12L Micro Tank

[daizeUK]

That's hugely useful information!
 
Shame about the misleading advert.  I still think your shrimp are lovely too, they honestly do have nice colours, but it's not nice to be misled by false advertising.  I'm not impressed with Kesgrave now either.

 

[Mamashack]

Ah well I have 4 little beauties now and I will care for them just the same.

 

[Mamashack]

Wahh!! Did a water test run this morning as I always do after adding livestock and the nitrIte was 0.25ppm! I've actually done a 75% water change. Will someone check my maths based on that result for the salt neutralisation formula for if I get +ve nitrites again?
My calculation based on TTA's recommendation:
To add 10 mg/l of chloride for every ppm of nitrite in the water, use the following steps:
1. Multiply your nitrite test reading by 10. This will give you the needed mg/l of chloride you need to add.
0.25x10=2.5mg/L
2. Calculate the actual volume in litres of the water in your tank. If your volume is in gallons you must convert this into liters. (As a rule, using the advertised volume of the tank at about 85% will put you in the right ballpark.)  1 gallon = 3.875 litres
11.5L
3. Multiply the number in #1 above by the number of liters of water in #2 above to get the total number of mg of chloride you will need to add.
2.5x11.5= 28.75mg
4. Because salt is roughly 2/3 chloride, you must multiply the number calculated in #3 by 1.5.  You now know how many mg of salt you should add to the water. Dividing this number by 1,000 will convert this amount to grams which are easier to weigh for most people.
28.75x1.5=43.125
43.125/1000= 0.043g
 
Luckily I have some jeweller's scales but they only go to 0.1g so my theory is add 0.5g which is the nearest 0.1g then mix it with a known quantity of tank water and add only 1/10th of the resulting mix which would be 0.05g.
Does this compute?.
 
 
 

 

[fm1978]

I've never even seen that calculation before, must have missed that article...
 
All your calculations are right except I'm a little confused about the very last part where it says to divide by 1000 to get grams. That suggests to me that the answer in the step before is in kg (43.125kg) and dividing by 1000 does get you grams but it actually means 0.043kg which is 43 grams.
 
Where's TTA when you need him?
 
And I agree about the Kesgrave stock and advertising...that's not fair to do that. My money is on those little fellas being blue jellys like mine. And it's telling that you received a reply from a shrimp keeper specifically mentioning those ones from Kesgrave. Not fair.

 

[Mamashack]

Perhaps you are confusing dividing and multiplying, fm - the step before was in mg so needs to be divided by 1000 to get the equivalent amount in g(rams)
The bold bits in green are directly copied from TTA's article: Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part Il
Yes I think Kesgrave have probably seen the last of me altho shrimp taxonomy is confusing at the best of times as I've seen yet another shrimp site that says blue jellies are also known as blue velvets! So really it's all a naming game in the end! I guess it's a case of buyer beware!
Apparently Neocaridina heteropoda are now renamed Neocaridina davidii. Why they have to change things is beyond me and confusing to say the least.
I do love my little ones, but as you implied it's misleading advertising whether it's deliberate or not.

 

[fm1978]

Ahhhh, I see it now, had to put my other head on
 
Keep us updated on how the wee fellas colour up!

 

[Mamashack]

To be honest fm, I don't think they will colour up any more than they have. I doubt they will change unless I start messing about with additives like the Astaxanthin which quite frankly doesn't seem worth it for what would essentially cosmetic appearance so I'll report any natural changes, tho tbh I'm not expecting any.

 

[fm1978]

I know, I'm sorry about that. They're really just exactly the same as mine and like you I don't really intend to get any colour-changing foods or chemicals. Later I might try some health related things like vitamins and minerals.
 
There's an astonishing array of products out there for shrimp; breeding aids, water conditioners (not just the dechlorinator type), micro nutrients, specialist foods for specific species and colour variations. It's really quite mind boggling. Very interesting, though
 
But someone's gonna have to get a handle on the species naming before I have an aneurysm!

 

[daizeUK]

I think you're right Mama.  The price you paid is also about what you might expect to pay for blue jellies.  At least you didn't get conned into paying a higher price than they're worth, that would have been worse!
 
Adding the salt was a good move, let us know how they get on.

 

[Mamashack]

Just tested the nitrite again and it's blue - phew! Can't imagine what happened this morning unless it was a spurious result. Anyway at least I got the calculation for if it happens again (fingers crossed it won't)
Does anyone know what happens when the chloride is added? Does it just make the nitrite safe or does it actually remove it/ make it invisible?

 

[daizeUK]

No salt doesn't remove nitrite, as far as I understand it binds with the fishes' blood in the same place that the nitrite would otherwise bind, which effectively detoxifies the nitrite and stops it poisoning the fish.  I'm sure TTA could give you a much better answer!

 

[fm1978]

No salt doesn't remove nitrite, as far as I understand it binds with the fishes' blood in the same place that the nitrite would otherwise bind, which effectively detoxifies the nitrite and stops it poisoning the fish.  I'm sure TTA could give you a much better answer!

That sounds right. The chloride doesn't remove the nitrate per se, it seems to attach itself to something which somehow 'competes' with the nitrate (and presumably wins) to be absorbed by the fishy fish.

 

[Mamashack]

Ah so if there is a problem with the nitrite munchers I would still see a +ve nitrite - so if it remains -ve for the next few days can I assume the problem is solved or it was a spurious result?

 

[daizeUK]

Yeah you would still detect the nitrite after adding the salt, if it is present.  If your kit tests negative I guess that means it's good.

 

[Mamashack]

Thanks both! Well that's a big relief, daize! I'll keep testing for a few more days tho just to be sure!