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What kind of natural decoration can I use in my volcano shrimp (Opae ula) tank 1 of 2 ?

I prefer mostly natural decoration for my volcano shrimp (opae ula) tank.

My favourite piece of decoration is a piece of natural lava rock.

It has a beautiful texture and is light weight and comes in a few colours like black, brown or maroon and lightweight.

The holes in the lava rocks provide a good hiding place fot the volcano shrimp (opae ula)

Pregnant volcano shrimp are often found hiding in there.

Lava rock can be used as decoration or hiding place for the volcano (Opae ula) shrimp


If you unable to purchase big pieces of lava rock, you can also use small lava chips too.

I love to use them for my miniature and nano size volcano shrimp (opae ula) tank !

Big lava rock or lava chips can be used in the volcano shrimp (opae ula) tank

What kind of substrate can I put in my volcano shrimp (opae ula shrimp) tank ?

What is substrate ? It is the material at the bottom of your tank.

There are many type of  substrate to use in the volcano shrimp (opae ula) tank.

I prefer natural substrate over artificial substrate.

I am afraid of colours or chemicals leaching out of artificial substrate into the shrimp tank,  killling all my volcano shrimp (opae ula).

I prefer to use fine coral sand for my shrimp tank


My favourites are lava rock, lava chips, coral chip and coral sand.

Coral sand contain calcium carbonate and it is good for shell or exoskeleton of the volcano shrimp.

Coral chips are used in my volcano shrimp tank as a decoration and also buffer my water parameter


The small lava rock chips provide many hiding place for the volcano shrimp (opae ula).

Big lava rock or lava chips can be used in the volcano shrimp (opae ula) tank


Seachem also sells a wide range of natural substrate. There are many you can choose from,  such as:

a) Flourite Black Clay Gravel

b) Flourite Red Clay Gravel

c) Fluorite Black Sand

d) Onyx Sand

Can I use other kinds of salt for my volcano shrimp (opae ula) tank ? No, it killed my shrimps !

Common Sea Salt killed my Volcano Shrimp

The answer is NO !

I made this mistake a few years back when I used Portuguese Sea Salt and Himalayan Rock Salt for my shrimp tank. It was affordable and easily available in any supermarket.

But the moment I put the volcano shrimp into the mixed salt water, they swam in circle and upsize down in distress ! Many shrimps died as a result.

Perhaps some chemicals were used in the packaging of these salts. But I have no way to find out.

My advice is to use Aquarium Sea Salt for marine fishes and invertebrates. Be safe than sorry.

What kind of salt can I use for my Volcano Shrimp (Opae Ula) shrimp tank ?

I use only aquarium sea salt for my volcano shrimp (opae ula) tank.

I mix them with my home made distilled water.

Do not use common cooking salt such as Himalayan Salt, French Sea Salt or Portuguese Sea Salt.

It will kill the volcano shrimp (opae ula) instantly !

Trust me, it happened to me.

Use only Aquarium Sea Salt. Do not use other types of common cooking salt !

I am using Red Sea Aquarium Salt, you can use other brands as well.

Make sure it indicate aquarium sea salt for marine tank.

a) Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix

b) Instant Ocean Reef Crystals Reef Salt

c) Brightwell Aquatics NeoMarine Marine Salt Blend

Can I make distilled water for my volcano shrimp (Opae Ula) tank ? It is more convenient and readily available whenever I need it.

Yes, you can. I have been doing it for years.

You need a steam water distiller. It can produce up to 4 litres of distilled water.

This is a 4 Litres steam water distiller


The machine boils the water until it turn into steam and goes into the pipes.

The contaminants in the water are left in the bottom of the tank.

Look how dirty it is !

The contaminants in the water are left in the bottom of the tank


A fan above cools the pipe and turns the steam into droplets of distilled water,. It is collected in the glass container.

The water distiller cuts off the power automatically in about 7 hours. The hot distilled water will cool down to the room temperature.

It takes about 7 hours to produce 4 litres of distilled water


Where can I get the above steam water distiller ?

If you are staying in Singapore, you can visit:

Fit for Life Centre Singapore
Blk 462, Crawford Lane,
Unit 02-55, Singapore 190462
Tel: (65) 6291 8080
Website: www.naturalhealing.com.sg

Where to get a water distiller in Singapore

What kind of water should I use in my volcano shrimp (Opae ula) tank ? Tap water, Rain water or distilled water ?

The best water for the volcano shrimp is aquarium sea salt mixed with pure distilled water. The reason is because there are chemicals and impurities in our tap water.

Chemicals are added into our drinking water to kill bacteria and pathogen.

The water is pumped come from our water company all the way to our house through various water pipes. These pipes introduce dissolved metal and impurities into the tap water.

Alternatively, you can always collect clean rain water. But before you do that, let it rain for about 15 mins or longer to wash away any surface contamination.

The rain water collected will be much cleaner.

Pure Bottled Distilled water for drinking

Where can I keep my Volcano Shrimp ? Is plastic or glass container better ?

You can keep your volcano shrimp (opae ula) in any plastic or glass container. 

Just do not use any metal container as it will rust and kill the shrimps.

Glass bottle tank with plastic lid


You can DIY and cut an acrylic sheet to be used a a tank lid.  

Volcano Shrimp Acrylic Tank


I prefer heavy, sturdy glass tank as it will not stain and you can scrub the tank easily without scratching it.

Remember to put a lid over the tank to prevent evaporation loss.

Water evaporate will cause a change in water salinity, thus kill the volcano shrimp (opae ula) slowly.

Volcano Shrimp glass tank


These are glass jar with lid from ikea company.

ikea glass jar with lid


These jar comes with wooden lid.

glass jar with lid


These jar comes with aluminum lid.

These jars come with aluminium lid


These jar comes without lid.

glass jar without lid


These jars are of various sizes but come without lid.

jar without lid


These designer jars come without lid.

You can put a round marble as a lid.

odd size jar with small opening