.).
I am thinking about waiting until next week to see what happens. I hope they'll be okay until then.

[KenCotigirl]

I vote for leaving things alone for a week. I would still buy the ammonia and nitrite test kits. I realize it is another $15-20 to spend but it is good to have. Something in the tank could be causing an ammonia spike and the Amquel+ only removes or binds so much. Buy and do the tests at the least for piece of mind.

[jpccusa]

Today I added an air stone. I read here http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html that the nitrifying bacteria needs dissolved oxygen in order to work. Air can't hurt, right?
After just a few minutes after adding the air stone I saw a couple of shrimp swimming around. Again, I think they are just curious. Now they are back hiding.
Just before I leave them alone for the weekend, I measured Ammonia and Nitrite.
Ammonia is at 0.50 and nitrite is at about 0.20 (less than 0.25 and more than 0).
I will measure again on Monday unless someone here tells me they need a water change ASAP.

Tomorrow I will hear Mustafa giving a talk at Microcosm in San Diego. Looking forward to that.

[KenCotigirl]

Ammonia and nitrite is no good. They need to be zero. Water change 20% maybe more. Can your Amquel+ be used at higher levels? What does the label say? Do another ammonia and nitrite test before you do anything. Easier to test than to fiddle. This message maybe too late.

[Rob in Puyallup]

The ammonia and nitrite levels sound very high to me. A big partial water change would make perfect sense, the sooner, the better, (like yesterday!!). Some Seachem "Prime", as I've written elsewhere, should be added as well as it converts ammonia to ammonium, which is much less toxic to critters, will detoxify the nitrite, as well.

Seems to me that the source for the ammonia needs to be discovered. Is there a catbox near the tank?

I have both a dual-sponge filter and a hang on tank (HOT) filter on my first 10 gallon Opae Ula tank. My other, older, Bookshelf tank also has a HOT filter. It's set to barely trickle. The opae ula are constantly swimming around in both tanks.

If you should attach some sort of filter on your tank consider putting a small packet of Purigen in it. It'll adsorbs many of the toxins, like ammonia, nitrites as well as metals.

Once your problems are resolved you can always remove the filters.

[jpccusa]

I am baffled. The tank was setup using RO water, I have no filtration, all rocks, decoration, etc. were clean before adding to the tank, etc.
The tank set idle for one month before adding anything live, which was the 27 shrimp. No live plants or anything else. In one month, there was no formation of algae on the tank glass or anything. I was certain the tank was ready for shrimp.
My only guess would be that the RO filters need to be replaced.
Anyhow, I made one gallon of brackish water a couple of days ago using distilled water. I will make a big water change ASAP (1g out of 1.5 g).
The AmQuel+ can be used in higher doses since any excess that is not used just remains in the tank until it is needed (source: http://www.kordon.com/kordon/products/w ... tabilities!)
The tank is in my office. No other animals around.

[Harry]

I had this ammonia problem when I added rocks. Apparently, the problem was with the rocks. They had live matter that died off and created ammonia. Where did your rocks come form? Could they have had algae or micro-organisms growing?

Before removing the rocks, I decided to do water changes. I also added a few drops of Instant Ocean Bio-Spira. Bio-Spira has several strains of beneficial bacteria. Within about 2 days of daily water changes and the addition of Bio-Spira, the ammonia went to zero. The shrimp are out and about, very active.