No. The ShrimpBubble is design as a semi-closed aquatic ecosystem -not permanently sealed, so the owner’s intervention to prevent or remedy an eventual lack of biological equilibrium is always possible.
Is the ShrimpBubble a self-sustaining ecosystem?The ShrimpBubble is designed as a symbiotic, self-sustaining system where an equilibrium of micro-organisms is eventually established. Simply provide your ShrimpBubble with a source of indirect natural or artificial light and enjoy observing its gradual development to a more complex form, where the flux of the organisms population constantly varies within certain limits.
How Big is the ShrimpBubble?
The dimensions of the glass ShrimpBubble is 3.5 X 3.5 X 4 inches.
The total volume is 8.5 US fluid ounces or 250 Milliliters
How do you know if you HAVE to feed them?
When properly cared for, feeding the shrimp is not absolutely necessary - at least for some time. That being said, one may feed a TINY (we don’t know how to better emphasize the word TINY) piece of our specially formulated green flake food (the same food we feed the shrimp in our hatchery) at any time and see if the shrimp will manifest any immediate interest in it. If the shrimp don't feed on the tiny piece of flake food, don’t panic. Leave the tiny piece of flake food in there for the other microorganisms to feed on it, and don’t add any more food for several weeks or longer. If the shrimp eat the TINY piece of green flake food, you may add ONE more TINY piece within a week or so. Any time they don't manifest an interest in the food, you MUST STOP feeding them. It means that the ecosystem has matured to such a level were it provides on its own enough food for the shrimp. NEVER overfeed your ShrimpBubble. The water pollution level will rise dramatically within a short period of time, and the shrimp may perish.
What can I do if I accidentally add too much food to my ShrimpBubble ecosystem?
Apply an EASY to do water change. Remove the cork top and simply extract 50ml of water with a plastic (never used before) feeding syringe -no needle. We provide a reusable, quality ShrimpBubble Water Change Kit for $14.99. We also offer a pre-measured ShrimpWaterMix (SWM) to be mixed with distilled water only in the 8oz plastic bottle that we provide with each ShrimpBubble Kit. One 8oz SWM costs $4.99, with any additional 8oz SWM for $2.99 each.
How long do they live?
Commonly known in Hawaii as ʻōpaeʻula (red shrimp) or red volcano shrimp, Halocaridina rubra is a tiny (1/2 inch), but hardy shrimp species that can adapt to various water pH levels and temperatures ranging from 60-80F. A long-lived species that, in some exceptional cases have been known to live for years in artificial ecosystems. The lifespan of each ShrimpBubble ecosystem will depend upon the level of observation and proper care applied to it by its owner.
What do you do if your shrimp dies?
To recharge your Shrimp Bubble with new shrimp, in case one or more shrimp may perish, simply remove the cork top and add new shrimp. You can buy our Shrimp Bubble Opae Ula, 3+1 extra shrimp for a total of $17.99. Use the Shrimp Bubble Water Change Kit to extract some water out of your Shrimp Bubble in order to pour the new shrimp in.