pmang6 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 On 10/12/2018 at 11:25 AM, Firefish15 said: Hmm yeah, that was a good deal. I saw it too. I think for an ATO, I'm going to try a DIY gravity-fed one. Think like an inverted two-liter bottle. It might not look the prettiest, but I'll only have to use it when I'm gone. And it'll be cheap, so... I work in the herpetology lab at my school, so I have some experience working with tanks. Drilling glass, making lids, making custom foam backgrounds, stuff like that. Taking care of a bunch of amphibians and reptiles, including a tegu and an alligator. It's a fun job. Yeah, I'm enjoying the scape too, haven't felt the urge to change it. I really like the rocks themselves. The base rock on the left is mostly hollow, big cave with a few different sized holes for entrances. I think the firefish will like it. Yea, i may go diy ato as well, once i move my tank into a 20 long, it will be on a wire rack with a perfect spot for a resevoir. Totally jealous of your job too! Tegus are awesome! 14 hours ago, Firefish15 said: I went to the LFS today! I now have my first ever saltwater fish: Moto Moto the magnificent firefish! He's about an inch and a half right now. For the first hour after release, he tucked himself away under the tonga, but now he's out and about exploring the tank. He's also already taken some frozen mysis, brine shrimp, and krill. Looks nice and healthy! I also got an Astraea snail and some mini brittle stars. Apologies for the blurry photo of Moto, but he is fast and my camera is slow. Firefish are really pretty. They look like theyre made out of candy or something. Moto Moto looks great! 2 Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 @pmang6 I really like their coloration too. Little purple freckles and stuff. He'll probably be the only fish livestock in this tank for a while. Maybe add a yellow clown goby later. 1 Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 Just added my next round of CUC! I added a pair of nassarius snails to tackle leftover food and to keep the sandbed stirred, and an emerald crab to help with the hair algae. So far, things are good. One nassarius snail has already done a lap around the tank. The emerald crab has been busy munching on a slime trail from the larger of the new snails. Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted October 22, 2018 Author Share Posted October 22, 2018 Update to the emerald crab...He's dead. No, it wasn't a molt. I saw and left it in the tank for a couple of hours, just to be sure. Nassarius snail was all over him, and it stank. I cracked the shell just to be sure. He was doing fine the first day. Hanging out on the underside of the cave, happily munching a piece of frozen food I gave him. I think my salinity swung high, due to evaporation. My water had gone down 3/8 of an inch. Does anyone think that would be enough to cause problems for the crab? The three snails are all still fine though, which makes me think the salinity wasn't it. Here's the acclimation process I have used for all my inverts so far: Float bags in tank for 15 minutes for temperature Empty bags into a tilted 5G bucket to start drip acclimating at 3-4 drops per second. Drip for an hour, periodically scooping some water out of the bucket. Put everything back in a bag to float again for 10 minutes, then release. (I do this step because I notice the acclimation bucket always gets significantly cooler than the display tank.) That shouldn't have been the problem, right? Or could it just have been an unhealthy crab? I did get it from Petco... Either way, it's my first critter death. 1 Quote Link to comment
HookedOnAquariums Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 2 minutes ago, Firefish15 said: Update to the emerald crab...He's dead. No, it wasn't a molt. I saw and left it in the tank for a couple of hours, just to be sure. Nassarius snail was all over him, and it stank. I cracked the shell just to be sure. He was doing fine the first day. Hanging out on the underside of the cave, happily munching a piece of frozen food I gave him. I think my salinity swung high, due to evaporation. My water had gone down 3/8 of an inch. Does anyone think that would be enough to cause problems for the crab? The three snails are all still fine though, which makes me think the salinity, wasn't it. Here's the acclimation process I have used for all my inverts so far: Float bags in tank for 15 minutes for temperature Empty bags into a tilted 5G bucket to start drip acclimating at 3-4 drops per second. Drip for an hour, periodically scooping some water out of the bucket. Put everything back in a bag to float again for 10 minutes, then release. (I do this step because I notice the acclimation bucket always gets significantly cooler than the display tank.) That shouldn't have been the problem, right? Or could it just have been an unhealthy crab? I did get it from Petco... Heck i would never buy anything from petco unless i had an empty qt and thousands of meds, Exempt for that mini maxi carpet i saw... hmmm.... Anyways it was probably an unhealthy crab. Personally i don't thing anything is wrong with your acclimation process unless you get fish online (which i assume you don't) And 3/8 of an inch wouldn't be enough to kill anything unless your salinity was already at 1.27 just stress out some stuff. But maybe the stress and the petco-itus worked together to finish mr. crabs off. But we'll never know. 1 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 5 hours ago, Firefish15 said: Update to the emerald crab...He's dead. No, it wasn't a molt. I saw and left it in the tank for a couple of hours, just to be sure. Nassarius snail was all over him, and it stank. I cracked the shell just to be sure. He was doing fine the first day. Hanging out on the underside of the cave, happily munching a piece of frozen food I gave him. I think my salinity swung high, due to evaporation. My water had gone down 3/8 of an inch. Does anyone think that would be enough to cause problems for the crab? The three snails are all still fine though, which makes me think the salinity wasn't it. Here's the acclimation process I have used for all my inverts so far: Float bags in tank for 15 minutes for temperature Empty bags into a tilted 5G bucket to start drip acclimating at 3-4 drops per second. Drip for an hour, periodically scooping some water out of the bucket. Put everything back in a bag to float again for 10 minutes, then release. (I do this step because I notice the acclimation bucket always gets significantly cooler than the display tank.) That shouldn't have been the problem, right? Or could it just have been an unhealthy crab? I did get it from Petco... Either way, it's my first critter death. I'm sorry about your crab. I found the remains of my pom pom crab this morning, sadly. Always disappointing to lose a little guy like that! When doing inverts, I usually just empty them into a container and start a slow drip for an hour or so. My house isn't super-cold so I usually just pop them in and hope for the best lol. It mostly works. Sometimes things (including inverts) die for no discernable reason but he could have been unhealthy, for sure. 4 hours ago, HookedOnAquariums said: Heck i would never buy anything from petco unless i had an empty qt and thousands of meds, Exempt for that mini maxi carpet i saw... hmmm.... Anyways it was probably an unhealthy crab. Personally i don't thing anything is wrong with your acclimation process unless you get fish online (which i assume you don't) And 3/8 of an inch wouldn't be enough to kill anything unless your salinity was already at 1.27 just stress out some stuff. But maybe the stress and the petco-itus worked together to finish mr. crabs off. But we'll never know. I got a perfectly healthy clownfish from Petco that I had for almost a year until I traded her in because she was a butthead lol. QT is always a good idea but not everyone does it or has space for it. I did QT her for at least six weeks before adding to my main tank but she was fine and never needed meds. A point or two difference in salinity shouldn't kill something hardy like an emerald. My salinity probably swings that much in an average day, especially in my picos. But that's why I keep the hardy stuff, too. 1 Quote Link to comment
HookedOnAquariums Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 6 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said: I'm sorry about your crab. I found the remains of my pom pom crab this morning, sadly. Always disappointing to lose a little guy like that! When doing inverts, I usually just empty them into a container and start a slow drip for an hour or so. My house isn't super-cold so I usually just pop them in and hope for the best lol. It mostly works. Sometimes things (including inverts) die for no discernable reason but he could have been unhealthy, for sure. I got a perfectly healthy clownfish from Petco that I had for almost a year until I traded her in because she was a butthead lol. QT is always a good idea but not everyone does it or has space for it. I did QT her for at least six weeks before adding to my main tank but she was fine and never needed meds. A point or two difference in salinity shouldn't kill something hardy like an emerald. My salinity probably swings that much in an average day, especially in my picos. But that's why I keep the hardy stuff, too. I was just saying if you wanted to get fish and inverts safely from petco i would have a qt. I have had some bad things happen even in the easier side of this hobby (freshwater) Such as my 6 baby angelfish getting a bacterial infection AND velvet at the same time from a bushy nose pleco i got there. I just don't see how its worth the risk killing off your entire tank. The salinity probably wouldnt have been a problem if the crab was in perfect shape starting out, Just throwing out opinions and ideas Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 4 minutes ago, HookedOnAquariums said: I was just saying if you wanted to get fish and inverts safely from petco i would have a qt. I have had some bad things happen even in the easier side of this hobby (freshwater) Such as my 6 baby angelfish getting a bacterial infection AND velvet at the same time from a bushy nose pleco i got there. I just don't see how its worth the risk killing off your entire tank. The salinity probably wouldnt have been a problem if the crab was in perfect shape starting out, Just throwing out opinions and ideas Yes, that's why I said QT is always a good idea. I got a baby clown that turned out to be very sick from one of the supposedly most reputable shops in my area so it's not just Petco. I always advise QT because it's so disheartening to add something and lose everything. Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 Yeah, I'm starting to see the value of QT. I was thinking I could get away without it because I was only going to do one or two fish. Now though, I'm realizing things can carry pathogens that affect other animal groups. I think that the bio department here at school probably has a small old tank I could snag. If not, I'll just get a simple glass 5G. I'll see about starting one. What kind of light do you guys recommend for a QT? Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 3 hours ago, Firefish15 said: Yeah, I'm starting to see the value of QT. I was thinking I could get away without it because I was only going to do one or two fish. Now though, I'm realizing things can carry pathogens that affect other animal groups. I think that the bio department here at school probably has a small old tank I could snag. If not, I'll just get a simple glass 5G. I'll see about starting one. What kind of light do you guys recommend for a QT? You could probably do a simple PAR bulb in a task lamp. On a 5 gallon 12 watts would be plenty. 1 Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted October 28, 2018 Author Share Posted October 28, 2018 Hey all! A few updates: First off, trying an emerald crab again. Except this time from Fish Aquariums and Stuff, not Petco. Also adding another astraea snail, which means I now officially have an escargatoire of snails! The hair algae reaches very unsightly lengths within a week's time. The film algae on the glass I can get easily enough, but I need help with the hair algae. I'm also switching to another source of water that should help reduce that problem. I'm also making progress on my DIY ATO unit. I got some of these from the chemistry stockroom. I'm going to glue an airline into the one that best fits into the mouth of a 2-liter soda bottle. I'll cut a hole in the cap of the bottle so I can use it to secure the stopper into place when the bottle is inverted above the tank. Here's a FTS with Moto Moto out and about. This is just after the weekly cleaning, so that's why you don't see the algae I was talking about. When I grab it off the substrate, the algae brings a bunch of sand with it. Pretty irritating. My parameters are looking pretty good. Nitrates at 2 or 3 ppm, salinity at 1.025. pH is a little low, at 8.1. Not too big of a problem though. Overall, still having lots of fun! 2 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 13 hours ago, Firefish15 said: Hey all! A few updates: First off, trying an emerald crab again. Except this time from Fish Aquariums and Stuff, not Petco. Also adding another astraea snail, which means I now officially have an escargatoire of snails! The hair algae reaches very unsightly lengths within a week's time. The film algae on the glass I can get easily enough, but I need help with the hair algae. I'm also switching to another source of water that should help reduce that problem. I'm also making progress on my DIY ATO unit. I got some of these from the chemistry stockroom. I'm going to glue an airline into the one that best fits into the mouth of a 2-liter soda bottle. I'll cut a hole in the cap of the bottle so I can use it to secure the stopper into place when the bottle is inverted above the tank. Here's a FTS with Moto Moto out and about. This is just after the weekly cleaning, so that's why you don't see the algae I was talking about. When I grab it off the substrate, the algae brings a bunch of sand with it. Pretty irritating. My parameters are looking pretty good. Nitrates at 2 or 3 ppm, salinity at 1.025. pH is a little low, at 8.1. Not too big of a problem though. Overall, still having lots of fun! Looking good as is! Stable pH is the most important thing, even if it's a little low. Wherever you get rodi water, just make sure the filters are changed regularly. A TDS meter can tell you how pure the water is. 1 Quote Link to comment
HookedOnAquariums Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 13 hours ago, Firefish15 said: The film algae on the glass I can get easily enough, but I need help with the hair algae. I'm also switching to another source of water that should help reduce that problem. The hair algae i was seeing was completely devastated by a Mexican turbo snail. I cant say enough good things about these little buggers 1 Quote Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 14 hours ago, Firefish15 said: Hey all! A few updates: First off, trying an emerald crab again. Except this time from Fish Aquariums and Stuff, not Petco. Also adding another astraea snail, which means I now officially have an escargatoire of snails! The hair algae reaches very unsightly lengths within a week's time. The film algae on the glass I can get easily enough, but I need help with the hair algae. I'm also switching to another source of water that should help reduce that problem. I'm also making progress on my DIY ATO unit. I got some of these from the chemistry stockroom. I'm going to glue an airline into the one that best fits into the mouth of a 2-liter soda bottle. I'll cut a hole in the cap of the bottle so I can use it to secure the stopper into place when the bottle is inverted above the tank. Here's a FTS with Moto Moto out and about. This is just after the weekly cleaning, so that's why you don't see the algae I was talking about. When I grab it off the substrate, the algae brings a bunch of sand with it. Pretty irritating. My parameters are looking pretty good. Nitrates at 2 or 3 ppm, salinity at 1.025. pH is a little low, at 8.1. Not too big of a problem though. Overall, still having lots of fun! Love the scape! I started my reef as a ten gallon in college too- but it definitely wasn't this pretty. :) welcome! Excited to see this develop. I've had emerald crabs munch on corals, but some left coral alone. Hopefully yours behaves! 1 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 1 hour ago, mwhitelock said: Love the scape! I started my reef as a ten gallon in college too- but it definitely wasn't this pretty. 🙂 welcome! Excited to see this develop. I've had emerald crabs munch on corals, but some left coral alone. Hopefully yours behaves! Yeah my emeralds eat my corals too if I don’t feed them every night. 1 Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted October 29, 2018 Author Share Posted October 29, 2018 For the TDS in my water, I'm seeing if the chemistry lab can test it. If it's above 2 or 3, I'll start buying RODI from the fish store. 10 gallons lasts me a couple of weeks, so I'm not worried about the money. It's like c35/gallon. I won't be getting coral for another few months, so the emerald crab is good for now. I'll burn that bridge when I get to it! He's doing much better than the last one. Moving around the rockpile, grazing on the hair algae. I think he's really fun to watch. 1 hour ago, mwhitelock said: Love the scape! I started my reef as a ten gallon in college too- but it definitely wasn't this pretty. 🙂 welcome! Excited to see this develop. I've had emerald crabs munch on corals, but some left coral alone. Hopefully yours behaves! Thanks for the compliment! Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 I went to the pet store with my girlfriend today. She's been setting up a terrarium for a scorpion and researching for a while until she was finally ready to buy. We found a Dictator scorpion for half off at Petco, so now it's hers. Here it is exploring its new space. Such a cool animal! 2 2 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Does it have a name, and how big is it? Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 47 minutes ago, vlangel said: Does it have a name, and how big is it? No name yet, but I suggested some names from Roman emperors, like Marcus or Brutus. We'll see though. It's about 4 inches long including the tail. It'll get to 8 inches eventually. The employee at the store didn't know how to pick it up, they were just chasing it around the terrarium with a box. They let me step in to do it though. Much less stressful for the animal. Laid a pen over the tail, and then picked it up by the segment below the stinger while supporting the body with the pen. 1 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 10 hours ago, Firefish15 said: No name yet, but I suggested some names from Roman emperors, like Marcus or Brutus. We'll see though. It's about 4 inches long including the tail. It'll get to 8 inches eventually. The employee at the store didn't know how to pick it up, they were just chasing it around the terrarium with a box. They let me step in to do it though. Much less stressful for the animal. Laid a pen over the tail, and then picked it up by the segment below the stinger while supporting the body with the pen. I worked at a pet store for 12 years and I would not know how to pick a scorpion up either. Our store did not carry scorpions or snakes though. 8" wow, I had no idea that they got so big. I think Marcus or Brutus are very fitting names. Unless he is a she? Then maybe Cleopatra? Not exactly Roman but she had ties to Rome. 1 Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 Eh, I don't think the sex matters too much unless you're trying to breed them. As far as I know, my girlfriend is only planning on keeping the one. Ah, but snakes are fun! A bit more interactive than a lot of our fishes and corals. Heck of a lot less work too. Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into Arachnoboard. I just wanted to share something cool that happened. Quote Link to comment
alexandre Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 In this bar in Thailan, nobody wanted to do it. So after one hour and few gin tonic and getting bored to hear "I do it, I do it"... Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 On 11/4/2018 at 4:31 PM, Firefish15 said: Eh, I don't think the sex matters too much unless you're trying to breed them. As far as I know, my girlfriend is only planning on keeping the one. Ah, but snakes are fun! A bit more interactive than a lot of our fishes and corals. Heck of a lot less work too. Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into Arachnoboard. I just wanted to share something cool that happened. I talk about my isopods and hedgehog sometimes. 1 Quote Link to comment
Firefish15 Posted November 7, 2018 Author Share Posted November 7, 2018 Hey all, quick little update. I think I may have gone a little overboard on the algae cleanup crew. The emerald crab pretty much eliminated the hair algae, and the two Astraea snails have picked over the main rockpile for film algae and diatoms. One of the snails migrated to the glass to clean that. Looks like I'll have to get some nori to supplement both of them a little bit. I used tweezers to deliver some frozen seafood mix to the emerald crab, and he went nuts over it. It grabbed the tweezers and wouldn't let go until the food was gone. I was surprised by how strong the little guy was! No FTS right now. I need to do a water change and clean the glass. There's also not anything new from the last one. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
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