# Giant Ecosphere



## Zefrik

Coolest looking shrimp bowl ever.


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## davrx

Zefrik said:


> Coolest looking shrimp bowl ever.


Thank you


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## davrx

The chaetomorpha seems to be doing well and I'm indebted to Mustafa from the above mentioned website for selling me some of his. He said this is the only plant he's found that does well in this half salinity brackish water which is ideal for these shrimp. There are other chaetomorphas readily available for saltwater tanks but they don't survive in these brackish conditions and end up polluting the tank and killing the shrimp. This chaeto is much finer and softer than any other chaeto that I've seen. It should provide a good food source for the shrimp.


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## akdylpickles

Wow awesome bowl. How much are those shrimp?


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## davrx

akdylpickles said:


> Wow awesome bowl. How much are those shrimp?


Thanks, you can check with Cookymonster but I think he may be out now. There's also someone on ebay from Hawaii selling 90 for $65 including shipping so they're less than a buck apiece. Not bad compared to the $15 I've had to pay per Cardinal. And then there's some out of Asia for as much as $400 per shrimp.


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## davrx

I forgot to say that this is a 3 gallon bowl so it's on the large size for fish bowls.


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## akdylpickles

Did you put all 60 in the bowl?


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## Disher

Great job on doing your research with that specific Chaetomorpha. How long have you been running this setup? What kind of maintenance are you doing? Nice work!


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## davrx

akdylpickles said:


> Did you put all 60 in the bowl?


Yes


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## davrx

Disher said:


> Great job on doing your research with that specific Chaetomorpha. How long have you been running this setup? What kind of maintenance are you doing? Nice work!


Thank you. I've had this going for a little over a month now. The shrimp have been in it for a little over 5 days. The beauty of these little guys is the minimal maintenance. All I have to do is replace any evaporated water with R/O water. Their water never needs to be replaced! No water changes ever! Their natural environment is stagnant water so no water movement is what they prefer. In their natural pools, the deeper layers don't even have any oxygen and they can survive in these anaerobic conditions which is why some call them Super Shrimp. They also prefer to have dense numbers, I could have had this amount of shrimp in a bowl 1/3 the size of this one with no problems. They are ideally suited to a nano tank. The only thing these guys are sensitive to is ammonia which will kill them pretty quickly but then this kills most aquatic life. So you have to be careful about feeding and what kind of plants you introduce. Mustafa who I mentioned above says that no plants should be used other than the chaetomorpha I currently have in their bowl.


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## MABJ

That stuff is always said about this species of shrimp, but I can't say I believe it. 

I can't believe they would be happy in an environment with no water motion, filtration, ect. 

They are hardy, sure, but why not treat them like a red cherry (that enjoys healthy brackish water)?

I'm not saying I look down on your shrimp keeping, but I wish they weren't kept in ecospheres, where they eventually die of ammonia poisoning or starve, or forced to endure no water changes. 

In Hawaii they live in poor conditions, but nature does water changes with rain and evaporation. 


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## davrx

MABJ said:


> That stuff is always said about this species of shrimp, but I can't say I believe it.
> 
> I can't believe they would be happy in an environment with no water motion, filtration, ect.
> 
> They are hardy, sure, but why not treat them like a red cherry (that enjoys healthy brackish water)?
> 
> I'm not saying I look down on your shrimp keeping, but I wish they weren't kept in ecospheres, where they eventually die of ammonia poisoning or starve, or forced to endure no water changes.
> 
> In Hawaii they live in poor conditions, but nature does water changes with rain and evaporation.
> 
> 
> MABJ's iDevice used for this message


I agree with you on the ecosphere and their water does evaporate and I play rainman by adding R/O water but they do not do well with water movement according to an expert on keeping these shrimp, Mustafa, from the above mentioned site. I suppose you could do filtration but if it isn't necessary why over complicate things? If stagnant water is what they have evolved to live in then they aren't going to do well if you change that.


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## MABJ

I understand. It doesn't feel right, but it they breed for you and are happy then I can't gripe much 


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## GMYukonon24s

That's a nice looking bowl/sphere


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## davrx

GMYukonon24s said:


> That's a nice looking bowl/sphere


Thanks


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## davrx

MABJ said:


> I understand. It doesn't feel right, but it they breed for you and are happy then I can't gripe much
> 
> 
> MABJ's iDevice used for this message


They certainly look happy to me, they are nearly constantly in motion and swimming all over the bowl.


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## Koi Kameon

I have been keeping these shrimp for 4 years now. The are amazing. Active without being frenetic. Able to thrive in various brackish water salinities. I have a small group of 9 and enjoy them that way--I can identify the individuals more easily. I, personally, do a 10-20% water change about every month. I don't understand the advice about not keeping other plants with them as I have successfully kept Japanese moss balls and willow moss with them at around 1.008 and am now keeping them with frog bit, a nana petite, and willow moss at 1.005. If you search around the forum, you will see that breeding them seems to be hit or miss. With some people keeping them in a 5 gallon set up with filter and tons of layers of rocks to hide in with no result and others in the world wide web being able to cram 30 of them in 60 oz. and have them breed like crazy. So, i put my stock in them being happy with are they molting a lot? Also, mine can not stand any aeration of any kind. These are VERY laid-back shrimp and will usually not freak about anything but when i introduced an aeration stone, they were still stressed and pale and overly active the next day so I don't aerate or filterate.


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## davrx

Koi Kameon said:


> I have been keeping these shrimp for 4 years now. The are amazing. Active without being frenetic. Able to thrive in various brackish water salinities. I have a small group of 9 and enjoy them that way--I can identify the individuals more easily. I, personally, do a 10-20% water change about every month. I don't understand the advice about not keeping other plants with them as I have successfully kept Japanese moss balls and willow moss with them at around 1.008 and am now keeping them with frog bit, a nana petite, and willow moss at 1.005. If you search around the forum, you will see that breeding them seems to be hit or miss. With some people keeping them in a 5 gallon set up with filter and tons of layers of rocks to hide in with no result and others in the world wide web being able to cram 30 of them in 60 oz. and have them breed like crazy. So, i put my stock in them being happy with are they molting a lot? Also, mine can not stand any aeration of any kind. These are VERY laid-back shrimp and will usually not freak about anything but when i introduced an aeration stone, they were still stressed and pale and overly active the next day so I don't aerate or filterate.


Your salinity is lower than mine. The plants you mentioned will die at my higher salinity. The reason I believe the shrimp don't reproduce is that the salinity isn't high enough. I want mine to breed and the moderator of the above mentioned site has huge numbers of these shrimp reproducing so I set mine up as close as possible to his. He has tanks that have not had a water change in 5 years, only topping off with R/O water. I think his success in keeping these speaks for itself.


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## Koi Kameon

*Then there was a misunderstanding in your orig. post.*

To me, it sounded like NO plants could live with them at all and I wanted to correct that. I have also kept them at higher salinities--all the way up to pure seawater. What is your spec. gravity??

I mention the hit or miss part bc Jason Patterson, whom I highly respect on his background research, etc., is really into them and seems to do everything right as suggested by the handful of seeming HRS "experts" and struggles, the guy I bought mine from had no place to hide for them and had about 30 in a 60 oz. bowl with temps in the 50's at night in the winter--outside the recommended parameters. That's the point I was trying to make. I have no interest in breeding them and actually kept them in the suggested range for that and nothing. 
I personally have no opinion on the topping off the water or water change thing. 
I sincerely hope you wind up enjoying them as much as I have. They are amazing creatures.

One question for you--where did you get your amazing "mountiain" looking rocks? I would love one as a focal point in my container. Thanks.


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## sapphoqueen

a very very nice bowl !  just beware of direct sun light  the rays are focusing in the bowl ...once i get my cabinet lack all around the bowl burned )) lol just sented the smoke and i seen the thin line of smoke and the burn marks  keep us updated !


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## davrx

Koi Kameon said:


> To me, it sounded like NO plants could live with them at all and I wanted to correct that. I have also kept them at higher salinities--all the way up to pure seawater. What is your spec. gravity??
> 
> I mention the hit or miss part bc Jason Patterson, whom I highly respect on his background research, etc., is really into them and seems to do everything right as suggested by the handful of seeming HRS "experts" and struggles, the guy I bought mine from had no place to hide for them and had about 30 in a 60 oz. bowl with temps in the 50's at night in the winter--outside the recommended parameters. That's the point I was trying to make. I have no interest in breeding them and actually kept them in the suggested range for that and nothing.
> I personally have no opinion on the topping off the water or water change thing.
> I sincerely hope you wind up enjoying them as much as I have. They are amazing creatures.
> 
> One question for you--where did you get your amazing "mountiain" looking rocks? I would love one as a focal point in my container. Thanks.


Thanks for your comments, I hope mine breed but if not, they have such a long lifespan it shouldn't be an issue if they don't. 
I bought the Seiryu stone in this bowl from PC1 or were you referring to the large Seiryu stones in my Jewel tank? Those two came from flowerfishs. Flowerfishs has some nice large ones available right now. I bought a lot of nice smaller stones from PC1.


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## davrx

sapphoqueen said:


> a very very nice bowl !  just beware of direct sun light  the rays are focusing in the bowl ...once i get my cabinet lack all around the bowl burned )) lol just sented the smoke and i seen the thin line of smoke and the burn marks  keep us updated !


Thanks, yes the bowl is just like a big magnifying glass but I don't believe I have anything within its focal length so shouldn't be a problem. Glad you didn't have a serious fire from your incident, sorry it damaged your cabinet.


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## jasonpatterson

Thanks to Koi Kameon for pointing me toward this thread. I really like your tank davrx, best of luck getting them to breed. As Koi mentioned, they can be awfully finicky about breeding in captivity. I've been keeping mine in a 10 gallon tank at 1.012 sg for a while now and have had very spotty breeding. I've got one berried shrimp out of 100 or so going at the moment. These shrimp seem to be able to breed in a fairly wide range of conditions, based on the number of people who post about them thriving on neglect, but they'll also simply refuse to breed for people who have set up what seem to be perfect tanks. I'm sure we (the opae ula keepers of the world) are missing something but I just don't know what it is.

I don't do water changes often (every few months) and I've got a very low flow air powered filter that is probably not doing anything worthwhile beyond keeping the water moving very slowly. I feed them a little bit of spirulina occasionally, and I've tried other foods previously with little interest.


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## Koi Kameon

*I know nothing about Seiryu stones or PC1*



davrx said:


> Thanks for your comments, I hope mine breed but if not, they have such a long lifespan it shouldn't be an issue if they don't.
> I bought the Seiryu stone in this bowl from PC1 or were you referring to the large Seiryu stones in my Jewel tank? Those two came from flowerfishs. Flowerfishs has some nice large ones available right now. I bought a lot of nice smaller stones from PC1.


I am completely ignorant on this subject. Just love the "mountain" look of them and think they go so well witht the spartan look that it seems most Americans keep with their HRS. I was speaking of the one in your HRS bowl. Thanks for any addit. info.


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## Rob in Puyallup

I received my first 50 (or so) opae ula today. They are making the slow and gradual adjustment to my tank water as I type this...

Their new home will be a Petco Bookshelf tank. I have "live" aragonite sand as the substrate, some cultured "live" rocks and a generous two handfulls of rock sent to me with the shrimp from the vendor.

I do have an airstone in the tank (which I will remove if the shrimp are freaked by it) and a heater.

I do hope they breed. I've had some success with freshwater shrimp so decided to try these. Maybe some Sulawesi shrimp in the future or some marine "Sexy" shrimp one day!


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## wicca27

where the heck did you get that bowl i would love to find one like it


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## davrx

wicca27 said:


> where the heck did you get that bowl i would love to find one like it


Your wish is my command.

http://www.westelm.com/products/shane-powers-fish-bowls-c670/?cm_src=AutoSchRel


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## davrx

*Update*

Here's some photos I just took with the sun shining in on them. They're very active today as I just fed them, something I only do about once a week since there's the risk of an ammonia spike which would wipe them all out. Still no breeding but I am hopeful. It took my Cardinals months before I saw babies. The chaetomorpha has floated to the top due to the oxygen bubbles it seems to be producing but it doesn't sink at night. I like this look better as I can see the rocks and shrimp better now.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Looking very cool! Love the scifi mountain landscape sort of thing going on!

Cardinals are my next adventure. A store not far from me sells them, not cheap, though, at $12.00 each.


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Looking very cool! Love the scifi mountain landscape sort of thing going on!
> 
> Cardinals are my next adventure. A store not far from me sells them, not cheap, though, at $12.00 each.


Thanks. $12 is actually pretty reasonable especially since you don't have to pay for overnight shipping with is pretty high.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Good point... and you know they're alive when you get them locally.

Still have to get a tank and all the goodies before that purchase will be made!

They're so small, at least at the local shop, (I don't know how old they are), they almost make Opae Ula look big. I would like to start with at least ten Cardinals, which equals a fair bit of dough!


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Good point... and you know they're alive when you get them locally.
> 
> Still have to get a tank and all the goodies before that purchase will be made!
> 
> They're so small, at least at the local shop, (I don't know how old they are), they almost make Opae Ula look big. I would like to start with at least ten Cardinals, which equals a fair bit of dough!


They're babies then. They are a lot more sensitive than any other shrimp I've kept. I have white orchids aka starry nights in with them and they're reproducing like crazy. They come from the same habitat but seem to be much more robust than the cardinals.


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## Rob in Puyallup

I've seen pictures of White Orchids, which is a great name since my other hobby is orchid growing.

Guess I need to see some of those. They don't seem to be as attractive as the cardinals. 

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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> I've seen pictures of White Orchids, which is a great name since my other hobby is orchid growing.
> 
> Guess I need to see some of those. They don't seem to be as attractive as the cardinals.
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


I agree, they certainly eat better than my cardinals which is why they're probably reproducing more. They blend so well with the rocks in their tank that they can be hard to see. In contrast, the cardinals stick out like a sore thumb.


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## Rob in Puyallup

The cardinals at the lfs are constantly picking with their brilliant white legs, they never seem to stop. 

They have yellow rabbit snails as roommates. Heard they're much more content in their presence. 

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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> The cardinals at the lfs are constantly picking with their brilliant white legs, they never seem to stop.
> 
> They have yellow rabbit snails as roommates. Heard they're much more content in their presence.
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


These are what I have with mine.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Cool. You'll have to post a picture of all of them somewhere, sometime soon! 

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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Cool. You'll have to post a picture of all of them somewhere, sometime soon!
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


Already on my "Jewel of a Tank" post in this same planted nano tank forum.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Okay! I'll go look for em there! 

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## davrx

Koi Kameon said:


> To me, it sounded like NO plants could live with them at all and I wanted to correct that. I have also kept them at higher salinities--all the way up to pure seawater. What is your spec. gravity??
> 
> I mention the hit or miss part bc Jason Patterson, whom I highly respect on his background research, etc., is really into them and seems to do everything right as suggested by the handful of seeming HRS "experts" and struggles, the guy I bought mine from had no place to hide for them and had about 30 in a 60 oz. bowl with temps in the 50's at night in the winter--outside the recommended parameters. That's the point I was trying to make. I have no interest in breeding them and actually kept them in the suggested range for that and nothing.
> I personally have no opinion on the topping off the water or water change thing.
> I sincerely hope you wind up enjoying them as much as I have. They are amazing creatures.
> 
> One question for you--where did you get your amazing "mountiain" looking rocks? I would love one as a focal point in my container. Thanks.


Sorry, I never replied to your question about my specific gravity. It is 1.011 or 15 ppt.


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## Xerobull

I absolutely love this setup and may emulate it down the road. I wouldn't call it a true ecosphere in the sense that the name was coined by the commercial product, since you do feed the shrimp. Have you considered not feeding them for a couple of weeks to see if it's self-sustaining?


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## davrx

Xerobull said:


> I absolutely love this setup and may emulate it down the road. I wouldn't call it a true ecosphere in the sense that the name was coined by the commercial product, since you do feed the shrimp. Have you considered not feeding them for a couple of weeks to see if it's self-sustaining?


Thanks! Yea, I just thought it looked like a giant ecosphere without being closed at the top. They can go for a long time without me feeding them but I want them to breed so was hoping that occasional feeding would help. It wouldn't be self sustaining unless I sealed the top since I have to top the water off about every week or so.


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## Rob in Puyallup

I have a couple hundred opae ula in my 6.6 gallon bookshelf tank. I feed them a couple flakes of food daily. I also give them other types of food throughout the week. 

Like man and "bread alone", I am not certain any shrimp can live on scum alone. 

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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> I have a couple hundred opae ula in my 6.6 gallon bookshelf tank. I feed them a couple flakes of food daily. I also give them other types of food throughout the week.
> 
> Like man and "bread alone", I am not certain any shrimp can live on scum alone.
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


I agree but am wary of raising the ammonia levels and killing them all off so I'm sticking with once or twice a week right now. I'm using earthworm flakes and New Life Spectrum Crustacean Formula.


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## bluestems

davrx said:


>


check out the mini rainbow! 

fyi- West Elm has these bowls on sale now and are offering a 10% coupon if you signup for their email updates. I'm vaaaary tempted!


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## davrx

bluestems said:


> check out the mini rainbow!
> 
> fyi- West Elm has these bowls on sale now and are offering a 10% coupon if you signup for their email updates. I'm vaaaary tempted!


Wow, I hadn't noticed that before. Yea, I bought this one on sale and two others, one for my wife, and one for my daughter, since they're such a good deal. They're all three set up with Opae Ulas.


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## davrx

*Baby?*

Sitting searching the forum I just noticed a small opae ula and I don't recall having any smaller ones before. I wonder if they are starting to breed? I know with my cardinals it started with me seeing one small one then more with time. But I haven't seen any berried females and I'm not sure what the larval stage looks like with these guys, who knows, time will tell.


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## stanzzzz

I love your ecosphear davrx ,specially your shrimps, I don't think we can get these shrimps in Australia . 
Do you get alot of cyanobacteria due to stagnant water.and how do you deal with it ..


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## davrx

stanzzzz said:


> I love your ecosphear davrx ,specially your shrimps, I don't think we can get these shrimps in Australia .
> Do you get alot of cyanobacteria due to stagnant water.and how do you deal with it ..


Thank you, actually no problems with cyanobacteria or algae and crystal clear water. Maybe the chaetomorpha soaks up all the nurtrients or the shrimp eat it before it has a chance to take off or a combination of the two.


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## Mobert

Here's mine: 










It's been set up almost 6 months. No water changes, just top off RO water. I have a plexiglass cover on it so it doesn't evaporate much (3/8" gap between the cover and 12" tank for air). S.G 1.015 no lights no heater. Tiny bit of food twice a month. Only 7 shrimp. No reproduction. I got the tank and dried coral from eBay. Two Little Fishes NanoMag for cleaning algae film (not much). No direct sunlight.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Very nice! 

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## Rob in Puyallup

(ps: nice zygopetalum.  ) 

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## Rob in Puyallup

Davrx: Larval opae ula swim head down and have little color. 

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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Davrx: Larval opae ula swim head down and have little color.
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


Do you have any in your tanks?


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## Rob in Puyallup

Had one, has settled. 


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## Aside

This looks really interesting. I'm reading up on these shrimp now.


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## Axelrodi202

If you want to see a truly giant ecosphere go to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. They have one that's at least several feet in diameter. There must be thousands of opae ula in there.


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## davrx

Mobert said:


> Here's mine:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's been set up almost 6 months. No water changes, just top off RO water. I have a plexiglass cover on it so it doesn't evaporate much (3/8" gap between the cover and 12" tank for air). S.G 1.015 no lights no heater. Tiny bit of food twice a month. Only 7 shrimp. No reproduction. I got the tank and dried coral from eBay. Two Little Fishes NanoMag for cleaning algae film (not much). No direct sunlight.


This looks more like an ecosphere with the black coral.


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## davrx

Axelrodi202 said:


> If you want to see a truly giant ecosphere go to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. They have one that's at least several feet in diameter. There must be thousands of opae ula in there.


I've seen photos of it but I believe they are slowing starving/suffocating just like the smaller ecospheres.


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## davrx

Aside said:


> This looks really interesting. I'm reading up on these shrimp now.


They're still doing well but no reproduction. 
My wife's, which is identical to mine other than lighting (mine is sunlight and hers in LED) had 2/3 of the water evaporate during her Christmas break (she's an 8th. grade science teacher). The salinity tripled which killed the chaetomorpha but only two of the shrimp died as far as I could see. I went into her classroom and removed all the dead chaeto and replaced it with some from my bowl, cleaned up the glass, and will have to wait for the water turbidity to settle but I think the remaining shrimp will be fine. A testament to their toughness. Spring break we're going to cover the bowl to cut down on the evaporation.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Anything new going on in your opae bowls? 

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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Anything new going on in your opae bowls?
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


Not really, the chaeto continues to grow and the shrimp are active but no babies. Since their lifespan can be 20 yrs. I guess I'm not so concerned about reproduction, I'd like to have a more densely populated bowl and I've had some unpleasant experiences dealing with sellers of opaes so I'm not looking to add anymore new ones.


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## Aside

Where did you get them from? I've very interested in setting up a bowl with a few of these in the near future. Possibly as a present for my grandparents. Might be nice to give them a little bowl they can watch yet only have negligible maintenance.


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## davrx

Aside said:


> Where did you get them from? I've very interested in setting up a bowl with a few of these in the near future. Possibly as a present for my grandparents. Might be nice to give them a little bowl they can watch yet only have negligible maintenance.


I got them from Cookymonster760


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## Aside

I'll probably wait until spring to get them. Jut got my first tank up and running, shouldn't be so excited about a second already.


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## davrx

Aside said:


> I'll probably wait until spring to get them. Jut got my first tank up and running, shouldn't be so excited about a second already.


Well, I tend to really get into my hobbies to the point that some would call it an obsession i.e. my wife. I've had aquariums since I was a little kid from my splatter paint tank from the 30's or 40's that we had when I was in my single digits and which held whatever I could catch on my own like turtles and crayfish to the 9 that I have now. 
I've always been into antiques so I married my two interests into collecting and restoring/using antique tanks. 
I've been into the "mad scientist" type since I was in my single digits as well and my background in chemistry has led me to start work on laboratory glassware based steampunkesque tank(s) which I will have on the forum in the near future. 
So, you may be on your way to a multitude of tanks or maybe just the one, either way it's a fun, absorbing, diversion.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Sorry about your wife's bowl and opae. 

Cookymonster760 kind of left us in a mess. I was in the process of ordering some Chocolates from him, though we hadn't finished the order so payment hadn't been sent, when he disappeared from the scene. Do hope he's okay and that he makes amends soon. I did get some opae from him back in November, though.

Really good heat packs and insulation are necessary when shipping these guys in the cold weather. Cookymonster's opae source is a member of our forum, 100 of mine came directly from him via Hawaii.


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Sorry about your wife's bowl and opae.
> 
> Cookymonster760 kind of left us in a mess. I was in the process of ordering some Chocolates from him, though we hadn't finished the order so payment hadn't been sent, when he disappeared from the scene. Do hope he's okay and that he makes amends soon. I did get some opae from him back in November, though.
> 
> Really good heat packs and insulation are necessary when shipping these guys in the cold weather. Cookymonster's opae source is a member of our forum, 100 of mine came directly from him via Hawaii.


I jumped the gun here, unbelievably the day I choose to dis Cookymonster760 I receive the shrimp I have been waiting for since the end of Nov. I JUST got them minutes ago! He generously gave me 50 instead of the 30 shrimp I paid for plus some extra plants. I hope there's a way for me to reverse my negative feedback for him. Liam, I am so sorry! Should have waited longer, I tend to be a very impatient person!


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## Rob in Puyallup

Congrats! Glad to hear that Liam's back!


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## davrx

*Specific Gravity*

I just tested the water the shrimp came in from Liam and it's 1.004, mine is 1.011 so will need to acclimate them before release into the bowl. I'll have over 100 in the bowl if everything goes well!


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Sorry about your wife's bowl and opae.
> 
> Cookymonster760 kind of left us in a mess. I was in the process of ordering some Chocolates from him, though we hadn't finished the order so payment hadn't been sent, when he disappeared from the scene. Do hope he's okay and that he makes amends soon. I did get some opae from him back in November, though.
> 
> Really good heat packs and insulation are necessary when shipping these guys in the cold weather. Cookymonster's opae source is a member of our forum, 100 of mine came directly from him via Hawaii.


Her shrimp seem to be O.K. so you don't need to be sorry but thanks anyway.
I received these shrimp in double plastic bags with wadded up newspaper, no heat packs, no insulation, temperatures have been in the teens here, and it looks like they all survived! They don't call them Super Shrimp for nothing!


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Sorry about your wife's bowl and opae.
> 
> Cookymonster760 kind of left us in a mess. I was in the process of ordering some Chocolates from him, though we hadn't finished the order so payment hadn't been sent, when he disappeared from the scene. Do hope he's okay and that he makes amends soon. I did get some opae from him back in November, though.
> 
> Really good heat packs and insulation are necessary when shipping these guys in the cold weather. Cookymonster's opae source is a member of our forum, 100 of mine came directly from him via Hawaii.


I believe I got some Opaes from the same source in Hawaii as you and they were well packed with insulation/heat pack but several of them didn't survive the trip while all of Liam's did with no insulation or heat pack, go figure. I believe since I'm in the midwest that the extra time in transit made a difference.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Ah... I'm a bit closer to Hawaii and lost 2 shipments, one was insulated with a heatpack, the other wasn't.


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Ah... I'm a bit closer to Hawaii and lost 2 shipments, one was insulated with a heatpack, the other wasn't.


Well, it's a mystery then. Maybe the handlers shook the packages for the ones that didn't make it.:icon_frow


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## Beer

Davrx and Mobert, how thick is the glass on those bowls? do you think either one of them will hold up to an accidental bump or two?
Are both of them from West Elm?


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## Rob in Puyallup

Looking forward to pics of the ecosphere with the new swarm inside! I (hint, hint!) 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


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## davrx

Beer said:


> Davrx and Mobert, how thick is the glass on those bowls? do you think either one of them will hold up to an accidental bump or two?
> Are both of them from West Elm?


Mine is the large one from West Elm (there's a link in one of my posts) but I can't speak for Mobert. It's thin glass, if it falls off onto a hard surface you can rest assured that it will explode all over the floor. Mine is pretty heavy and I don't think you could knock it over unintentionally. You'd have to hit it pretty hard to make it fall over. You could probably pull it off a table or desk if you walked by with a coat or something and snagged it by accident. If you have little kids I guess they could grasp the thin base and possibly pull it onto themselves but it's heavy enough that I think they'd have to be falling backward as they grasped it.


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Looking forward to pics of the ecosphere with the new swarm inside! I (hint, hint!)
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


I'll wait for a sunny day to take some photos. Right now there's a bunch of them hanging out on one of the rocks.


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## Mobert

Beer said:


> Davrx and Mobert, how thick is the glass on those bowls? do you think either one of them will hold up to an accidental bump or two?
> Are both of them from West Elm?


Mine is 5/16" inch thick at the opening. It is really optically very nice with no waves or distortions in the glass. I got mine from e Bay from glassvasews and it is the "Bubble Bowl Glass Vases 12" Body Diameter glass fish bowl glass Terrarium" It is pretty solid and heavy. Definitely more solid than most small store bought aquariums. They have different sizes. I think up to 16". I got an acrylic circle from Tap Plastics and glued some plastic pieces on it to make a lid for my bowl. There is a 1/4" gap between the side of the lid and top edge of the bowl and I fill the water right up to the lid bottom so you can view from the top down. Very little evaporation but I only have 7 shrimp so I have no trouble with shrimp having enough oxygen. My son has one that is in a really cool Tequila bottle with three shrimps. They have not been fed since September and are doing well. He just opens the top once in awhile and makes sure it has just enough light. It is very durable.



























































 



*Bubble Bowl Glass Vases (1pc) 12" Body Diameter Glass Fish Bowl Plant Terrarium*

My college kid's bottle was made with this bottle with a little sand in the bottom:


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Looking forward to pics of the ecosphere with the new swarm inside! I (hint, hint!)
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


O.K. here you go, just took these:


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## davrx

*Hanging Out*

Mine seem to like hanging out on that one rock and interestingly (to me anyway) my wife's shrimp like to hang out on the cord going to the heater. The cord is covered with them.


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## Beer

Thanks for the replies. I think the bowl that Davrx is using would be a bit risky for a classroom, a little too fragile.
The one you have Mobert, looks perfect. I'll have to check those ones out. That tequila bottle looks awesome. Is that sculpture hollow in the center of the bottle?


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## Mobert

Beer said:


> The one you have Mobert, looks perfect. I'll have to check those ones out. That tequila bottle looks awesome. Is that sculpture hollow in the center of the bottle?


Yes, it is hollow and perfect if kids don't pick it up and shake it. My son does open the top every so often just to give the shrimp fresh air. The advantage of the globes though, is they have a magnifying effect and the shrimps racing around on the opposite wall are gigantic.

Thanks Davrx for posting the pics. Makes me want a few more shrimps.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Love the new "community" David! It is curious how the opae ula tend to congregate at certain meeting places. (That is a cool rock, too, with lots of places to investigate.)

Mobert: I'm thinking there's always room for at least one more opae: like good popcorn, one can never have enough!


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## davrx

*Update*

Some recent photos:


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## Rob in Puyallup

Beautiful! Loving the whole look, David! 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


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## KD8ATF

I live this set up deff want to do something like this!


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Beautiful! Loving the whole look, David!
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


Thanks, I appreciate that from someone like yourself who is a successful breeder of Opaes.


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## davrx

KD8ATF said:


> I live this set up deff want to do something like this!


Thank you!


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## Rob in Puyallup

Is the lighting for the ecosphere just daylight through the window still?


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Is the lighting for the ecosphere just daylight through the window still?


Yes, other than just a bowl of water, sand, stones, macro algae, and shrimps there's nothing but a 50W titanium heater and an electronic thermometer in there. This Summer, I'll remove the heater and I'll have to start using blinds so as not to overheat it.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Great bowl, lighting and camera, then! 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Great bowl, lighting and camera, then!
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


Thanks Rob


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## Mobert

Are they eating the Spectrum food in the last pictures? Mine don't pile up on the Spirolina I give them. Maybe I should try something else? I do have other Bee shrimp foods but I think these guys don't eat protein based foods. What do you think?


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## Rob in Puyallup

I won't speak for David, but my opae ula eat ANYTHING I give them. Protein included. 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


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## davrx

Mobert said:


> Are they eating the Spectrum food in the last pictures? Mine don't pile up on the Spirolina I give them. Maybe I should try something else? I do have other Bee shrimp foods but I think these guys don't eat protein based foods. What do you think?


They're not picky, they eat whatever I put in their bowl but I don't feed them very often.


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## davrx

*Update*

Just took these photos, they were in my wife's classroom for awhile and are back on my desk for the Summer. I feed them occasionally and top off their bowl with R/O water and that's it.


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## Rob in Puyallup

Still looking very cool, David. Have they reproducing yet? 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Still looking very cool, David. Have they reproducing yet?
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2


No, I think I'd have to have a setup like yours in order for that to happen but mine is ultra low maintenance which is one of the things I like about these super shrimp.


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## davrx

*Rescape*

I decided it was time for a rescape of the Giant Ecosphere. I liked the idea of using white branch coral to contrast with the red shrimp and black sand to also contrast with the white coral. So I bought some different pieces of white coral and some Tahitian Moon Sand and put them in my spare bowl which I filled with brackish water and a piece of chaetomorpha from the original Giant Ecosphere. I also caught 3 Opa Ulae to put in the new bowl to see how they did just in case the coral wasn't fully cured (I didn't want to loose my entire colony).


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## Rob in Puyallup

Looks nice... Any sign of breeding yet?


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## davrx

Rob in Puyallup said:


> Looks nice... Any sign of breeding yet?


Thanks Rob, I don't think they have ever reproduced but then all I ever do is top off their bowl with RO water and rarely, if ever feed them anything. They pretty much have been living off whatever grows on the rocks in Sphere I and the chaetomorpha plus I don't heat their water, which means it has dropped into the upper 50's quite a few times with the record cold winter we've had here in Ohio, so it shouldn't come as a surprise I guess.


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## Rob in Puyallup

My opae ula are multiplying like crazy.


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## Rob in Puyallup

One of the many "pregnant" opae.


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