Good ways to migrate shrimps

[kyle0901]

Dear friends, thanks for all the replies on my other post "clear water", my tank finally reaches ideal clarity after a few days, and I am very happy about the result. It seems I am at the final step of completing it, adding the shrimps.

I will buy 10 shrimps from local vendor, that part is easy. But the major problem is that I wish to migrate 4 shrimps from my old ecosphere to their new home. The sphere is about the size of an orange and it only has a tiny hole on top. it's quite a challenge (if not impossible) to extract the shrimps safely from it with the tools available. And holding the sphere upside down and pouring shrimps out to my new tank is also not an option, it is likely that shrimps will get stuck on the wall. What should I do here. I definitely don't want to keep both of them. Do you have a nice and smart way to do this? please let me know, thank you!

[mighty mite]

You need a filter and lights for any reasonable setup, trying to put them into an orange sized tank is a horrible joke. Ecosphere is already slowly killing them, don't make it even worse on them. The chance they will even survive the transfer is very low if the opening is that small.

[i<3Opae]

You need a filter and lights for any reasonable setup, trying to put them into an orange sized tank is a horrible joke.

Freshwater shrimp might need filter and lights, but not opae ula. Filters are not recommended for these shrimp, and as long as there is enough indirect sunlight to sustain algae growth lights are optional too. He’s also taking the shrimp out of the orange sized ecosphere into a bigger jar. See his pic.

Do you have a nice and smart way to do this? please let me know, thank you!

That’s a tough one...one way I can think of is cut open an empty gallon water jug (cut off the top half), fill it with pre-mixed brackish water, place the ecosphere in there, break the glass ball with a hammer, the shrimp will be free in the jug, then catch them with a shrimp net (or small enough net to fit into the jug). You can probably catch them all within a reasonably short amount of time. That’s just what I would do! Someone else may have a better idea.

A picture of the water jug I have in mind;
http://delivice.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... 3_orig.jpg

[LittlePenny]

Hey Kyle0901, I just freed my 4 shrimps from their ecosphere yesterday. I tried to pry open the seal but realized it was glass that was fused on with some sort of epoxy glue- wasnt gonna come out. I started panicking since I had already turned the sphere upside down and was stressing the poor guys. I then decided to take a bowl and place the sphere in it and hit it with a hammer just enough to break the glass (I hit the side where the glass is thinner). It was nerve wracking, but if you are quick and gentle enough, shrimppies will be ok. I quickly removed all broken glass pieces and poured them into the new tank with the sphere water. They seemed fine and very happy minutes later swimming around and appreciating the new spacious home. Good luck! Please update us on how it goes

[Varanus]

You need a filter and lights for any reasonable setup,

Supershrimp are counter intuitive creatures in that regard. Light is needed, indirect or otherwise, but filters are actually not recommended.

[SuperProofer]

Similar to the suggestions above, you could submerge the sphere in a larger container and see if they will swim out on their own before resorting to breaking the glass. Then you can scoop them out with a ladel or measuring cup and put them into the new tank. It might take a little longer, but would be safer. You could also try to entice them out by placing food outside the sphere. I'm not sure if they would realize it was there, but worth a try.

Also, if the opening is large enough, you could try putting an aquarium-safe stick of some sort in it (maybe a sprig of sea fan, or a chopstick) and see if they will climb on to it. Then you could just pull the stick out and drop them in the new tank.

[Malikta]

Hello! I pryed open the seal and drained most of the water out and put the sphere halfway into my tank, they swam out.

You can pour them out, I've tried that as well but have brackish water handy to add back in if you have shy shrimp. You run the risk of crushing, cutting or suffocating them so I think my first example is ideal. Best of luck!

[Wendy]

My experience is putting the whole sphere, with the opening facing sideward, into the tank and let the Opae swim out by themselves. I think it's better to introduce this way so the Opae will not be in shock.

[kyle0901]

Thank you so much guys, your advice has been super helpful. And I am glad that I finally did it. Since I don’t have some tools right there available, I improvised a bit and used a big metal pot and net from the kitchen. I cleaned them carefully to make sure no harmful chemical residuals were left on it and filled the pot with brackish water I made for this before. Then I submerged the ecosphere sideways gently into the pot, it didn’t take too long before they all swam out from the hole. I caught them one by one with the net I used to use for dumplings, and quickly move them to their new home. And i also took the liberty to relocate the coral tree and sands that came with the ecosphere, thought those shrimps might appreciate to see familiar stuff.

I waited for hours and they seemed to adapt qickly and already made friends with Mr.Snail. I think It was a successful moving experience, thank you all for the help guys. I will be around if you have questions!

[Wendy]

I notice there's a round moss. Is it marimo? If yes, you will need to remove it from your tank.

[kyle0901]

May I ask why? I just bought this ball for decoration purpose.

[Wendy]

If it's just a decorative ball is fine I think. Not sure. But if it's Marimo will caused problems. I made a mistake last time where I put moss in my tank, end up my Opae is very stress by the bad water condition caused by the moss. End up have to change water and redo the tank. Just keep the microalgae is good enough.

[Mustafa]

I see you have java moss or some kind of other actual freshwater moss in there. Take it out immediately. Yes, it will stay green for a long time but it's dying and will harm your setup. Despite what you read online it can't even survive in low salinity brackish conditions, and definitely not at Supershrimp salinities.

[shrimpnoobie]

HI, congrats on your shrimp move!
I am happy everything went well. I am actually in the process of undertaking the same task. Just a question: wont the differences in the water pH and salinity disturb the shrimp and cause problems. I have an ecosphere that's fairly new (under a month) and I want to break them out soon. If the salinities do not match, will that shock them? Or the amount of pH and NItrates? I know my ecosphere may have a high waste content at this point and be high in Nitrates, while my aquarium water will be nice and fresh.
Thank you!

[Wendy]

Opae can live in wide range of salinity. I assume that your tank is blackish water as guided. Then, you shall not need to worry.

As for the PH and Nitrates shouldn't be an issue if you have set the parameters right in your tank. The ecosystem should able to work out. I have experience that my tank turn milky and cleared around 5 days. Opae still alive and grow bigger