Opae ulas passive in new tank! HELP!!!

[Keysuri]

Hi everyone!!! I am complitely new to shrimp topic and to aquariums too. I was shopping online on Thanksgiving and an ad about those ecoshperes popped up, I was so naive to believe that they are fine there and I got so excited and ordered one. That night I started reading more about them and learned how awful it is and as I do not know anything about it I decided that it would be easier just to cancel my order. I tried to but they could not. So in a couple of days I got this baseball size ecoshpere with 4 tiny shrimps. I did not want to go to a store and return them because we all know that noone cares about things in stores, everything falls, everything breaks and I feel that I am in charge of those tiny creatures. So I decided to buy a tank. I read a lot and how to set up a new tank too but I still do not understand many things. So we set up a 5 gallon tank, waited a couple of weeks, then yesterday we made a test, it showed that salinity (used instant salt from a pet store for making brackish water), Ph, Alcalinity, Nitrite, Nitrate, Ammonia is okay. Hardness was just a little bit more that "exellent" but still ok. We opened the ecosphere and put in into the water so the water mixed and shrimps moved to a new home. At first they turned grey (they used to be pink) and they were very active running all the time. 24 hours passed and now they are not that active, most of the time they sit, then they move to a different place and sit there for some time. They are really pale right now, like pale pink. There are 4 of them there. I did not put any additional food there but we have 2 floating moss balls there, 1 marimo ball and there were also 2 tiny pieces of algae that move from the ecoshpere with the water (it can barely be seen). I am afraid that my shrimps are suffering and that is why they got so passive because it seems to me that they were running all the time when they lived in the ecoshpere. Wanted to buy some more shrimps and snails too but I want to see that I am doing everything right.
Can you help me? Thank you!

[Keysuri]

I forgot to write... used good filtered drinking water (not tap water or anything). The temperature in the house is 76 degrees so the water temp is probably ok. Just checked ammonia again - perfect result. All four of them are alive but sit in their places and do not move a lot (nor running or swimming). I am really worried!

[Mech]

If you have used the correct amount of salt in your new tank, i would just wait it out. They will turn pink again when they get used to the different salinity of water they now live in. you wont need to feed the shrimp as 4 is a small number and there will be plenty of food for them growing in the tank. If i move mine from tank to tank they can be pale/grey for weeks.

sit back and relax, make sure nothing contaminates your water e.g. dont use cleaning products on the tank walls, always make sure your hands are clean and soap free before putting them in the tank etc.

any more questions then just ask.

[Varanus]

Would ordinary moss balls do well in brackish water? I'm not sure you should have them in there.

Otherwise though, I agree you should wait and see. One reason the shrimp may not be moving much is that they no longer need to because there is so much food. They may also simply be taking time to adjust to having so much more space. Provided they stay healthy you may want to buy some more shrimp from Mustafa. In a larger space they might be more comfortable in a larger group, or more active due to competition for food.

Oh, and just to confirm, the salt you used is salt meant for marine aquariums right? There is salt sold at pet shops as a health aid for freshwater fish, but this is not the salt the shrimp need.

[Keysuri]

Mech and Varanus, thank you for your replies!!!!! The salt I used is Marine Salt - Instant Ocean (purple package), the salitiny is 1.008 which I suppose is okay. Moss balls and marimo balls are usually used in fresh water but they can all survive in mid-end brackish water too. At first I was afraid to add them, I did not want them to die but they are blooming they look really good and even spread their "leaves" they look really good, I will post pictures, the aquarium is my pride now
The shrimps changed their behavior, they still do not run and swim a lot BUT they dig! They dig all the time. I have black sand there (I thought that it is closer to their natural envirnoment) so most of the time they sit on the sand and dig sometimes even together as if they were trying to find some treasure at some point my husband and I were afraid that they were so hungry that they were looking for food so we had a temptation to feed them a bit (I read that you need to give a small amount,wait a couple of minutes and then remove the rest) but we decided to wait.
I know that we need more shrimps but I was afraid that we would move them from the coshpere and they would die right away so we decided to wait a couple of days to see if they survive. They did survive but their behaviour... I feel so responsible for what I am dooing because I do not want any creature to suffer just for my pleasure or fun.
We want to buy more shrimps, probably 20, but we also need snails badly because we do not run the filter not to stress shrimps but there is a film (not thin actually!) on the surface, soone need to eat it and clean the walls too!

Oh and now they became more pink!

[Keysuri]

That's the original ecoshpere

Digging

[Mech]

When you see them digging, the shrimp pick up the sand and roll it around and eat the biofilm off it, mine do this and sometimes pick up sand and swim around with it. If they are ok after a few days i would suggest all is well in your tank.

[Varanus]

(I read that you need to give a small amount,wait a couple of minutes and then remove the rest)

You do feed a small amount (and with just a few shrimp plus those plants you may not need to feed for a long time) but when you do feed it is fine to leave the food in for a few hours before removing it. Unlike fish, it can take a while for them to finish it.

I know that we need more shrimps but I was afraid that we would move them from the coshpere and they would die right away so we decided to wait a couple of days to see if they survive. They did survive but their behaviour... I feel so responsible for what I am dooing because I do not want any creature to suffer just for my pleasure or fun.

Given your description it is unlikely they are suffering. What would be troubling is if they were frantically swimming around for long periods of time (or, alternatively, having trouble moving at all), as this indicates they find their environment stressful in some way. If you do see such behavior though don't panic right away as these shrimp can be drama queens and stress out for a while without any health problems (mine may panic for hours when I add water or move anything around in the tank but always calm down).

We want to buy more shrimps, probably 20, but we also need snails badly because we do not run the filter not to stress shrimps but there is a film (not thin actually!) on the surface, soone need to eat it and clean the walls too!

Its quite interesting to watch the snails eat from the surface, they can cling right to the still surface tension (for a while at least) and eat paths through the film.

Oh and now they became more pink!

That's another sign of health and that they are becoming more comfortable. Course some individuals are naturally pale or white so don't worry if they don't color up.

[Keysuri]

Hi again! Yesterday one of the shrimps lost its exoskeleton. I read they do this in ecosphere when they do not get enough food. Is it true or sometimes they do it for no reason? Does it mean they do not have food? So anyway I gave each of them a piece of Crab Cuisine, let them they eat a couple of minutes (Unfortunately, at that point I did not see you reply, Varanus! Or I would have left food for a hour or so) and then removed it, and they became so hyper active and were running and swimming all the time. S now I do not know if they were hungry or frightened!

[Varanus]

Hi again! Yesterday one of the shrimps lost its exoskeleton. I read they do this in ecosphere when they do not get enough food. Is it true or sometimes they do it for no reason? Does it mean they do not have food? So anyway I gave each of them a piece of Crab Cuisine, let them they eat a couple of minutes (Unfortunately, at that point I did not see you reply, Varanus! Or I would have left food for a hour or so) and then removed it, and they became so hyper active and were running and swimming all the time. S now I do not know if they were hungry or frightened!

They can become hyper for a while over food. Another way to tell they are stressed is to see if darker colored ones become paler. If the dark ones are still dark then it should be fine. They were probably just reacting to the food and then the food being removed.

As for the exoskeleton, I think you might have misunderstood what you read. Yes they can get smaller when they shed in the ecosphere due to not enough food for growth, but shedding itself is a normal part of life for any crustacean. Its how they grow and heal, among other things. You'll see the shed skins occasionally, and in my tank at least they vanish before long (either the shrimp or the snails eat the shed skin to gain minerals from it).

[KenCotigirl]

Keysuri glad you found this forum. My comments to new shrimpers is be patient. Buy a amonia and nitrite kit. Test your water. Testing will keep you busy. Buy a the smallest bottle of Prime to remove chlorine, chloramine, amonia and nitrites. If your shrimp are not dying great. Do not feed. Avoid changes.

Shrimp seem to molt when introduced to new environments. They are also often pale and stay pale for a short time. New shrimp may be very active for a short time in the beginning and then hide for a period of time. Give them a few weeks. Resist the urge to make changes. All should turn out fine in a month.

Ken

[Keysuri]

Varanus and KenCotigirl, thank you for your advice!!!! I am so afraid to hurt these tiny cuties ( Today one more exoskeleton appeared on the rock, are you sure it does not necessarily mean that they are suffering?

[Varanus]

Varanus and KenCotigirl, thank you for your advice!!!! I am so afraid to hurt these tiny cuties ( Today one more exoskeleton appeared on the rock, are you sure it does not necessarily mean that they are suffering?

I've certainly never heard of shedding being a sign of poor health in any animal (unless the shed gets stuck on the body or is incomplete). Generally it is just part of growing for most any creature with an exoskeleton. Course the opae ula could shed for other reasons (its not like they grow throughout their long lives), but somebody else will have to detail that as I don't know.

I do know supershrimp are almost certainly the hardiest shrimp anyone could hope to own, thriving in environments that few animals except some types of snail can handle. Provided they are not acting sick (i.e. unable to walk or swim properly) chances are you have nothing to worry about. They may be tiny and delicate by human standards, but they are called supershrimp for a reason.

[mcdaney]

Molting of the exoskeleton is a common thing for shrimps, no worries! Usually means they're comfortable and growing up.

[Keysuri]

Hi guys,
It's been a while since my shrimps moved to a new home. Now they look okay, sometimes they are red, sometimes they are pale. Macroalgae grows really fast, there used to be one small "ball" and now there is a bush. The snails clean the aquarium, they all seem to be okay with the environment.
But today I noticed one strange thing. Actually not one. I was checking the film on the water surface to see if the snails work hard and I noticed tiny white dots moving. At some point I realised that these dots were alive. At first I was excited and thought it was larvae but then I watched videos in youtube and larvae look different. These dots are tiny and there are hundrends of them, they are so small that even can not tell the shape (looks like round, but they are too small). Any one has the idea what it can be?