Hawaiian Opa'e ula Microhabitats - All Organisms are Captive Bred at Stockly's Aquaculture facility. Red Shrimp (Halocaridina rubra)
Complete kit for only
$59.95
Order Now!
Large Shrimp Microhabitat with 20 red shrimp.
Large Shrimp Microhabitat Dimensions; Top 6" x 6", Base 6 1/2" x 6 1/2", Height 7 1/2"
Cultured live sand, Cultured live rock, 15 - 20 Cultured Red Shrimp,6 Cultured snails, Saltwater.
The small microhabitat includes the following;
1. Hexagon (2.5" X 4") high container with lid.
2. Cultured live sand.
3. Cultured live rock.
4. 10 - 12 Cultured Red Shrimp.
5. 4 - 5 Cultured snails.
6. Saltwater.
Click to image
enlarge.
The live rock is the key to your microhabitat. We culture this rock in the same 5' diameter pools with our shrimp production. The growth on this live rock insures that shrimp will have the correct food source. No feeding is required. Just sit back enjoy these shrimp in their mini-ecosystem. Order Now!
This is a brief story about the our cultured Hawaiian Shrimp (Halocaridina rubra) or as the Hawaiians named them Opa'e ula.
These small, red shrimp are endemic to the Hawaiian Island. They are restricted to brackish water pools in recent coastal lavas located on the island of Hawaii and other islands through out the Indo-Pacific regions. The habitat of the shrimp consists of brackish water pools occurring in depressions, cracks, and crevices in the lava which extend to the water table. These Anchialine ponds consists of mixohaline groundwater underlying these lavas is derived from the dilution of seaward percolation freshwater and intrusive seawater. Characteristically, the pools are connected to this water through subterranean channels and interstices in the lavas and exhibit a dampened tidal rhythm.
Volcanic Red Shrimp – Opae ula Care Sheet
The shrimp are brackish water and will live in reef tanks with salinity as high as 1.022. They do not fare well in straight freshwater.
This is the complete water parameters on the shrimp natural environment.
1. Temperature 60F to 85F.
1. pH range 7.5 - 8.5
2. Nitrite (NO2) range 0.1 to 0.2 mg N/liter
3. Ammonia (NH3 + NH4) range 0.25 - 1.25
4. General Hardness (dGH) range 5 - 15
5. Salinity range (specific gravity) 1.008 - 1.012
6. Volume of water to shrimp ratio 30 - 50 shrimp/liter with slight aeration.
7. Feed can consist of a very small pinch of Spriulina fish flake food once per week.
Holding tank procedure: Prepare new brackish water tank before receiving your order. Make up new water with the salinity of 1.010 and use anti-chlorine (Tetra’s tank safe) to neutralize chlorinated tap water. A simple sponge filter or air stone for filtration is sufficient. Do not use the shipping water in which the shrimp arrive. It is best to float the inner bag for at least 30 minutes to equalize the temperature. Then add ˝ cup of your tank water every 10 minutes. Do this at least twice. You may have to remove some water from the shipping bag during the acclimation process. After the water has acclimatized your shrimp, sink the bag slowly in the water, so that the shrimp can swim out on their own speed. If it has been cold in your area and the shrimp look lethargic or dead don’t throw them out. The shrimp usually come livelier when they warm up.
A partial water change of 10%/month may be necessary in future.
Feed vary sparingly of one pinch of fish flake food once per week at most.
Enjoy!
Bill Stockly
Stockly’s Aquariums, Inc. (www.ecosaqua.com)
wstockly@ecosaqua.com