mimzy
Active Member
Hi all - my tank is 6 weeks old. 12 gallon, 21lbs of live rock, 15 lbs of live sand;
5 strea snails
5 blue legged hermit crabs
1 camelback shrimp
Here are my parameters:
salinity; 35
sg; 1.025
ammonia; 0
nitrate;20
nitrite; 0
ph;8.4
temp; 81
my alkalinity test strips are inconsistant, I need to get new ones. Also need to get calcium and phosphate tests, will post when I get them.
just added 2 coral frags on Saturday - 7 shrooms on a gorgeous mango sized rock COVERED in purple coraline thick as icing, and 40+ button polyps on a fist-sized piece of lr.
Thus far I have found 2 asterina stars (identified them through the hitchiker ID thread - THANKS MODS!!!
), and 2 different kinds of brittlestars.
The asterina are out and about a lot - mostly in the darker hours...adorable little things.
The brittle stars always have their tentacle out, but I never see them move from their favorite hidey-holes. I know they're alive b/c they retract their arms when my shrimp or a crab or snail comes by, but I have not seen them move from their perches at all.
The smallest one, the one I discovered first, is cream colored with black stripes - the arms are little more than 5 centimeters in lenth. He is hiding in a hole in the mushroom rock.
The second one is a bit larger, arms are maybe an inch long...maybe... and he is rust colored, also with black bars. He's taken up residence with the button polyps. I can tell where he is b/c he freaks out the polyps he hides under and they close until he moves.
Below are the pix I was able to get - the brittle stars are harder to photograph, i couldnt get ANY of the larger star.
I was planning on getting a star or two eventually - but not 'till my tank is more mature. I'm worried about them being in a tank this new... anyone have any suggestion as to what I might do to up the probability of survival? Can I spot feed them? Should I try to take them out and give them back to the LFS?
:notsure: :help: :help: :notsure:
ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated!!
5 strea snails
5 blue legged hermit crabs
1 camelback shrimp
Here are my parameters:
salinity; 35
sg; 1.025
ammonia; 0
nitrate;20
nitrite; 0
ph;8.4
temp; 81
my alkalinity test strips are inconsistant, I need to get new ones. Also need to get calcium and phosphate tests, will post when I get them.
just added 2 coral frags on Saturday - 7 shrooms on a gorgeous mango sized rock COVERED in purple coraline thick as icing, and 40+ button polyps on a fist-sized piece of lr.
Thus far I have found 2 asterina stars (identified them through the hitchiker ID thread - THANKS MODS!!!
The asterina are out and about a lot - mostly in the darker hours...adorable little things.
The brittle stars always have their tentacle out, but I never see them move from their favorite hidey-holes. I know they're alive b/c they retract their arms when my shrimp or a crab or snail comes by, but I have not seen them move from their perches at all.
The smallest one, the one I discovered first, is cream colored with black stripes - the arms are little more than 5 centimeters in lenth. He is hiding in a hole in the mushroom rock.
The second one is a bit larger, arms are maybe an inch long...maybe... and he is rust colored, also with black bars. He's taken up residence with the button polyps. I can tell where he is b/c he freaks out the polyps he hides under and they close until he moves.
Below are the pix I was able to get - the brittle stars are harder to photograph, i couldnt get ANY of the larger star.
I was planning on getting a star or two eventually - but not 'till my tank is more mature. I'm worried about them being in a tank this new... anyone have any suggestion as to what I might do to up the probability of survival? Can I spot feed them? Should I try to take them out and give them back to the LFS?
:notsure: :help: :help: :notsure:
ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated!!
