Opae'Ula Care (Hawaiian Red Shrimp/Halocaridina Rubra)

This is an overview of Opae'Ula Care (also known as Hawaiian Red Shrimp or Halocaridina Rubra), and it's kind of long, so if you want to skip to a specific section, the times are listed below:
1. EcoSpheres & How I Got Into Opae'Ula (0:13)
2. Origins of Opae Ula (1:33)
3. Tank Requirements (1:52)
4. Water Requirements - Salinity (2:35)
5. Cycling Your Tank (3:49
6. Filter Requirements & Modifications (5:03)
7. Lighting Requirements (6:08)
8. Food Requirements (6:40)
9. Substrate (7:21)
10. Decorations/Plants (7:43)
11. Growth/Maturity (8:32)
12. Tank Mates (9:03)
13. Conclusion (9:34)
*NOTE: The way my camera catches the light makes the tank look cloudy. Neither the lighting nor the tank look that way in person. The light is bright, but doesn't shimmer like it does in the video, and the tank is actually crystal clear.
**I say both 7 and 8 months in the video because I have had the shrimp for 7 months, but I have been doing research and setting up the tank a month before that. =)
Here is a compilation of sources I originally found for information about Opae'Ula shrimp:
shrimpmart.bigc...
Channel: / shrimpmart
This site has everything you need to start a shrimp tank of your own. It has pretty limited information about their care, but their KZbin channel has more in-depth information. I purchased my shrimp, snails, lava rock, shrimp food, and gallon of cultured water all from ShrimpMart.net. They have amazing customer service and are very knowledgeable about Opae'Ula care. Shipping was also really fast!
www.fukubonsai....
Fuku Bonsai has a TON of information on Opae'Ula. I based most of my research on this site, but they do not sell the shrimp and their "micro-tanks" separately. Their tanks are basically little jars that don't look too aesthetically pleasing, so I decided not to purchase from them because I already had a nice tank set-up of my own.
www.petshrimp.c...
This site has pretty decent, general information about Opae'Ula and also has a page on how to set up the tank. I followed MOST of the instructions except for the RO/distilled water (I used bottled water), their no substrate suggestion (I used sand), and their recommendation of random food (I purchased food specifically for shrimp).
www.ohmyopae.co...
This site kind of has a lot going on at once and has almost the same general information as petshrimp.com. I really only skimmed through this site because it pretty much has the same information as the sites I've already listed.
iloveinverts.co...
T to the E to the O has linked this site in the comments section, and it is another keeper's experience with raising Opae'Ula. This site has very specific information about parameters, what to do, and what not to do.
The Fluval Chi aquarium that I use can be purchased through PetSmart, but I purchased mine through Amazon here:
www.amazon.com/...

[@slobooger]

I am so glad you looked into these "Eco-spheres" before buying one. I wish more people were responsible like you!!!

[@amberchip]

I love my Opae Ulas. I have 3 tanks currently. I also had a very hard time finding any good information/videos on these great little pets. Thank you for putting your videos out, I really enjoy them.

[@amberchip]

Christine Ha It is hard not to want to drop a ton of money on these little guys. I only have one filtered tank, but in small colonies they do well in unfiltered. So I have two large open bowls with about 10 and they are very happy, they have been in that environment for over a year. We had the enclosed death trap ecospheres to begin with (for about a year prior), broke them open and added those freed shrimp to the open bowl tanks and they are thriving as well. Amazing resilient little guys.

[@bbhb740]

I have had my ecosphere for 22 years. I opened it about 18-months ago and gave the two remaining shrimp their first fresh air and water change. They were also given a few strands of macroalgae from petshrimp.com and then a few months ago I added a pipipi snail from shrimpmart. The ecosphere looks great and the shrimp are still very active.

[@FlawedPefection]

Did you keep them in the original ecosphere or did you transfer them to a larger tank? Either way, how did yky do it?

[@bbhb740]

@@FlawedPefection they're still in the original sphere. I used a razor blade to cut the little glass door free. It's taped back on to limit evaporation. I top up with distilled water as necessary. Once a year I use a thin straw to remove accumulated waste, strain the water and return it to the sphere. The macroalgae is their only food.

[@FlawedPefection]

Thank you so much! I’ll see if I can do that with mine. :)

[@mimicmage]

Exactly she's using a filter which is not necessary for this species

[@Psittac20]

Thank you for this video, I have been keeping fish for several years but this put everything I need to know in one spot. I'm gonna set up a tank for these guy's in the following months :D

[@christineha5824]

+Psittac20 Great! Good luck with your new shrimpies!! =)

[@keithweiser7521]

Informative and well researched video. I have a breeding tank that I set up a few years ago with 12 adults and now I have hundreds of opa'e ula. Super-fun low maintenance pet.

[@christineha5824]

Yep! They're what got me started on this hobby and will always be my first love! =P

[@Fishtory]

great video!

[@isthistwitterbruh]

Mahalo for this video! Wanted one of these to remind me of my island home but I immediately learned about the no feed torture domes and wanted to raise them myself if possible. Good stuff! \m/

[@tuannguyenngocminh]

How amazing the shrimps!! I have 1 Sulaweshi shrimp tank, and one Fire Red shrimp tank. And now I want one Opae Ula tank, haha. Thanks you alot for share this, Christine ^^

[@mauifeatherlei]

My opae bred in 3 months, as we are shell collecting i would save the prettiest for the opae tank and drop it in. The began to breed and 8 months later I have now 3 sets of babies and more females with eggs. calcium from the shells is the key

[@ZongyunDeng]

Please post more of Opae Ula videos! I'm planning on taking care of them, so please help! Will you also add the links to where you got your items? Thanks!

[@Cgraseck]

Great vid! RO water is fine though. I use remineralized Ro water on all my tanks. Marine salt mix does a fine job of remineralizing. 👍👍

[@IzHackedYou]

So I recently got an Ecosphere off of Amazon without knowing how cruel they were, and so I plan on busting them out of there (removing glue on bottom, not breaking glass) and moving them into a larger 2.5 gallon tank. When I get them into the bigger tank, I also plan on getting some friends the the original 9. How many would you recommend go in there? Thanks for the informative videos, and any other tips for my project would be well appreciated too! Thanks.

[@kenjiro2676]

Gorka in a 10 gallon you can fit 50+ and they will live comfortably.. a 2.5 gal might you can house maybe 10+?

[@kixs7528]

I got one and I regret it 😞

[@autumnsky9807]

Use the little Ecosphere container for a tiny moss garden.

[@rangerandrogue]

I know this video was made in 2014 and most of the info is correct for almost a decade ago. Instant ocean is a remineralizer. Using tap water is making the water incredibly hard because you are adding minerals to already mineral rich water. You can ONLY use RO, RODI, or Distilled water with ANY remineralizer. Your females are actually sexually mature. You can tell by the dark spot on their carapace. I use crushed coral as a substrate and mine love it. They make little homes in the coral. Fake plants arent really great for any salinity and you CAN use plenty of hardy freshwater plants in a brackish tank. Although plants are great for most species of shrimp by eliminating nitrates; I actually recommend no plants in an Opae Ula tank due to the nutrient absorption competition going on in your water chemistry. Opae Ula loveeeeeeee algae. Algae is most commonly cause by hyper nutrients. You will need a diffuser for your filter to prevent salt creep. Thank you for pointing out the Amazon eco-spheres. Ive reported it to Amazon several times for animal abuse. The three major threats to anchialine pool shrimp are habitat destruction and degradation; nonnative invasive species; and over collection for the aquarium trade. Please please please source responsibly, people.

[@OceanTruth]

Amazing job packing this video with a ton of useful information! :)

[@OceanTruth]

Lol. Almost. :) I've narrowed it down to a dwarf crayfish or shrimp. Some people say you can keep them together, but I'm not sure I really believe that. I might test that theory eventually though.

[@kbn6132]

Really informative. Thank you :)

[@christineha5824]

Thanks! :)

[@TheScienceguy77]

Thank you for the information!

[@DrJamesBWood]

Great video, very informative.

[@alanzhan5958]

I almost bought one but suddenly I felt sad to look at them, well, good to know from you.

[@christineha5824]

+Alan Zhan Yeah. Makes me sad too. =(

[@viewer1431]

those biospheres are so sad :(

[@zdp-189]

The shrimp are as cute as you! I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I love freshwater shrimps.

[@christineha5824]

+Erik DeWitt Aww thanks! These guys are brackish water, but I do keep plenty of freshwater too!

[@phillipemaehole4238]

great video! Ty!

[@ReptileNexus]

I use r/o with mine and they seem to be fine. Wonder why he said not to.

[@christineha5824]

No idea. I use RO now, and they're fine.

[@maggiemay944]

Ok so only 6 years later 😅 I got an ecosphere knowing nothing about what happened to them while living in it. Flash forward I bought a 1 gallon betta led tank which is a big upgrade for my little dudes is that ok for now I will def upgrade

[@semrahidic3630]

I had an eco-shphere, but my opae ula kept dying. I didn’t know why but now I do and I feel terrible for it. I will definitely try to keep opae ula again but do it totally differently, RIP my four opae ula, I am so sorry

[@lamissedroubi]

hi christine i just watches your video and im now realizing that my tank is like an echospere, but i dont know how to transfer my shrimp into a different tank.

[@ProgressiveDiscussions]

With my very large comer goldfish I took a large cheap bubble up corner filter and put 2 Aqua Clear biological ceramic filter bags and one bio sponge from this company in the bubble up with no carbon. The nitrogen cycle is fine. I prefer to choose the filtering capacity that is much larger than the aquarium. Your so attractive that I had a hard time focusing on what you had to say, ha ha.

[@malachigrey4895]

Damn you're cringe

[@FlawedPefection]

If you already purchased an ecosphere, but you want to transfer them to a larger tank, how would you do that? Is it safe to even try?

[@joyeddings4861]

I was wondering what brand of black and are you using for your Opae Ula I currently have arganite sand but it is not live. Also what size are your pipipi snails. Look forward to hearing back from you

[@christineha5824]

I can't remember the brand of it. It was just some black sand I found at Walmart. I have since switch to coral sand that I found at my LFS, and they have been breeding like crazy in that for the past two years!

[@mlbumller]

Ate the guys at Shrimpmart ok? Their site is down again and for several months

[@adriananguyen9529]

Thanks, Christine. How many times should I feed them a week?

[@legoindianajones1000]

do you know what salinity they should be kept at when being measured by a hydrometer? (for example, I keep my saltwater tank at 1.026 sg) and do you know where I can buy Opae here in Hawaii?

[@legoindianajones1000]

Christine Ha Thank you for the info! I was able to find 1 store that has it in Honolulu. I heard from some people that Opae tend to breed more at 9ppm. If you like shrimp, you should also look into getting some macrobrachium! Also consider starting up a saltwater tank, it's very rewarding and the animal diversity in marine systems are great.

[@legoindianajones1000]

Christine Ha Actually, it's not as much work as it sounds :) pretty much the only maintenance I do for my tank is a water change twice a month! And feed my fish of course. Many people talk about adding chemicals and feeding their coral but it's all nonsense. My tank naturally takes care of nitrates and other stuff because I have natural live rock straight from the ocean. The key to saltwater tanks is live rock as it provides lots of surface area for beneficial bacteria. I don't even feed my coral, they get enough energy from their zooxanthellae algae and they have been healthy since I first got them. Don't let people online make you think that saltwater is difficult when it really isn't :) I've actually found saltwater tanks to be easier to keep than freshwater! I'm a student as well but I put very little maintenance into my tanks lol

[@MrRoverpilot]

Christine Ha I agree with Raj.s, it is not as much work as you think , If you are not raising a very picky coral you need a protein skimmer a good filter and to keep topping off the water and measure the salinity , Once established my 36 Bow front was nearly self sustaining , I had a prism protein skimmer hang on back and a marineland C20 filter 4 250 power heads on a wave maker timer that I got used and a HO Light . Once a week I would test everything . I kept it running for 2 years with no crashing and I would leave town a week at a time

[@nettepak3804]

+Raj I'm on the Big Island and I'm getting mine from Stacy's Pets in Hilo. Loads of breeders and local here. Some wild ones are illegal to take though.

[@legoindianajones1000]

Nette Pak In Oahu I don't think it's illegal. Thats cool that big Island has stores that sell them, the stores here stopped selling them.

[@Amber-ki5iv]

How can you add salt with your mystery snails? I'm looking for a good tank mate with my mystery snails but the salt is not recommend. I'm really looking at freshwater shrimp. Can they live happily without salt?

[@evann1136]

Would you know if I can take these things on a plane? I go to school in Hawaii and would like to take some to California

[@bmgf300z]

Great video! What is the name of the snails?

[@Psittac20]

+Tommy Fong some kind of Nerite snail. The olive nerites we get in denver are similar, they do fine in fresh water but only breed in brackish. They are completely plant safe and help clean up algae.

[@rogernevez5187]

Cristine, did you ever heard about Miniature Aquariums from Desktop Oasis? Do you think it might work as a no maintenance aquarium for red shrimp?

[@christineha5824]

No, I've never heard of them, but there is no such thing as a no-maintenance aquarium. =) (Sorry for the late response. I've been MIA from KZbin for awhile.)

[@crazychameleon563]

That's actually surprisingly close to being wrong in this case. Of course the ecosphere's are stupid. But if you're ONLY keeping opae ula in the tank you can totally make an almost no maintenance tank. During cycling you just let algae grow like mad and then when they get in you don't even have to feed them. And even once they've eaten throug most of the algae .. A little marimo moss ball or two .. and a ciclid pellet every month or so is more than enough for hundreds of shrimp And as long as you top off your water to the same level to compensate for evaporation the salinity wont be a problem .. and I should know .. Mine breed like wabbits so I must be doing something right! XD You don't even really need a heater as long as your temperatures don't regularly go below 10c for extended periods of time. These are some hardy animals and a hyper low maintenance tank is actually better for them since they really don't like water movement. My tank is just a BUNCH of shrimp .. and a few zebra nerite buddies. And for someone with a busy lifestyle like me it's the perfect aquarium XD.

[@ArthurUkudeevFreemanisboss]

i have a not-so-quick question. I bought a couple of these on a trip to Hawaii. Now that I'm back in the U.S, I was curious if you know of any stores that sell these little guys.

[@christineha5824]

+Arthur Ukudeev-Freeman I really don't know if anyone in the continental US sells them. I bought mine originally from a breeder in Hawaii: shrimpmart.net

[@savorsavvy]

How to tell between males and females opae ulas? I have two with a dark spot along the carapace area.

[@trippl3916]

I have a thing sort of like an ecosphere except it's bigger, has a opening a the top, and it comes with food for the shrimp. There's some plant life, seashells, sand, and rocks inside it. Currently, the shrimp seem to be really energetic and they are a nice red color. Is this "ecosphere" also bad for the shrimp? Thanks :)

[@christineha5824]

If you can change the water in it, then they should be fine. You just want stable water parameters and to change out the water when their waste gets too toxic. =)

[@louiskang3019]

can I ask how often do you feed ur shrimps?

[@babyface7440]

2019 Anyone? From Philippines

[@cyrano2508]

Hi, where do you buy opae ula food? Thanks

[@laurens_deneve]

why would bottled water be better than RO water? to bottles they sometimes add chemicals...

[@laurens_deneve]

+ RO water is cheaper anyway (and better for the environment)...

[@kniveschauincarnate]

Would you be able to use sea straight from the ocean?..... Because I'm from Hawaii and would really want to know

[@christineha5824]

+Gerald James Gamiao They require brackish water, which is inbetween fresh and salt water. I don't see why you couldn't use seawater straight from the ocean, but you'd want to dilute it with fresh RODI to get to the proper salinity first. My only concern would be unknown substances introduced into the tank via ocean water.

[@kniveschauincarnate]

+Christine Ha (Shrimp Things) thank you a lot for your help, this was really helpful

[@adriananguyen9529]

What kind of substrate should the shrimp have?

[@christineha5824]

I'm using crushed corals, which help to raise ph.

[@nguoiyeu]

Hi Christine, what's the recommended level for the nitrate and nitrite in the tank? I've tried to find more info about it, but no luck. Can you help me with this? Also, is it possible to cycle the tank with the shrimps and snail in the tank?

[@christineha5824]

+nguoiyeu Nitrite = 0 ppm. Nitrate = 0-10 ppm. And technically, it is possible to cycle the tank with shrimps and snails, but they will most likely be poisoned from the toxins, so it is definitely not recommended unless you're prepared for them to die. There are safer ways to cycle a tank without harming animals. =)

[@nguoiyeu]

+Christine Ha (Shrimp Things) Thanks! what's the recommended level for ammonia? and also what's the recommended ways to remove dead shrimps? I'm having a hard time to remove the dead shrimps :(

[@christineha5824]

+nguoiyeu Ammonia should be 0. I remove dead shrimp with tweezers or a net. Hope things get better. =(

[@nguoiyeu]

+Christine Ha (Shrimp Things) My tank was fine for an entire week then my whole tank's ammonia was so high last night, 2.0ppm. Do you have any advice on what product to do the water cycling faster, like convert ammonia into nitrate? I don't use the filter, so not sure that I should use the same one as you recommended in the video.....

[@lewiskuo]

hello, Can i order the Opae Ula shrimps from you? thank you so much!

[@christineha5824]

Sorry! I don't have any for sale. I gave all of mine to my niece, and she loves them to death. :)

[@lewiskuo]

thank you!!!!

[@puggirl1011]

where do i get the food from? can i get something in stores?

[@puggirl1011]

are algae wafers ok?

[@puggirl1011]

Christine Ha do you know how long it would take to arrive?

[@puggirl1011]

puggirl1011 would fluval shrimp granules be good too? sorry for the questions...my friend got me opae ula and i wasnt expecting that, so i'm not very prepared to take care of them as well as id like to

[@troywales983]

what was the name of the snails please

[@christineha5824]

They were called Pipipi snails.

[@eddie-bp9xh]

hello, im worried for my opae ula as it is often white/transparent in colour, but sometimes in the mornings i do see it a bit reddish. Do you think it is doing ok and is there a way to make its colour enhanced? =)

[@HastingsFC1]

Mine do the same thing! Red in the morning and then they lose color throughout the day.

[@HmoobThor]

i find this to be very informative. I love opae ula! one of my favor shrimp in the hobby. Love the video. If you like shrimp, be sure to check my channel out.

[@HmoobThor]

Christine Ha looking forwards to your video too!

[@andreyrudenko5880]

Hello, do you have the opportunity to send your shrimps Halocaridina rubra to Russia? Maybe there are your wholesalers in Moscow, tell contacts?

[@atruloon]

Just get red cherry shrimp and you dont have to worry about salt water and they will reproduce like rabbits.

[@markb.739]

Mustafa, the owner from petshrimp.com is against the use of filtration of any kind. Your thoughts?

[@chrisf5053]

I agree. I do not have a filter. I followed Mustafa's suggestions on setting up a 1 gallon tank, and my shrimp are doing great!

[@testtube43]

how do you keep it so clear?

[@christineha5824]

Water changes every week. :)

[@mikeego8226]

How much shrimp should i put in a 3 gallon

[@christineha5824]

I would go for 1 per gallon to start. =)

[@martijnxx15]

i had my opea ula less than a year be for i saw my first berried female. And i started with 30 shrimp i found out that not feeding them for a little while and than more often in combination with adapting some fresh to the tank to the ordinary water height after evaporate. will help starting the breeding progres in my opinion it worked in my cause :D. if you like you can check out my video from my tank and especially one of my berried shrimp kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKPben1tnbWbbNU

[@JB-wg9zj]

yeah lady good job! I see those things in shrokiya in HNL and I want to break those darn things. Why don't you just go net your own?

[@JB-wg9zj]

I think they sell a lot more to tourists. sad either way.

[@JB-wg9zj]

That kind of "thinking" requires a little heart too. It's not always so common.

[@kenjiro2676]

You might aswell have all lava rocks..

[@christineha5824]

That's what I switched to. The 10 gallon tank they're in now is just coral sand, lava rocks, and two sponge filters.

[@Liadara]

Would well water be okay for these guys?

[@christineha5824]

It depends on the parameters of your well water. You will want to know the PH, GH, KH, TDS, NH3, NO2, and NO3 levels before you can determine if it will be alright. =)

[@nakedaquarist9504]

What type of bottled water? Do you mean just like a normal bottled water for drinking? Is that what you only use? P.S. I am not making a brackish water, just a normal freshwater and only normal shrimp nothing to rare. Don't have a choice really. Where I live I have only a few options for shrimp. I really want to make sure I get the right environment for my shrimp. I did have shrimp before but didn't do anything special for them. This time I am making a dedicated aquarium just for them. And want to do it right. Thank you very Much. Tracey