# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Invertebrates >  Introducing my Opae Ula setup

## Jules

Hello everyone!
I'm new to this group and just thought I'd share my 3. yr-old Opae ula set-up. After reieveing these shrimp (8 adults and
3 larvae, to begin with,) my numbers swelled to 500+. Worrying that my aquarium would become overwhelmed, should 
they continue to breed out of control, I decided to transition my brackish water set-up to a 100% freshwater set-up, so they
would stop breeding an the numbers would stay stable. I did this slowly, over a matter of weeks.
I now find this set-up easier to maintain; instead of having to mix new brackish water, after I remove 20% of the water, every 
2 weeks, I now only add fresh distilled water to top the tank up again.
My shrimp are happy and healthy and the only numbers that I have to watch are the population of Malaysian Trumpet snails 
(extras are fished out and fed to my other fish.) However, it is worth having these flexible little snails, they do a good job at 
crawling in the gravel and eating any food/poop left behind by the shrimp or the bilfilm that is growing there. Definately the best 
clean-up crew I've ever kept!
I'm going to have a go at embedding some photos. Pls be patient, as I've never tried this, before.

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## Jules

Some more pics:



Feeding frenzy! 









Hope you enjoyed! Jules

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## Jules

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rDkSsH8Xhb0

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## genki89

Wow nice... where did u get the coral fan?


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## Jules

I found it on Ebay. Because it is dark, the algae doesn't show, but with all of the shrimp on it, pretty sure it is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for them!

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## nibiew29

How big is your tank?


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## Jules

My tank is 80L

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## ahhian

Nice shrimp army and set up. Where did you get the shrimp from?

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## Jules

I got my shrimp from a friend who was breeding them. He got out of the hobby quite a while ago. I am also downsizing my set-up due to work obligations. Does anyone know of a good platform to sell on? I know you aren't allowed to sell any shrimp here and sales of live animals also aren't allowed on Carousell (although I have seen plenty of people give away animals for free on there.) Anyone know anyway easy way to set up my own advertisement online? I'm not that tech-savy!

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## Jules

I'm in the process of setting up an ad on Gumtree. I go by Jules1982 over there. Feel free to check it out, once the ad goes live.

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## Jules

ok, Gumtree also says I can't advertize the shrimp, because I didn't put the age and vaccination info of the anmal...I did put age of the shrimp (I put 'adult') and how do you vaccinate shrimp?! LOL!
Anyone know of any platform that would let me advertize my shrimp?

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## ChickenScribble101

Hey, remember me? The guppy seller. Same for me. How did you vaccinate guppies? This is so frustrating, I already contacted the gumtree support and stated in my guppy ad the age and them being quarantined.

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## genki89

Hahahahaha vaccination for guppy and shrimp?
If there are any way, please let me know. I will like to patent this drug vaccination. Maybe i could be the next Vigra  :Smile: 


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## ahhian

Guppies and shrimp also got COVID-19??

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## ChickenScribble101

:Laughing:  XD XD XD. Nope, just to prevent diseases like fungal infection. I think just quarantine the fish in tank, no need vaccinations.

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## Jules

Hey bro’s! If you are looking for Opae Ula, head down to WildBoar FishRooms on Jalan Jurong Kechil! The guy there called Isaac is very friendly and he has a lot of other freshwater fish in beautiful condition. Check them out on Facebook to find their opening days and hours and see what he has in stock just now!

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## motomage

Hello, i want to start pet shrimp as a first timer.. May i know your setup? What the cost of your setup and your tips and advice.. Please

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## YZ_Chua

Jules, you can consider selling thru telegram, there are a few chats for that.


https://t.me/ShrimpChatSG

https://t.me/PetsLivestocksBuySellSG


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## Jules

My setup was so long ago that I now have no recollection what i paid. So sorry about that. However, I would advise that you get a tank as large as you can afford, because the larger the volume of water is, the more stable it will be. I advise that you do heat the tank, if it is in a place with aircon, as your shrimp will be much happier with stable water temperatures. I also suggest that you do have some filtration; I use bubble filters, some of the cheap kind bought for about $7 at your LFS. Not only does it keep your own tank going, but if a friend has a cycle crash in their own aquarium, you can give them yours that is already seeded, to help save lives in their own tank. My shrimp also love playing in the bubbles that rise to the water surface. I also recommend using some kind of clean-up crew, to help break down waste food that doesn’t get eaten. In a brackish water tank, your options are more limited, as most snails can either live in saltwater or in freshwater. For brackish water, I use Malaysian Trumpet snails and those also seem to be happy and thriving, now I’ve converted the tank to freshwater (They are still breeding, although the shrimp no longer are.)
Finally, definitely use substrate. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate seem to be much more lethal to delicate shrimp and from what I have personally experienced, pollution builds up much more quickly in a bare-bottom tank. With 2 inches of gravel, food may slip down, but it is then treated and detoxified by the millions of beneficial bacteria that are living in the gravel bed. It is essentially a great means of filtering your water. My shrimp tank with the Opae Ula is one of only two I have done that have never crashed...all the others had bare bottoms, because I mistakenly believed that I could keep a bare-bottom tank cleaner. That was a mistake I’m never going to make again.

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## Jules

Ps, snails in the tank are great for cycling it, as well. Pls resist the urge to introduce shrimp before you tank has properly cycled. You will need to monitor your tank to ensure that the ammonia level increases, then goes back down (naturally, not because you just replaced all of the water with fresh; allow the tank time to build up beneficial bacteria,) then the nitrite level, then finally the nitrate level. Do your water changes as needed (ie, when the ammonia and nitrate has dropped and the nitrate is still rising,) but until the ammonia level and the nitrate level go down on their own, it means your beneficial bacteria level will not be at the level you will need it to be, so resist the urge to just replace all of the water, until everything is back down to zero. In a cycling tank, everything needs to go through the correct process, to ensure the shrimp will stay safe, after you add them.

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## Jules

Finally, for decoration, I got a fake, dark coloured sea fan, so that even when algae grew on it, it would not be very visible. I do no cleaning of any of my tank and the shrimp manage to keep the algae under control. I only feed once per week, using ShrimpKing shrimp food and fresh veg such as kale, cauliflower and broccoli. My shrimp are great eaters and swarm any food I put in there.

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