I recently found out about Opae Ula and how to setup an environment for them from my cousin and extensive research for the past week. I've started ordering supplies and am interested in some opinions.
I've ordered a piece of cholla wood, a sea fan, and this bag of Caribsea Arag-Alive Aragonite Reef Sand and was wondering if the sand is compatible with opae ula, a snail and a hermit crab
The tank I purchased is just a large glass jar (a little under a gallon...probably about a 3/4 gallon) that is sitting on my computer desk. How many shrimp would you recommend for this setup and will a snail and hermit crab coexist within this setting (the hermit crab is specific to brackish water).
I plan on installing a bracket or some sort of rubber feet on the glass "orb" you see on top to allow for air circulation inside the tank but I thought it perfect to keep the snail inside.
Based on what I've read here I'd say that set up is way too small for a hermit crab, but a couple small snails should be fine. With less than a gallon of space I would start with maybe ten shrimp but others here may be more certain.
As for the sand, I've been told live sand has various risks for supershrimp tanks. The organisms in the sand are often no longer alive by the time you buy the sand, which means their decaying bodies can produce a lot of ammonia (which is something one must be especially careful of in such a small tank). And if the organisms are alive then they may not survive brackish conditions. You may be better off with Super Naturals or another brand of normal sand.
Varanus may be right about the sand and told me the same thing. But it was too late, I already used the Arag-Alive sand and haven't had any issues so far but my tank is still cycling... You can always rinse it off with some distilled or RO water if you are concerned or add some API Quick Start (which i was told is supposed to have the same beneficial bacteria as the the Arag-Alive and will help convert ammonia). My Ammonia hasn't been an issue so far...
Varanus wrote:Based on what I've read here I'd say that set up is way too small for a hermit crab, but a couple small snails should be fine. With less than a gallon of space I would start with maybe ten shrimp but others here may be more certain.
As for the sand, I've been told live sand has various risks for supershrimp tanks. The organisms in the sand are often no longer alive by the time you buy the sand, which means their decaying bodies can produce a lot of ammonia (which is something one must be especially careful of in such a small tank). And if the organisms are alive then they may not survive brackish conditions. You may be better off with Super Naturals or another brand of normal sand.
I should clarify that the hermit crab is a dwarf Hawaiian breed; not the large ones from a pet store. As for the sand, if this isn't the correct type, where can I find the right one?
EsCaRg0t wrote:I should clarify that the hermit crab is a dwarf Hawaiian breed; not the large ones from a pet store. As for the sand, if this isn't the correct type, where can I find the right one?
"Tahitian moon sand" by the CaribSea Super Naturals brand is the type I got but I don't know what is available to you. That said, as minishrimps noted, the sand you got will not necessarily cause problems. Its just something to watch out for when testing the water.
And yes the hermit crab you are getting may be a small species, but its still my understanding they need more space than the less than a gallon this one would have, especially given how much of that space is vertical space the crab won't be using much of (barring climbing). I've also read here that the hermit crabs simply need more space than the shrimp do. I think the people here who keep a hermit crab with the shrimp give them at least a few gallons.
EsCaRg0t wrote:I should clarify that the hermit crab is a dwarf Hawaiian breed; not the large ones from a pet store. As for the sand, if this isn't the correct type, where can I find the right one?
"Tahitian moon sand" by the CaribSea Super Naturals brand is the type I got but I don't know what is available to you. That said, as minishrimps noted, the sand you got will not necessarily cause problems. Its just something to watch out for when testing the water.
And yes the hermit crab you are getting may be a small species, but its still my understanding they need more space than the less than a gallon this one would have, especially given how much of that space is vertical space the crab won't be using much of (barring climbing). I've also read here that the hermit crabs simply need more space than the shrimp do. I think the people here who keep a hermit crab with the shrimp give them at least a few gallons.
I actually went to a local fish shop a block from my home and the lady there gave me a bag of loose Caribsea Natural Tahitian Moon Sand for free when I was telling her how much I actually needed compared to the huge bag I bought. The only thing I see is there's a lot of snail shells and corral bits in it; was yours like this or not? I'm not sure whether I need to go through and filter all of it out. I spent the entire night using a cheese grater, acting like a miner, filtering the sand through to reveal large pieces of shells.
EsCaRg0t wrote:I actually went to a local fish shop a block from my home and the lady there gave me a bag of loose Caribsea Natural Tahitian Moon Sand for free when I was telling her how much I actually needed compared to the huge bag I bought. The only thing I see is there's a lot of snail shells and corral bits in it; was yours like this or not? I'm not sure whether I need to go through and filter all of it out. I spent the entire night using a cheese grater, acting like a miner, filtering the sand through to reveal large pieces of shells.
I'm pretty sure you want that stuff in there, the calcium carbonate from the shells acts as a pH buffer in your tank. Sand is naturally made up of all of these things. I left it in.
p.s. my tank has been cycling for about four weeks now, I don't think the Arag-Alive sand caused me to have any real hiccups along the way, must have got a good batch!
Last edited by minishrimps on Fri Mar 11, 2016 9:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
Here's what it looks like with the substrate in the water...Cholla wood is floating until it saturates. I included closeup of substrate so you can see shells and other inclusions.
yeah, from what I can see your substate looks fine, I'd throw the chunks of shell you pulled out back in and mix it back into the substrate unless you plan to add some sort of coral and or shell in there to aid in pH buffering. I wonder, as Ken mentioned earlier, about that Cholla, how will it decompose over time and what affect that will have on the chemical make up of a small unfiltered brackish set-up like this... I'm uncertain, maybe someone else here knows. But with so little water in your set-up adverse affects on the water condition can be harder to deal with as toxicity happens more quickly compared to a tank with a larger volume of water. It looks cool, I like the jar and the light orb.
The substrate is aragonite which is a calcium carbonate material. Add shells, coral for decor. I like your lightimg in the bowl. In tall tanks a verticle object add appeal. Looking good.
I started out using live sand, but have since changed it to an inert sand. Watch (esp. at night) for unwanted critters. I found a bristle worm in my tank that hitched a ride in with either the live sand or a piece of coral. My experience with the cholla wood was bad. When I put it in one tank for a trial, shrimp started to die. I threw the wood in the trash, rescued everyone I could, and started over using seeded water from my other set-ups. I have no way of knowing if it was something naturally in the wood or something introduced by humans, but that is not an experiment I care to repeat. I hope your results are better.
~~Barbara
I second (and third, and fourth ) the advice given on the cholla wood. I would take it out. Of course i've experimented a lot in the past and although I didn't use cholla wood, I did use leaves (which work fine with freshwater shrimp) and my shrimp started dying. Needless to say I took out the leaves and the shrimp stopped dying. At the very least the decay of organic materials can cause oxygen depletion along with possible overproduction of ammonia. And who knows what chemical compounds are in the wood that get into the water...and stay there (remember? no water changes). If you want something that looks like wood, go get a fake piece of resin from the pet store or online that looks like wood.
) the advice given on the cholla wood. I would take it out. Of course i've experimented a lot in the past and although I didn't use cholla wood, I did use leaves (which work fine with freshwater shrimp) and my shrimp started dying. Needless to say I took out the leaves and the shrimp stopped dying. At the very least the decay of organic materials can cause oxygen depletion along with possible overproduction of ammonia. And who knows what chemical compounds are in the wood that get into the water...and stay there (remember? no water changes). If you want something that looks like wood, go get a fake piece of resin from the pet store or online that looks like wood.