Opaeula.co.uk

A dedicated forum and online store for the Opae ula shrimp! 

Share photos/videos, journals and logs for your Opae ula tank setups for others to read.
 #6202  by Algae In Space
 
Ok here we go.

Opae Ula are extremely easy to keep if you just have a decent tank size. Then you virtually don't have to do anything after the tank has found its way. As I see it ecospheres do not in any way provide Opae Ula with what they need. They get sold as "NASA Science" but it's only a marketing stunt. Here's why:

- The size is too small. Opae like to swim, swim, swim. At night when the lights are off mine race inside the tank like crazy.

- Nowhere to hide. They like hiding. It's good for breeding too. I made this mistake with my first tank.

- In such a small tank (I would guess) the water will get nasty pretty soon. I really think that's one of the mayor causes of Opae Ula only living such short lifes in tiny aquariums.

Indirect sunlight is ok. They're fine with that. It is wise to give them nighttime.

There is tons of helpful info here. Check the FAQs. There is pretty much all one needs to know. :grin3:

As a side note: Too much random wood could be a problem. And the "ground coffee" could be food?? If yes please don't put that in the tank as it will ruin your tank balance very quickly.
Melijayne wrote: 19 Dec 2018 06:55 Hey everyone!

So as you can see, my "tank" is very small. It's was a present from my other half, but the company is ecospheres.co.uk.

Apart from that, it doesn't tell you what type of shrimp they are.

The aquatic mix is in with the water, it's supposed to be all the salts and nutrients I think. The "ground coffee" stuff is pictured below and the instructions didn't tell me to do anything with it!!

In terms of lighting they are in my kitchen which gets natural daylight during the day, and the lights are on when we come home from work.

I'm sad to learn there's a whole lot more to looking after shrimp than just leaving them in this box for 2 years as the instructions suggests, I hope I can give these guys a nice forever home :happy:
Last edited by Algae In Space on 19 Dec 2018 19:18, edited 1 time in total.
 #6204  by odin
 
I wouldn't use that food to be honest, get them some 100% pure spirulina from Holland and Barrets and feed them like a pin pricks worth once a month.
 #6205  by Algae In Space
 
odin wrote: 19 Dec 2018 18:35 I wouldn't use that food to be honest, get them some 100% pure spirulina from Holland and Barrets and feed them like a pin pricks worth once a month.

My guess is it's generic shrimp food. I think one can see it dissolve in the pics.
 #6206  by Melijayne
 
Wow! Ok thanks so much for the helpful advice!! My other half has his Xmas party Friday night, but bad news for him, because I'm going to be dragging his ass around a pet store first thing Saturday !!!

I only have 3, so what would be a good starting size tank, 10l?
Algae In Space wrote: 19 Dec 2018 12:54 Ok here we go.

Opae Ula are extremely easy to keep if you just have a decent tank size. Then you virtually don't have to do anything after the tank has found its way. As I see it ecospheres do not in any way provide Opae Ula with what they need. They get sold as "NASA Science" but it's only a marketing stunt. Here's why:

- The size is too small. Opae like to swim, swim, swim. At night when the lights are off mine race inside the tank like crazy.

- Nowhere to hide. They like hiding. It's good for breeding too. I made this mistake with my first tank.

- In such a small tank (I would guess) the water will get nasty pretty soon. I really think that's one of the mayor causes of Opae Ula only living such short lifes in tiny aquariums.

Indirect sunlight is ok. They're fine with that. It is wise to give them nighttime.

There is tons of helpful info here. Check the FAQs. There is pretty much all one needs to know. :grin3:

As a side note: Too much random wood could be a problem. And the "ground coffee" could be food?? If yes please don't put that in the tank as it will ruin your tank balance very quickly.
Melijayne wrote: 19 Dec 2018 06:55 Hey everyone!

So as you can see, my "tank" is very small. It's was a present from my other half, but the company is ecospheres.co.uk.

Apart from that, it doesn't tell you what type of shrimp they are.

The aquatic mix is in with the water, it's supposed to be all the salts and nutrients I think. The "ground coffee" stuff is pictured below and the instructions didn't tell me to do anything with it!!

In terms of lighting they are in my kitchen which gets natural daylight during the day, and the lights are on when we come home from work.

I'm sad to learn there's a whole lot more to looking after shrimp than just leaving them in this box for 2 years as the instructions suggests, I hope I can give these guys a nice forever home :happy:
 #6207  by odin
 
10 litres will be perfect for them, use bottled water or RO water from a fish store and buy some maribe fish tank salt and mix (like instant ocean brand etc) it to half strength of what it says to mix as on the packet. Leave it over night then add your tank stuff and shrimp.

You can leave the wood looking stuff in the new tank to help the new one along. I have read about that stuff and it states it helps with housing the friendly bacteria.

Good luck!
 #6225  by Algae In Space
 
Melijayne wrote: 19 Dec 2018 21:56 Wow! Ok thanks so much for the helpful advice!! My other half has his Xmas party Friday night, but bad news for him, because I'm going to be dragging his ass around a pet store first thing Saturday !!!

I only have 3, so what would be a good starting size tank, 10l?

You're welcome. And who knows maybe there will be more soon? A lot of Opae owners have some snails too. I think they are fun.
 #6255  by Melijayne
 
Hey everyone!!! So I came down this morning and as always, checked in on my little shrimp first thing.

As soon as I turned the lights on, I could see they were having a great time but then they stopped and sat at the bottom. They were also really pink. Now we've been up for a couple of hours they are swimming around again but have lost their colour.

I'm starting to think they don't like me!! :oh:

Also i am off to try and buy them a new home today. What is the best way to move them from one container to the other? Do I get a net?

I want to start clean, so I'd rather not move the plastic pebbles and other stuff in as well.

Thanks in advance!
 #6258  by Algae In Space
 
Now let's be honest. How could one not like you :wink:

Totally normal. No worries. Mine do that too. Some for some reason don't care at all about disturbances and are always vivid in color.

Looking forward to your new Opae home! Yes get a net. Or you can get this:

Image

It looks like a pipe and it sucks the shrimp in. You could also just use a little trick and use a normal glas if you would not like to buy something for only 3 Opae. Or empty out most of the water of the small tank. Then top it up with some new tank water (so you only get mainly new water in the new tank) and put the whole small tank into the larger one so they can swim out. Be aware that the Opaes can jump pretty far if scared!

Leave the marine salt time to dissolve first. It could take a day in some cases. Oh and buy something to measure your salinity. No need for expensive stuff. A basic hydrometer is enough!

Image
Not a necessity but I am a total fan of "Microbe-Lift Special Blend". It will kickstart your tank from day one. And the Opae are crazy about that stuff. It's like a party in your tank.

You can do it!

PS: Damn so many edit's in this post. I always think of more and more things. :smile:
 #6261  by Melijayne
 
Sooooo here's my new home for them!!! I went to an aquatic and pond store and they were so helpful! They made the water for me so all I had to do was full up the tank!

I bought a hydrometer and SG is measuring 1.012, temperature is 19C but I have a heater.

I was thinking of introducing them to the new tank while the water are the same temperatures, and then warming it up gradually so it's not too much of a shock - is that a good idea?

I've got a couple of moss balls and also some shrimp food which has some spirulina in it - I've dropped a couple of pellets into their current home and they're the most active I've seen them in a while!!!

I'm letting the water settle overnight and will be introducing them tomorrow.

I hope I've not forgotten anything!!!
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 #6262  by odin
 
That setup looks great and the water parameters are good too, you can just submerge the old tank in the new one and let them swim out if you find that easier.

Don’t feed the new tank for the first week or two and if you do put them in strait away buy some prodibio biodigest vials and use one of those once a week until you get algae growth as this will help cycle your tank and keep the water very healthy and you won’t have to do any water changes to keep Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates low.

Good luck!


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