Ecosphere Empathy

[Dch48]

The white stripe could be a bad sign. I know that on Cherry shrimp it can indicate a difficulty with molting. Hopefully that is not the case here.

[Sasquatch]

The white stripe could be a bad sign. I know that on Cherry shrimp it can indicate a difficulty with molting. Hopefully that is not the case here.

I hope not! I haven’t seen any molts in months.

How's your tank doing now? If things haven't changed much, then how about trying to stop feeding altogether? If algae are growing in the tank, there's more than enough food for them.

Tank is the same but with more algae so I will stop feeding. It has already been over 2 months since the last feeding. So hard not to feed

[Varanus]

I'm pretty sure the white stripe is just a pattern variation in the supershrimp.

[Mustafa]

I'm pretty sure the white stripe is just a pattern variation in the supershrimp.

Yep!

[Fishkeeper]

I don't know if you got a reply about this yet, but Legos are safe for aquariums as long as they haven't been contaminated by other substances. People like to use them for things sometimes.

[Sasquatch]

Thanks for the responses guys. Thought I’d give another update. The tank seems sad. There isn’t much activity, it’s hard to count more than 3 or 4 shrimp at a time, there are no berried females, the macro algae looks the same size, and there are lots of empty snail shells on the substrate surface

I haven’t fed in many months, so I wonder why they aren’t happy in my tank? Here’s a picture

[Dch48]

Empty snail shells indicate a lack of food. If I were you, I would buy some Spirulina powder, it's very inexpensive. Just mix a very small amount of it in a little distilled water or even water from the tank, and then dump it in. I would do it about once every 10 days and see if there is any improvement. I do it and I have 3 females with eggs in a tank that has had shrimp in it for only 2 months.

[Sasquatch]

I would love to feed again! However, I was under the impression that visible brown algae means there is already too much food?

[Vorteil]

Opae Ula are easy to keep. When it comes to breeding I think that's a whole different story. Some have great luck some don't. I think the tank needs to be in balance. It can take time. Some of my tanks do great some don't. I cannot say for sure why some are more prolific than others. Time and patience.

[Dch48]

Many times brown algae comes from high phosphate levels or so they say. I have no idea how to test for that though.

[Vorteil]

Did you use distilled or RO water? I know my tap water is full of phosphates

[Sasquatch]

Did you use distilled or RO water? I know my tap water is full of phosphates

I used distilled water. Half salt concentration. Boiled everything before adding to the tank. Cycled it. Added snails and macroalgae. Haven’t fed in months. They aren’t getting vibrated or anything. I’m at a loss

[MrsT]

Brown algae only happens to me when the tank is new, it will go away after sometimes besides Opae do eat brown algae and my nerite snail loves eating it.
When shrimp swimming around observe if there's poop coming out from them. It takes a long staring at them to be able to see it but it's worth it because that's how I know if the tank has food for them or not.
When the tank gets messy but they are still active "it's OK"
When the tank don't get enough algae but they still pooping "it's OK too"

[Dch48]

When they are well fed you can see a dark line running down their body when you look at them from the side. That is their intestinal tract and if it's dark, it's full. If it's clear or if the line has gaps, they may not be getting enough food. This is true with all shrimp, not just Opae.

[Sasquatch]

Sad news my friends. I seem to have lost most of my shrimp over the last few months. I can only count 6 shrimp and 2 snails left in the tank. I don’t know how I lost the rest of the shrimp. I never saw any in distress or any bodies. The tank has been covered and I haven’t been feeding.

Last weekend I moved into a new house and the survivors seem to be more active than at the last house so that’s giving me hope. They are swimming more and the snails are crawling on the tank walls now. I know they are getting more sunlight since the move but I am confused how the rest died.