[Opae157]

Hi I am from Malaysia and just started to set up a nano tank for my opae ula. My tank is really small I think roughly around 600ml capacity only. And I House 5 opae and 7 Marimo in the tank. So far it's been almost a week and my opae are not reli hiding anymore and starting to come out but they still do become transparent once the lights are switched on. Usually after night in the morning I go and see them they are really red or dark pink like that but after I switch on the light they slowly turn transparent. They are not as active as I thought they would be. I saw videos of other opae owners having their shrimp swimming actively around. Or is it my opae still acclimating to the tank and all? Is my set up too small? Is it because they don't like my set up then it keep become transparent? Or they afraid of sudden on and off of light and all? I haven't fed them any thing but am deciding if I should introduce hair algae into the set up but I scared if it overgrows. I can't upload photos yet because I am using phone and I don't know how to upload it using phone. Hehe any feedback and or comments from opae pros here? Hehe

[odin]

Welcome to the forum @Opae157! It can be normal for the shrimp to turn pale while feeding and when you first switch the lights on, it is only when they do not colour up again you should be worried as there could be an issue with water conditions. Its a good sign that the shrimp are also not hiding all the time but if you wish to see more activity i would indeed get a larger container/tank for them to explore.

I wouldn't add hair algae to your tank as this can get out of control and take over your tank, plus once it is in your tank it is very hard to remove it completely if you wish to do that. You can add photo's by pressing the 'Add files' button ( it has a little cloud and an arrow in it) on it too,

[Opae157]

Here is a picture of my tank hahaha

[Opae157]

so if after I on my light they should turn red back after a period of time? if they still don't then my light too Bright? or is it they still acclimating to the light schedule? I only see them red early in the morning or after a long time in the dark hahaha once light is on it Will slowly become transparent

[opae ula related]

cute little tank! what kind of light is it? looks kinda bright

[odin]

Have you tried a different light that is not so strong / powerful ?

[Opae157]

@opae ula related @odin it's LED light that came along with the tank. Hehe it's a really small tank 12 cm by 8cm by 8cm. I ordered a LED table lamp which the brightness can be adjusted and try see if it is suitable.

[odin]

You can also buy window tinting film from shops or ask for samples which you can cut to size and fit under your light, its the tinting film they use on office windows and the likes.

[Opae157]

@odin is hair algae and macro algae the same thing? Are this hair algae or macro algae?

[odin]

No.. hair algae and macro algae are different, hair algae really is like wet hair when you pull it out of the water and macro algae is like wire and holds its shape some what when out of the water. I cant really see very well but what you have there looks like some sort of macro algae?