Dipping Into The Salty Side

[Boundava]

So when we went to Petco this weekend I saw some shrimp called camel shrimp. I thought they would make a really good addition to the 13 and 1/2 gallon. Sis was with me and as we both did some research we thought they would also be a good fit to the tank. Since they had two I went ahead and purchased the two and we brought them home and silly us upon researching more and her posting and her form about them, someone mentioned that they do like to eat polyps off of corals. Of course I felt horrible for mentioning them and purchasing them and putting them in the tank with all the corals that we had in there. The couple days they were in the tank they didn't do anything but to be safe we caught them and put them in a net breeder that's now sitting in the tank. I didn't really want to bring them back to the store, so my logical conclusion was to buy a tank for them. Lol, so I just set up the tank tonight. It is a top fin 6 gallon corner tank kit. I don't like kits, but I did not like the other options around a five or six gallon that were about the same price as this kit. It is the PetSmart top thin corner tank kit it comes in a 6 or 10 gallon it includes a corner filter a heater the light is a bit built into the lid, and it also comes with a net and a thermometer.

The thermometer is huge, it's a 50 watt top fin brand and it is almost as long as the tank is, and the tank is slightly over 12 in. The camel shrimp don't really need a heater as they will do fine in room temperature water. The filter was also a giant monstrosity, and I would have kept it if I could modify it so I can put my own media in there however the way the filter was shaped you really couldn't put anything other than the triangular cartridge insert that they had. Fortunately I had a internal Cascade filter new inbox lying around that fit perfectly in the tank. I could also modify the second chamber to add some varying porosities of sponge, the first chamber has a carbon insert. I purchased a live rock as well today so that is where the beneficial bacteria is going to be, the filter is just going to be for debris as well as for removing any organic material from the water with the carbon.

I am planning on adding two more camel shrimp so I would have a total of four in the tank. I would also like to add a small goby and pistol shrimp pair as well as another goby and a snail to the tank.

I know I said the camel shrimp eat corals, however they seem to not eat bubble or hammer coral so I may add one of those to the tank. I did get a picture of this tank, but it's a bit cloudy since I just put it together today. Hopefully tomorrow the filter will have cleared the water a little bit so you could actually see inside. I'm hoping we can move the camel shrimp tomorrow, I would also like to get some live copepods for the tank add a not so local fish store but that's going to depend on how much studying I get done tomorrow, if I'm not a slacker then I'll reward myself but if I'm slacking then I'm not getting any copepods.

 

[Boundava]

Sorry the pictures... cloudy I know.

 

[Boundava]

I moved the two camel shrimp over yesterday after I got back from the pet store. The original store I went to had a goby/pistol shrimp pair but after catching the goby they couldn't find the shrimp...we couldn't wait for them to keep looking so I paid for the camel shrimp they had in the tank and went around the corner to Beyond the Reef where they also had a goby/pistol shrimp pair for significantly less $$. So after acclimation I added them to the tank. I will try to get some pics soon. I also discovered the amazing world of macro algae and am planning on adding some to the tank (when they are in stock) as well as a bubble coral, it seems that is the one coral camel shrimp don't eat.
Who knew there was such a variety of macro algae available (when in stock)!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I was going to make some dumb crack about the wide variety of macro algae available for free in my freshwater tanks, but I had to google what it was so I could at least make a semi-intelligent dumb joke. Wow, macro algae! How beautiful! I had no idea there was such a thing.

See, this is part of the reason I don't get into marine tanks, and part of the reason I might someday: I feel like I am just learning my craft as a freshwater aquarist. Add salt to the water, and I'm a complete beginner again.

 

[Donya]

Since they had two I went ahead and purchased the two and we brought them home and silly us upon researching more and her posting and her form about them, someone mentioned that they do like to eat polyps off of corals.

They can potentially eat a lot more than that, such as going after snails and other Crustaceans, particularly when other Crustaceans are soft after molting. I kept a couple of camel shrimp a long time ago and they're fun, but they need quite of bit of target feeding to stop them from turning to picking on tankmates (and even then it's not a guarantee).

I also discovered the amazing world of macro algae and am planning on adding some to the tank

Macro algae is a double-edged sword - be cautious. Can be beautiful and a very useful for nutrient export, but can be a real pain in other systems by growing where it doesn't belong, causing random polluting events, and potentially inhibiting flow if it's out of control. Some Caulerpas and chaeto can grow onto/into corals if they're too intermingled. (this happened to me recently with some Caulerpa and a LPS where the coral's tissue englufed a Caulerpa runner and became infected as a result, although the coral did recover).

Do you have a skimmer on your tank? If not, be aware that most commonly sold macro species can do sudden spore releases or other die-offs that can wreak havoc in some systems. If you have either a skimmer or a lot of filter feeders in your rock, it will get cleaned up quickly, but there also needs to be a good amount of surface agitation since another thing that can occur with those events is an oily-looking film on the surface that inhibits gas exchange until it eventually breaks down. Feather Caulerpa species are really bad for green-bombing tanks. Grape species less so, but they are finicky and can die off randomly for other reasons. I have Caulpera prolifera right now but am finding it less of a good nutrient export than the others were even though it is much easier to manage. Calcareous varieties of macro algae like Halimeda are more fragile and can easily be killed off by hermits climbinb on them or snails rasping at them.

If you do have a skimmer, you will be safe from macro algae bomb events like feather Caulerpas are bad for, but it can also choke out the macro (since skimmers can be a very effective, competing nutrient export).

 

[Boundava]

The macro algae I was looking at was the p. dumeto, udotea (mermaid fan), c. cuperssiodes, and possibly a Botryocladia (red grape). They are out of stock right now every where online.

 

[Boundava]

Also my tank is only 6 gallons so no skimmer. Not planning on putting anything else in there but a couple more camel shrimp and the macro algae.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Somehow missed this thread...I guess you & sis have ran out of FW setups to try (since y'all have done every one imaginable), so on to salt water! Good luck with the new setup.

Side note, saw the B-52's live in concert back in the '80's...they performed Squat Lobster during the encore

The opening act was The Passive Corals...

 

[Boundava]

Lol Matt. Baby steps into SW, but the more I learn and see the more intrigued I am.

I have that 40g cube left over from the last fishroom, it was the one that was leaking at the base. Never got a chance to sell it and didn't have the heart to toss it/give it for free. So plan is (within the next year or so) to reseal it and set up a slightly larger reef tank with a back wall of liverock and an assortment of corals and macro algae. Would like to have a clown or two, a pistol/goby pair in there, as well as a goby (just nor an sifter goby) and if I can find another squat lobster. Some other small inhabitants, though I will have to research that more.

Tank maybe sumped or I may (probably) just get a HOB with 10-12 overflow for it. Corals shouldn't need crazy current, and looking for mostly passive corals. Would love some gorgonian coral (fan coral) and sponges, but the sponges need a constant feeding setup which I am not comfortable with at this stage of my salty-education/experience.

 

[Boundava]

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but a couple weeks ago I saw two camel shrimp at a Petco in WI. I bought them for my Sister's 13.5 gallon tank not knowing that they can snack on coral polyps. Since I didn't want to take them back, I decided to set up a small salty tank using a 6 gallon Top Fin corner tank kit. I swapped the filter and heater for a cascade internal and a Finnex titanium. Also added live rock and argonite sand.
Since then I also found another large camel shrimp and a small goby and (larger) pistol shrimp pair.

Today I saw a porcelain crab at our local fish store, Fish Planet. I decided to add it to the tank. I also have some chaeto in the brackish tank so decided to add a small amount to the tank. It didn't take long for the two smaller camels to explore the chaeto.

 

[Boundava]

So I had placed an order with a online vendor of macroalge and got my delivery Saturday (thankfully, as FexEx was trying to delay delivery due to a snowstorm in TN).
I ordered

• Feather Caulerpa Mexicana (5 as I thought Sis wanted some for her tank, but she decided no after the fact)
• Shaving Brush -Penicillus dumetosus- 2
• Mermaid Fan Plant - Udotea- 2 though I believe the one is dead (with the hair algae)
• Christmas Tree - Rhipocephalus phoenix - they came in a bit worse for wear
• Cactus Caulerpa -Caulerpa cupressoides - a very neat plant that propigates by runners. Had I know how big one plant was I would not have gotten 2 as the 2 plants are bigger than the 5 Feather Caulerpa!

My shrimp and crab have been all over these and seem to like the tank much better. I also got another live rock from a Petco in WI that has some nice saltwater stuff (got the two smaller camel shrimp there and three corals for an amazing price). The live rock had a feather duster on it, but he is taking a little bit to open again.

There is my female porcelain crab^^ and the cactus macro

 

[Boundava]

Soooo...a little update on the 6 gallon. It is no more, but all has been upgraded to a 10 gallon. Upon moving everything I lost a bit of macro algae, and the porcelain crab is MIA. I am hoping s/he was tucked into some live rock, but it's been a couple days and s/he's still MIA. I did a bit of research and decided to try a reverse undergravel. Unfortunately those running them did not mention that the way to set up the reverse flow is not available any longer so I'll have to try a diy method to get the powerhead outflow into the UG tube, I have an idea. Also since the tank is a bit bigger I added another live rock as well as a dry rock "arch" from Caribsea. Also was excited to find a hole in the wall coral shop about 40 minutes away that had bubble coral, and pearl too! The only other place had green but they were 2 hours away! I almost forgot Kirby, my clown fish!

Here's my Sister's Fluval EVO with her new corals

 

[Boundava]

So another little update, and I think this is going to be the last changes to the tank.

I did get the power head to work as a DIY reverse under-gravel filter. However it, along with the Cascade 400 internal filter left the tank super cramped or a bit too full of equipment. I didn't like it and I don't think my clown, Kirby liked it either as it was cramping his style, lol.

The first porcelain crab molted and I think the pistol shrimp caught and fed him/her to the goby it paired with as it just disappeared after the molt. Last Monday I went to Fish planet and got another porcelain crab because I like them and was hoping it would host on the bubble coral, it hasn't but it has been doing well in the tank, it also molted but was smart enough to hide until it's shell hardened (though there was a couple days we thought the pistol shrimp killed her as it had collected the molted shell and littered one of its lair entrances with the shell pieces).

All of the new sand resulted in a diatom explosion, so the tank was looking very dingy after a couple days.
This was the tank Saturday afternoon; you can see the power head to the right of the tank, attached to the under-gravel tube. The cascade is to the left of the tank, you can see the spray-bar, fortunately the large live rock blocks the remained of the little filter.

Saturday morning Sis and I went to a coral show/swap in Lisle, IL. It was about 10-12 local (IL/WI) and a couple online shops with a crazy assortment of frags and some anemones. Also the first 130-150 attendees go a free mystery coral and Sis got a micromussa and I got a seriatopora, because of the camel shrimp they both went into my Sister's tank. I also bought a beautiful green trumpet for my sister's tank and she bought another coral, as well as a mystery coral that turned out to be another trumpet. However it may not survive as its not doing too well. I also saw a gorgeous rainbow bubble tip anemone. I wanted to get another bubble coral, but when I saw the anemone I decided to get it instead.
I also wanted to open up the tank, so I was debating on whether to replace the Cascade or the power-head with a small external canister filter; the Fluval 107.

I decided to keep the Cascade as a filter, but mainly as a source for some current. I modified the output on the Fluval 107 to work as the flow for the revers under-gravel filter, so all that you see is the modification in the tank.

So you can see the tank looks a lot more open again...lucky me I keep so much old filter bits and pieces that I was able to use part of an Eheim intake strainer and fit it on the top of the under-gravel tube. Then I put the Fluval rubber end tube portion on the end of the Eheim piece and it is tight enough to focus the flow into the under gravel. *Bonus Kirby shot*

Not the best shot, but you can kinda see the sand bubbling up at the base.

In the first pic, you can see the bubble tip anemone when I first put her in the tank. She found a spot she liked better and is now directly behind the rock, next to the Cascade filter. The anemone is on the left, and my bubble corals are to the left .

My feather duster is doing well and is fully open in this shot. They are light sensitive so close when overhead lighting is blocked.

My macro algae is doing well, some better than others for some reason, The brush alga is doing so well it has gotten bigger and is branching off, you can see the new growth coming out of the sand to the right of the main stalk and the little brush to the left of the main algae.
Unfortunately the cactus macro doesn't seem to be doing as well as its stalk going white, also some of the Mexican feather algae is dying off, even though it seems to have new growth, you can see this in the picture showing the whole tank.
Fortunately the mermaid's tale seems to be recovering (though the second on they sent was definitely DOA) and even looks to be branching off as well (see the stalk to the right of the stem). I have been dosing the tank every 3rd day with half dose of Thrive and some Purple Up for corals. I would have loved to see some macro algae at the coral swap.

I am almost 100% sure that I will not be altering the tanks again. However I can't promise anything if I see the setup isn't doing well, lol.

 

[Boundava]

Lol, so a bit of a redo on my 10 gallon.
I was getting a really nasty case of cyano bacteria, so I put in some chemiclean in. Two days later it was pretty much gone. The tank was pretty disgusting though, all sides were covered in algae. So I decided that I would do a deep clean on the tank since I had to do a water change anyway, and I also pulled out one of my live rocks. So here is the updated tank I'm liking a lot better and I also finally got a good light for the tank.

Here is the tank and lights before and before the cyanobacteria took over. There was a lot of algae on the walls. Not to say it won't be back...

 

[Boundava]

Stopped at Fish Planet for some more saltwater. I like to keep some (~10 gallons) on hand in case of emergencies and Sis did a WC on her tank this morning using up the other 5 gallons we had in reserve. Saw they had another porcelain crab and a beautiful bubbletip anenome so I picked up both.

Porcelain crabs...the old one is on the left, new on the right.

They are sitting on my other bubbletip which for some unknown reason has forgone her bubble tips