My Ecospherians are 21

[hb5280]

Thanks to the depth of information on this site and forum, I don't have any questions at the moment, just trepidation. I bought an Ecosphere in January of 1993, yet just learned the truth about them last week. I have opened the seal, giving the two last shrimp their first fresh air, water and food in 21 years! I have setup a 12 gallon tank and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Mustafa's supershrimp macroalgae. I will be buying his supershrimp as well, to keep the two old-timers company. Please wish me luck in giving them friends in their twilight hours.

[tooth]

Welcome to the forum, and good luck!

[KenCotigirl]

Amazing! 21 years! What was the size of the ecosphere? How many opae were in it when you first got it? Always thought the 20 year life span was a myth. A tale repeated but not documented(at least not that i am aware of). They have only been described since 1963 and who was keeping them for long term research. Sorry off topic.

Good luck with the two old timers and the newbees yet to arrive. I await to hear of a booming colony.

Ken

[hb5280]

The ecosphere is the round 5.5" inch one. There were, I think, 7 shrimp to start plus a snail. The snail died almost right away. Up until a few years ago, there were 4 shrimp. The two remaining are crazy small. I'd guess 1/4-inch.

When we got the ecosphere we were living on Long Island (NY) but we moved to Colorado a few years later. When we broke the seal on the globe, air rushed in (or maybe out??) and tiny air bubbles were all over the glass. I was worried the sudden pressure change would kill the shrimp but they are fine. One has taken on some decent color but the other is pale pink and skinny in comparison. I've crushed a micro-pellet of fish food and sprinkled it on their water, but have had to use a q-tip to remove it both times. They don't seem to recognize the food as food. The little piece of algae that came with the ecosphere must be enough. They hang out on/under it a lot.

Thanks for the welcome and good luck wishes.
Happy New Year!

[KenCotigirl]

I would not feed. Wait till the macroalgae arrives. That will provide some food for quite a while. Feeding two shrimp that did not have much to eat for twenty years may cause more problems.

Keep us updated on their progress.

[Mustafa]

Wow..thanks for letting us know about your shrimp, hb! That's really amazing, considering they were in a tiny, sealed container. Ken, the 20+ years is not a myth...the info comes directly from Scott Santos at Auburn University who knows people in Hawaii who have/had been keeping *the same* shrimp (they apparently never bred) in something like a 1/2 gallon jar (not sealed..they got food) since the 80s until at least the 2000s. I'll have to dig up some old emails from Scott to see if those shrimp are still around. So, apparently 20+ literally means 20+ years. We have a second source now! We still don't know what their maximum lifespan is. Maybe it's 30? 40? Who knows? This species is truly amazing! That's a really long life for such a small species, especially considering that they don't sleep (i.e. active 24/7).

For the sake of research I almost want hb to keep those two surviving shrimp separate from other shrimp he/she may purchase (so we can see how much older they can get), although I do think the shrimp may appreciate some company.

[hb5280]

Just an update. The two supershrimp are still in the original glass sphere. I gave them a few strands of Mustafa's macroalgae but don't feed them. I used a straw to siphon off some of the white detritus twice. Replacement water comes from a 12-gallon tank that I set up for some other shrimp (where two days ago I noticed baby shrimp). I use distilled water to compensate for evaporation. That's it. They seem content.

[KenCotigirl]

Thanks for the update hb. Glad to hear all is well.

Ken

[Mustafa]

Thank you *so* much for the update. This is incredibly valuable information. Keep the updates coming! The few strands of my macroalgae you give them probably are enough food for them. I doubt the macroalgae are going to survive without any nutrients in there, so the (slowly) decaying macro will provide food for the shrimp or at least nutrients for some biofilm. At least that's my theory.

[hb5280]

I doubt the macroalgae are going to survive without any nutrients in there, so the (slowly) decaying macro will provide food for the shrimp or at least nutrients for some biofilm. At least that's my theory.

I forget when your macroalgae arrived, Mustafa, maybe March of last year? It's still green, which I assume means it's alive. The two shrimp don't pay much attention to it. The only other "food" I have given them is a molt that I siphoned out of my big tank.

The glass had gotten rather thickly covered with algae so I put one small pipipi snail in with them. It's been months and the glass is slowly getting cleaned. I just hope that one pipipi doesn't spew offspring as that seems to have happened in my big tank. — Holly

[JasonG3333]

That is truly amazing! And welcome to the Started-With-Ecosphere-Shrimp Club! I had my Ecosphere for 6 years before freeing the shrimp and delving into this hobby. It's been about 2 years since, and they are still doing well. Just follow the tank set-up instructions that Mustafa provides on this site. Like you're considering, I eventually added more shrimp so that they would have company. One of the Ecosphere shrimp, which I am still able to identify amongst all the other shrimp due to particular markings/colorings that she has, even produced offspring! Looks like the Ecosphere bloodline shall continue into the future and beyond! Yes!

[Mech]

after reading this topic i really am amazed at how tough these little buggers are!

[Mustafa]

[
I forget when your macroalgae arrived, Mustafa, maybe March of last year? It's still green, which I assume means it's alive. The two shrimp don't pay much attention to it. The only other "food" I have given them is a molt that I siphoned out of my big tank.

The glass had gotten rather thickly covered with algae so I put one small pipipi snail in with them. It's been months and the glass is slowly getting cleaned. I just hope that one pipipi doesn't spew offspring as that seems to have happened in my big tank. — Holly

Yeah...I forgot when I sent you the macroalgae, too. But yes...it's a pretty tough plant that can stay alive for a very long time under very low nutrient conditions. It just won't take over your tank. As for your snail...since it's a nerite snail you don't have to worry about it reproducing. They can lay a bunch of eggs, but the "veligers" that hatch are tiny (pretty much invisible to most naked eyes) and don't have the food (and salinity) they need to survive and grow. They usually die within a day or so. Do you have pictures of the snails that you think have reproduced in your big tank? Those for sure aren't nerve/pipipi snails if you have young.

[hb5280]

Image is a little fuzzy. This is a snail in my big tank.

I dropped a few videos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/1066349041 ... shrimpTank#

Thanks for taking a look and for all the advice already. — Holly

[Mustafa]

Hi Holly,

That snail is definitely a nerite snail. By the way, your videos link is doesn't work.