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This story began on August 31, 2004 with this email:
Hi David, I am very interested in captive breeding opae-ula shrimp in Singapore. And would like to participate in your research too. Currently, I have successful bred some 30 over Red Cherry shrimp (Taiwan) and is in the progress of breeding Pearl shrimp (India). I believe that Singapore, located in the Equator, would be suitable in breeding this shrimp. Please let me know how I can purchase these shrimps. Thank you. Mr. Ng Heng Ghee, Lab Technician, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Wow! Wouldn't it be great to have a Micro-Lobster Team member in Singapore? But the logistics was daunting! At that time we had not yet cleared for Singapore and not ready to obtain an import-export license. There's also a stiff "inspection fee" for each shipment regardless of the size of the shipment so costs would be high. But I wrote back to explore the possibilities and Heng Ghee suggested it be sent to a US address and we did.
MARCH 28, 2005: Heng Ghee's brother would be traveling in the US so an order was placed for a BT-2 Educational Breeder Tank (including an Educational Discount) with payment made by PayPal and arrangements for it to be sent to Rhode Island.
We can do a story for your website. What do you want us to tell ? Transporting the tank to Singapore ? Or the progress of the tank in Singapore ? Hopefully, one day I can visit you in Hawaii, and look at the Opae ula pond. I am truly amazed by this shrimp. It great to know that I own a little part of Hawaii !
APRIL 6, 2005: Shipping confirmation: Aloha! This will confirm shipping of an order to Ng Heng Lee via FedEx tracking #6500 5071 9172 with expected arrival on April 7 (Thursday). To track your order, go to the FedEx website (www.fedex.com) and type in the tracking number, or call 1-800-GO-FedEx (1-800-463-3339). Please contact us ASAP if the parcel does not arrive by that day and we will assist in obtaining assistance.
MAY 01, 2005: Aloha! It's been a while and I'm looking forward to a report of how the unit arrived in Singapore! Is all okay? Regards, ~~~David
MAY 2, 2005: Hi David, Everything is fine except for the light bulb that is 110V. I am trying to locate a 230V light bulb that would fit into the case. So far, the shrimps are fine. There are easily 20 of them. They like the Sp. Algae. I'll take a photo and send it to you shortly. Heng Ghee
JULY 13, 2005: There were 1 or 2 death when my brother received the package in the US. He brought the package to Singapore on 17th April 2005. The live rocks were then added on the 2nd day of arrival while feeding was started on the 5th. Till date, I have not seen anymore more death. The shrimps are eating very well from the surface. Their sizes remain the same. I am feeding them every alternate day using the supplied toothpick as a guide. No berried female were seen. The temperature in my room range between 28°C - 31°C. I topped up the water using distilled water. What is the salinity of the water in the canister ? I read from your website that lowering the salinity will increase breeding. What do you think ? How much salinity can I lower ? I have taken a photo of the canister with my 2 children. We like the unit very much.
My son, Thng Chen is 7 years old. My daughter, Chyi Mei is 5 years old. I forgot to mention that the light units cannot be used. The bulb is 110V and my replacement bulb(220V) did not fit. I will modify it at a later time. Meanwhile I put a fluorescent light next to the canister. Having 25+ shrimps in the canister seems a bit crowded. I would like to give them more space for growth and breeding. Can I separate them to another canister with salinity at 1.008 using marine salt ? In this way, I can put the new canister in my office with temperature ranging from 23°C - 30°C. Hopefully, this wide range of temperature can simulate condition in their natural environment (Hawaii) and encourage breeding. Perhaps you can tell me the temperature in Hawaii in the day and night ? Thank you. Heng Ghee
DISCUSSION: We stock units at 48 opae'ula per gallon so the 3/4-gallon BT-2 Educational Breeder Tank was stocked with 36 with a 20% shipping mortality allowance. If 1 or 2 died enroute, the rate was well within our allowance. In shipping, the gravel is bagged separately so if there is any mortality in shipping, they would be easy to spot. Heng Ghee is an experienced shrimp breeder so I look forward to hearing of his results. I forwarded the latest captive breeding information but also on how to set up a larger breeding tank. Researcher Tom Iwai recommends incandescent 60-watt 12-hour on-off timer settings. At Fuku-Bonsai our best results were with a Halogen lamp, but the light intensity created a green algae with photosynthesis (producing oxygen bubbles) that was difficult to remove from the tank walls.
I look forward to further reports! ~~~David
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