Particles not rendering on sorting layer specified with sprite-default shader

So I have an object with a particle system attached. I have multiple layers in a 2D game and everything looks great. When this object (a fireball) flies over anything in the game the particles just don't show up. When I switch my edit view into 3D and rotate the camera I can see the particles as they render over empty space. They also render over empty space in the game. When I assign a different shader to the particles, say Default-Diffuse, the particles render as black, but at least they render at the sorting layer I specify in the start() method of the object:

void Start () { particleSystem.renderer.sortingLayerName = "Actors"; }

This works to reassign the sorting layer the fireball itself is in, but the particles are still having a hard time following suit.

I'm guessing it's a problem with the shader. If only there were a shader that would act like the sprite-default but show up in the corret sorting layer like the default-diffuse shader.

Thanks in advance.