[Shrimpkeeper]

Hi fellow Opae Ula keepers and enthusiasts.

I know Opae Ula can vary in color depending on their location/island of origin. I am wondering if anyone knows of US Opae Ula sellers that have the bright red or solid color morph. I have attached pictures that I found online of the coloration I am looking for.

I’ve been keeping a tank Opae Ula for over 5 years. Most my shrimp are pale pink, with some being almost clear. My initial colony of 20 now numbers over a 100, so I believe they are healthy and happy and not stressed.

Planning on starting another tank and would love to get some of the Red color morph Opae Ula.

[Kurai61]

Holy crap those shrimp are SO red!

[Vorteil]

Like these?

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[Shrimpkeeper]

Wow. Nice shrimp! They are very red. A lot redder than my current colony.
They are very close to what I'm looking. I'm still looking at for few other sellers, and if they don't get back to me I might buy some.
Thanks for posting the pics.

[Vorteil]

They won't get back to you. Nobody I know of has the bright red opae for sale. All the ones in the US are pink, white, & so on. None are dark red. Good luck. If you do more power to you. I think I know all of them but maybe not.

[Shrimpkeeper]

Hey Vorteil. You were right. No one got back to me.
I’m currently cycling my new tanks, and will hopefully be ready to order from you soon.

[odin]

Somtimes its the light or the filter people are using that make them look super red.

[Vorteil]

@odin

True light can play a role in it. I've purchased from quite a few different sellers until I learned that the Opae Ula won't interbreed with other islands that they originate from. None of the others had the bright red opae other than the ones from The Big Island. Pretty much what pics I've posted are actually that bright red color. Granted The Big Island shrimp have the variety of colors as well.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/artic ... 20336.html

[opae ula related]

Somtimes its the light or the filter people are using that make them look super red.

Wonder in the tank, they say “ hey, you are a different species so I won’t mate with you “ lol

[Shrimpkeeper]

Somtimes its the light or the filter people are using that make them look super red.

Wonder in the tank, they say “ hey, you are a different species so I won’t mate with you “ lol

Lol .
This is purely my hypothesis so it may be completely wrong:
The different lineages are closely related enough to be attracted to one another (not sure if they secrete pheromones) but still prefer the traits of their own lineages the most.
However, they have diverged in physical structures (opae_pdf/1993%2C%20Bailey-Brock%20%26%20Brock.pdf). Trying not to be too technical , but maybe the actual physical mating may not be possible due to physical incompatibilities .
Once again, this is all pure speculation on my part.