Description: These are aquarium raised Opae Ula shrimp / Hawaiian Red Shrimp (Halocaridina rubra). What you see in the photo is my actual aquarium and is representative of what you are purchasing. The shrimp originate from Hawaii where they live in brackish pools, but they are a very hardy species that can thrive and reproduce in home aquaria. Fully grown adults are about 0.5 inches in length. Shipping:I ship on Monday via Priority Mail, please make sure you have completed payment by Monday morning. Please be mindful of your weather as I'm shipping in uninsulated boxes. Please don't order if your conditions aren't right to receive live animals. Setup: You'll need to purchase reef or marine salt for creating brackish water. Do not use "aquarium salt" or table salt. Follow the instructions that come with your reef salt, but only use half the salt needed for creating salt water. I mix 1/4th cup of Instant Ocean® Sea Salt per gallon of water. Opae Ula tolerate a range of salinity that goes from nearly fresh to full salt, but they need need to be somewhere in-between in order to reproduce. However, changes in salinity levels should happen slowly so that they can acclimate. Acclimating Your Shrimp: While shrimp you are receiving are very hardy, they should be acclimated slowly to changes in salinity and temperature. For example, instead of adding the shrimp straight to your tank, add a half-cup of tank water to the bag water. Repeat this process a few times, waiting 10 minutes in between. The more gradual the better. Expect that the shrimp will not be very colorful when unboxing them. Their color is somewhat responsive based on their environment and stress. Once they are comfortable in their new home, they will become more red and less transparent. Don't expect the shrimp to ever be completely red, unlike the photos from some of the other vendors. I imagine those photos are color tweaked and staged with all adult females, which are much more red than the males and juveniles. Care and Feeding: The shrimp don't need to be fed more often than once every week or two. Mine are fed Hikari Crab Cuisine, but they will enjoy any fish or invertebrate food you already have. Don't feed more than they can consume in 10 minutes or so. You are much more likely to kill your shrimp though poor water quality, due to overfeeding, then you are to underfeed them. Those poor shrimp in the EcoSpheres don't get fed at all. Setting up your aquarium in advance will provide a more stable environment for your new shrimp. It gives beneficial ammonia-consuming bacteria time to begin colonizing the surfaces in your aquarium. Ammonia is a toxin that builds up from uneaten food and animal waste. I recommend not feeding the shrimp for a week so that ammonia levels don't outpace the rate that beneficial bacteria are colonizing the aquarium. Your aquarium will slowly lose water due to evaporation, which concentrates the salt in the remaining water. Replace water lost due to evaporation with distilled water to maintain a consistent salinity level. Having a top on your tank will slow evaporation loss.
Price: 64 USD
Location: Gainesville, Florida
End Time: 2024-11-29T13:10:03.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Water Type: Brackish
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Difficulty Level: Beginner
Species: Shrimp
