Opaeula.co.uk

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

This section is to discuss anything Opae ula shrimp and brackish water related. e.g Nerite snails, algae etc..
 #8325  by Fishkeeper
 
I have a 3gal tank with 10ish Opae, some macroalgae, about an inch of sand, and several pieces of lava rock in it. I also have a 10gal tank, empty, and I want to put them in that tank. Additionally, I have a couple of nerite snails in a separate (freshwater) tank.

My plan is this:
1: set up new tank with a little under 7 gallons of appropriately salty water, add sand.
2: gently spread sand from old tank across surface of new sand, add rocks and algae from old tank
3: transfer shrimp and all old water to new tank
4: allow tank to sit until algae grows on walls
5: acclimate nerites over the course of a few hours and put 'em in.

That should work fine, right?

Also, I have some found-on-a-beach coral rock sitting in water, separate from everything else. How long does beach-find rock have to be cured to be safe to add to an existing tank with shrimp? A month or so? Until it's covered in algae?
 #8328  by opae ula related
 
How long for step #1 before adding old tank water etc?

I think putting coral on boiling water should do the trick.
 #8333  by Fishkeeper
 
I don't see any reason why I'd need to wait to add the shrimp. It's not as though there's anything about distilled water and reef salt that could be harmful. I'd probably let it sit for a few hours just to be sure the salt dissolved enough, but there's no chlorine or anything.

I'm not trying to sterilize the coral rock. It was found on a beach, which means it has small bits of dead things inside it. It's like the dry reef rock you can buy for aquariums. It has to be left to 'cure' in saltwater, so all the little scraps of dead things will decay away, and the bacteria can grow on it. If I put it straight into the tank, the decaying things will cause an ammonia spike.
 #8334  by Fishkeeper
 
Wow, I guess there's no edit button.

The new tank doesn't need to cycle. Cycling a tank gets the beneficial bacteria and algae going, but all the algae and bacteria that the shrimp need are on the rocks in the old tank. Since I'm transferring all that rock over, the new tank will be cycled instantly.
 #8335  by odin
 
Fishkeeper wrote:I don't see any reason why I'd need to wait to add the shrimp. It's not as though there's anything about distilled water and reef salt that could be harmful. I'd probably let it sit for a few hours just to be sure the salt dissolved enough, but there's no chlorine or anything.

I'm not trying to sterilize the coral rock. It was found on a beach, which means it has small bits of dead things inside it. It's like the dry reef rock you can buy for aquariums. It has to be left to 'cure' in saltwater, so all the little scraps of dead things will decay away, and the bacteria can grow on it. If I put it straight into the tank, the decaying things will cause an ammonia spike.

The coral rock needs to be boiled and scrubbed really, if you put it into salt water like marine salt water there’s a good chance stuff may grow on it which again will die when it goes into brackish water.


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 #8338  by Fishkeeper
 
Right, I should have clarified: salty water. Brackish water, of about the right salinity. And I'm not sure boiling and scrubbing would help all that much anyway, since things grow inside reef rock as well. That's what this is- coral rock, full of holes, that I found washed up on the beach without anything live. I'm actually hoping there's spores on the rock that will do okay in brackish water- I want to see what's in there. The last batch of rock I got from that beach grew some fun algae on it when cycled. It's from a beach in Hawaii that has a lot of heavy waves, and reef right offshore, so there's always dead coral washed up without any live things using it.

Funny, the gear button wasn't there before. Maybe I'd somehow logged out by mistake.
 #8339  by Vorteil
 
I think if that's what you want to do go for it. For most of us we stick to a set prcedure that been proven on how to start an Opae Ula tank. I personally would scub the rocks clean. My tanks have no filtration. I've always fed spiruina powder to help feed at the begining. I've added 'cured' live rock that was cycled. If I have to do that tank over again I would have thoroughly cleaned it off before adding it to the tank. Too much dead waste will create amonia & it will be a long time till 10 opae can eat it all. I've never cycled any of my tanks. I have learned over the years that the general set up is the best way to go. Just because these shrimp are hardy doesn't mean we should neglect their habitat. I haven't done it to their best interest but I will in their next tank. I'll let it cycle this time.
 #8344  by opae ula related
 
Fishkeeper wrote:Right, I should have clarified: salty water. Brackish water, of about the right salinity. And I'm not sure boiling and scrubbing would help all that much anyway, since things grow inside reef rock as well. That's what this is- coral rock, full of holes, that I found washed up on the beach without anything live. I'm actually hoping there's spores on the rock that will do okay in brackish water- I want to see what's in there. The last batch of rock I got from that beach grew some fun algae on it when cycled. It's from a beach in Hawaii that has a lot of heavy waves, and reef right offshore, so there's always dead coral washed up without any live things using it.

Funny, the gear button wasn't there before. Maybe I'd somehow logged out by mistake.
You from Hawaii? Which island?
 #8347  by Fishkeeper
 
I'm not from there, no. I've just been to Hawaii (Kauai) twice, and stayed near the same beach both times. I didn't see any wild opae while I was there, unfortunately- in fact, didn't really see any wild crustaceans at all, short of a few crabs. Definitely no shrimp of any sort.