Seadragon's Simple & Easy 10g Reef ​💦​

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

I’ve been trying to get one of my crabs who everyone knows as Jerry to molt and grow back his legs, but he’s been chilling without molting for like 10 months😂

[IHaveADegreeInMarineBioBut]

10 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

I’ve been trying to get one of my crabs who everyone knows as Jerry to molt and grow back his legs, but he’s been chilling without molting for like 10 months😂

both yours and @Seadragon's pictures are so cuteeee!

[Seadragon]

16 hours ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

I’ve been trying to get one of my crabs who everyone knows as Jerry to molt and grow back his legs, but he’s been chilling without molting for like 10 months😂

 

Is that Jerry?  He looks amazing!!  What kind of crab is that?  He kind of reminds me of a stone golem that has just been awakened after being asleep for the past century.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

53 minutes ago, Seadragon said:

 

Is that Jerry?  He looks amazing!!  What kind of crab is that?  He kind of reminds me of a stone golem that has just been awakened after being asleep for the past century.

Yep, that’s him, I love him. I’m still not sure what type of crab he is, I haven’t gotten a positive ID yet. The surprising thing also is that he is in my main display tank for like 10 months and he’s never even tried to hurt or attack anything. Tamberav gave him to me because he attacked one of his fish and killed it, if tamberav didn’t confirm that he attacked his fish, I would think that he was reef safe😂

[Tamberav]

I saw him grab the fish (that is how I discovered him) but I didn't know he was in there so I never target fed him either nor did I have any algae besides macro. I am sure he was hungry. 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

3 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

I saw him grab the fish (that is how I discovered him) but I didn't know he was in there so I never target fed him either nor did I have any algae besides macro. I am sure he was hungry. 

Yea, he’s living the luxury life now. He gets target fed with mysis and fresh cod every other day and in the mean time, he has plenty of algae to munch on😂. 

[Tamberav]

Commit murder and get sent to a spa.... 

[Seadragon]

I think I found Jerry's relative, does the shell look like Jerry?

 

 

 

If so, here's the info on this species:

 

"Stone Crabs: I doubt you'll see any of these for sale, but hitchhiking juveniles are found in live rock at times. These get big though, and can be outright destructive, eliminating all sorts of creatures in no time if given a chance. They're recognized by having exceptionally large, heavy claws that can easily crush the shells of clams and snails. And they do. They also have a bad habit of knocking over and intentionally rearranging rocks over and over, digging burrows all over the place, and being an all around real nuisance. None of them are suitable for reef aquariums."

[A.m.P]

I don't think he's a stone crab, they're surprisingly-common on LR and I highly doubt Tam would pass one on.

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

34 minutes ago, Seadragon said:

I think I found Jerry's relative, does the shell look like Jerry?

 

 

 

If so, here's the info on this species:

 

"Stone Crabs: I doubt you'll see any of these for sale, but hitchhiking juveniles are found in live rock at times. These get big though, and can be outright destructive, eliminating all sorts of creatures in no time if given a chance. They're recognized by having exceptionally large, heavy claws that can easily crush the shells of clams and snails. And they do. They also have a bad habit of knocking over and intentionally rearranging rocks over and over, digging burrows all over the place, and being an all around real nuisance. None of them are suitable for reef aquariums."

He could be a cousin of the stone crabs, but I don’t think that he is exactly like a stone crab. I have a big angry stone crab in my pest tank. Here are some comparisons between my stone crab and Jerry in my display. Jerry is also much more cute than the grumpy stone crab😂

[Seadragon]

 

That's a cute shot.  I'm worried about your battery though, it's about to die!

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

5 minutes ago, Seadragon said:

 

That's a cute shot.  I'm worried about your battery though, it's about to die!

Yea I know, I need to charge😂

[Tamberav]

He can be cute... but I think he is an evil Eriphia spp. 

 

Side note, I bought some live blue crabs to cook and man those guys are AGGRESSIVE! One ran across the table and tried to jump at me... if a crab could jump...it was more like a hop with arms reaching to get me. One did manage to get me and made me bleed. I guess I would make someone bleed too if they were going to eat me.

[IHaveADegreeInMarineBioBut]

7 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

He can be cute... but I think he is an evil Eriphia spp. 

 

Side note, I bought some live blue crabs to cook and man those guys are AGGRESSIVE! One ran across the table and tried to jump at me... if a crab could jump...it was more like a hop with arms reaching to get me. One did manage to get me and made me bleed. I guess I would make someone bleed too if they were going to eat me.

i had to stick a syringe into several blue crabs........ended in more blood loss from me than them. do not turn your back on them

[Seadragon]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

He can be cute... but I think he is an evil Eriphia spp. 

 

I think you're right, he does look like a Red Eyed Reef Crab (Eriphia sp.)

 

I came across a few threads on here that really hate that crab for some reason...

 

But, with a name like Jerry, I think he'll be in good hands. 🙂

[Tamberav]

Well the Eriphia ferox one... 

 

'Ferox' in Latin means 'ferocious' or wild and untamed named for its fierce temperament. 
 

He was definitely a little asshole to me but Ethan has tamed the untamed I guess! 

 

12 minutes ago, Seadragon said:

 

I think you're right, he does look like a Red Eyed Reef Crab (Eriphia sp.)

 

I came across a few threads on here that really hate that crab for some reason...

 

But, with a name like Jerry, I think he'll be in good hands. 🙂

 

Looks like a few said theirs never bothered anything. Maybe they are more calm with enough food in the belly. 

 

 

[Tamberav]

7 hours ago, Amphrites said:

I don't think he's a stone crab, they're surprisingly-common on LR and I highly doubt Tam would pass one on.

I definitely warned Ethan. He always hid in my tank, was probably there since set up. Looks like Jerry comes out for Ethan, guess they budz. 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

11 hours ago, Tamberav said:

I definitely warned Ethan. He always hid in my tank, was probably there since set up. Looks like Jerry comes out for Ethan, guess they budz. 

He hides some of the time, but he stays in the same hiding spot. He’ll come out whenever I put food in front of his little hidy hole. He’s only grabbed me once with his claws and I will never make the same mistake again. He hurts so bad, he didn’t draw blood, but he was clinging to the flesh between my fingers for literally 15 minutes. The only way that I got him off was to get some food and put it near his mouth and he finally let go. He’s a mean bugger when he wants to be

[Seadragon]

4 hours ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

He hides some of the time, but he stays in the same hiding spot. He’ll come out whenever I put food in front of his little hidy hole. He’s only grabbed me once with his claws and I will never make the same mistake again. He hurts so bad, he didn’t draw blood, but he was clinging to the flesh between my fingers for literally 15 minutes. The only way that I got him off was to get some food and put it near his mouth and he finally let go. He’s a mean bugger when he wants to be

All I can say is Jerry is very lucky to have you!  If a Red Eyed Reef Crab did that to me, I’d be boiling him in coconut milk for tonight’s dinner.

[Tired]

That's not a crab being mean, that's a crab being defensive. You are a giant with unknown intent. Crabs, when bothered, defend themselves against what they see as a threat. The more they pinch the threat, the less likely it is to see them as food and come back. It's what animals do. 

 

Blue crabs have some sharp claws. I had one with a 3" wide carapace draw blood. I'd grabbed it out of the water, so that's entirely understandable- I'd been pissed, too, if some strange giant snatched me up while I was swimming.

[Seadragon]

I use 15-inch long stainless steel tweezers with carbonation protection coating against rust combined with large nitrile gloves with extended cuffs and NEVER ONCE had any of my babies bite, pinch, or attack me.  To be honest though, everything in my tank is super cute and super friendly so I don't really need the tweezers.  Sure beats getting a cut underwater though, never know what scary things might happen afterwards...

[Seadragon]

Sharing my Test Results (0 Ammonia when adding Fish & afterwards)

 

I keep a detailed log of my water parameters since Day 1 of starting my reef tanks.  There are a few things that I found quite interesting from the data that newcomers to the hobby as well as experienced-folk may find useful.

• On 9/10/2019, I added all natural aragonite rocks (dry), 10 lbs of Nature's Ocean No.0 Bio-Activ live aragonite sand, and about 9 gallons of Imagitarium Pacific ocean water.
• I let it sit for 2 days with the circulation pumps running for the sand particles to settle and for the water to clear up.
• On 9/12/2019, I added Instant Ocean BIO-Spira, Pink Fusion Strain & Purple Helix Strain Coralline Algae in a Bottle + Nitrifying Bacteria as well as 2 small Ocellaris clownfish.
• From 9/12/2019 until now, I've tested 0 PPM for Ammonia.
• On 9/12/2019, Nitrites showed as 0.5 PPM, and went to 0 PPM within 22-26 days.

Per test kits, 0 PPM for Ammonia is Ideal while 0.5 PPM for Ammonia is considered Safe.  I had 0 PPM the entire time.

As we know, 0.5 PPM for Nitrites within saltwater is not much of a concern unless it increases dramatically.

 

On a side note, I do find the Coralline Algae in a bottle to be worth it (at least for the Purple Helix Strain).  Not only is most of my tank covered in Coralline algae now, 50% of the plastic is covered in a pretty lilac color (which is why I like the Purple.  I find that the "Pink" one actually looks maroon in color and is only found on the rocks).  From what I read, Coralline Algae helps prevent nuisance algae from growing on top of it and I believe it helps protect the rocks from being picked apart.

 

Lately, I've been reading a lot of threads that think they have "live rock", but it's really either uncured live rock, wet rock that has not matured, or just colored dry rock that doesn't live up to expectations.  I also think it's important to add the starter bacteria at the very beginning before there is Ammonia present within the water, especially if you choose to add fish.  And to add the starter bacteria as soon as you receive it and not to buy one that has been sitting on the shelf for a long time.

 

@mitten_reef: In a different thread, you mentioned the concern of adding bacteria and fish concurrently.  I forgot to mention in that thread before that since starting my 2 reef tanks, all tests have showed 0 PPM for Ammonia since Day 1 before & after adding the starter bacteria and fish.  I honestly believe my fish were never in danger since the start based on my recorded logs.

 

@Poison Dart Frog: Out of curiosity, when you added fish right after BIO-Spira on your last setup, in your logs, did you record any Ammonia registering since the beginning?  I'm wondering if the additional nitrifying bacteria found within my Pink & Purple Coralline algae in a bottle gave me the results that I am seeing or if the BIO-Spira alone was enough.  Thanks.

 

@karen nation: One thing that I did was add the BIO-Spira and & other Nitrifying bacteria soon after receiving the bottles in the mail.  I believe for the Coralline algae in a bottle, the manufacturer bottles that up the day they ship it off and they recommend using it before a certain date on the bottle.  I also read reviews before that for any Starter Bacteria, you do not want to get something that has been sitting on the shelf for a long time, it's better to get fresh stock or to use it as soon as possible rather than letting it sit for a long time (months).

 

@Tamberav: So I noticed Ammonia not increasing above 0 PPM the entire time, however it took 22-26 days before Nitrites went down from 0.5 PPM to 0 PPM.  Do you think the starter bacteria that I used had any Nitrobacter sp. in it?

[Tamberav]

They don't disclose what is in their bacterial additives which is obnoxious. 

[A.m.P]

46 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

They don't disclose what is in their bacterial additives which is obnoxious. 

Hard to say for sure exactly why that would be the case too... If they're not confident about it always having one strain or another they could just specify may-contain, it could just be that the batches themselves are exceedingly inconsistent and they're not really sure how much/if any one bacteria or another makes it into each bottle.

That might also explain people's inconsistent results, I doubt it's to protect blends of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria as "proprietary" - but hey you never know.

[Tamberav]

Inconsistency as well as storage, one of the more annoying problems I see some people have with bottle bacteria is bacterial blooms. I have never had such an issue in over the 10 years I have been in the hobby by letting my tank establish with time.