Nat's 125 Litre Juwel Rio Marine!

[natwood]

So I was just looking around at what's going on in my tank..and doing a head count. I was like..yep there's all 4 shrimp. Then I thought, hey, is that a dead shrimp?! But after looking closely it looks like one of them may have molted?! I didn't know they did that! From what I can see..it looks like my striped shrimp is loads more pink now. It actually looks a bit like a peppermint shrimp now.

 

[Reesy1989]

So I was just looking around at what's going on in my tank..and doing a head count. I was like..yep there's all 4 shrimp. Then I thought, hey, is that a dead shrimp?! But after looking closely it looks like one of them may have molted?! I didn't know they did that!

Same thing happened to me, I was really disheartened that it had died then from out of no where he poped up on the other side of the tank look brand new and shiney lol.

That striped shrimp you have is really interesting. Cant wait for more picture of that little guy.

 

[natwood]

So I was just looking around at what's going on in my tank..and doing a head count. I was like..yep there's all 4 shrimp. Then I thought, hey, is that a dead shrimp?! But after looking closely it looks like one of them may have molted?! I didn't know they did that!

Same thing happened to me, I was really disheartened that it had died then from out of no where he poped up on the other side of the tank look brand new and shiney lol.

That striped shrimp you have is really interesting. Cant wait for more picture of that little guy.

Haha yeah, I was confused though thinking that I'd had a sneaky extra one that had died. Yeah he's actually the most comical thing in my tank at the moment, creeping around and popping out from under different rocks. The rest of them just stay in the place they've chosen but he's sneaky ^-^ I'll try and get more pictures when he appears!

 

[ben1987]

Yeah, they molt its wied. Mine did it on day one in my tank...i was like omg ive killed it already. But 2 years later and hes still going strong.

 

[AK77]

They'll do it every few weeks or so. Hermit crabs also do the same thing, so don't be alarmed when you see some lifeless invertebrate lying on the sand, as its more than likely to be a molt casting.

 

[natwood]

Haha, ok. Thanks for the heads up! That shrimp is mega sneaky. It's completely dissapeared now. My blood shrimp likes to hang upside down on the rock at the back, which is a shame.. I like looking at him!

My Sun-Sun Powerhead came today (hurrah!), but my US to UK plug converter isn't here yet..it should be coming tomorrow. Also, annoyingly, I was sent the suction cups attachment by mistake, so the guy is sending me the magnets over seperately. Guess I'll have to wait another 2 weeks for the magnet to come now! Ah well, I can use the suction cups instead for now.

 

[AK77]

That's annoying about the powerhead.

My fireshrimp used to do exactly the same thing. Hang upside down hidden away, which was a shame because they are so beautifully coloured!

 

[Truck]

Haha, ok. Thanks for the heads up! That shrimp is mega sneaky. It's completely dissapeared now. My blood shrimp likes to hang upside down on the rock at the back, which is a shame.. I like looking at him!

My Sun-Sun Powerhead came today (hurrah!), but my US to UK plug converter isn't here yet..it should be coming tomorrow. Also, annoyingly, I was sent the suction cups attachment by mistake, so the guy is sending me the magnets over seperately. Guess I'll have to wait another 2 weeks for the magnet to come now! Ah well, I can use the suction cups instead for now.

Cut the plug off and replace it with a UK one, it's pretty easy to do, live goes to the pin with the fuse, and neutral to left pin if looking from above, and earth is the top one, that's if it has an earth wire which I doubt.

 

[natwood]

Today's results:

pH: 8.2
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 2.5
Ammonia: 0 (cloudy white as always)

 

[natwood]

If my Salifert test kit says my Nitrates are 2.5..what does this mean in ppm? I don't understand the ppm thing. I'm going to do a water change this weekend to try and get it down again.

 

[AK77]

If my Salifert test kit says my Nitrates are 2.5..what does this mean in ppm? I don't understand the ppm thing. I'm going to do a water change this weekend to try and get it down again.

Is yours the type with the square bottomed vial, where you can look down through the top or through the side for different readings? Its either 25 ppm or 2.5ppm. If its a very, very pale lilac colour then your nitrates are 2.5ppm. If its a strong lilac colour, then its 25ppm.

 

[natwood]

If my Salifert test kit says my Nitrates are 2.5..what does this mean in ppm? I don't understand the ppm thing. I'm going to do a water change this weekend to try and get it down again.

Is yours the type with the square bottomed vial, where you can look down through the top or through the side for different readings? Its either 25 ppm or 2.5ppm. If its a very, very pale lilac colour then your nitrates are 2.5ppm. If its a strong lilac colour, then its 25ppm.

Yeah it's the square bottom one. When I look through the top it's very pale and works out at 2.0 so then it says to look through the side if it's below 10. So when I do that it's quite a strong lilac which works out at 25 and it says divide it by 10 so I got 2.5.

 

[AK77]

If my Salifert test kit says my Nitrates are 2.5..what does this mean in ppm? I don't understand the ppm thing. I'm going to do a water change this weekend to try and get it down again.

Is yours the type with the square bottomed vial, where you can look down through the top or through the side for different readings? Its either 25 ppm or 2.5ppm. If its a very, very pale lilac colour then your nitrates are 2.5ppm. If its a strong lilac colour, then its 25ppm.

Yeah it's the square bottom one. When I look through the top it's very pale and works out at 2.0 so then it says to look through the side if it's below 10. So when I do that it's quite a strong lilac which works out at 25 and it says divide it by 10 so I got 2.5.

That's pretty good! Wait until you get some fishes and watch that slowly creep up lol

 

[natwood]

Haha, oh good. How long do you think I need to wait now until I get my clownfish, or is my tank ready for them now? I'm not in any hurry though to be honest, I've spent enough so far! Lol.

 

[AK77]

Well your water chemistry looks pretty stable, showing no ammonia or nitrite. I'd give it a few days to let your cuc to do their job and then add one clownfish. Leave it about a month to 6 weeks and then add another one, which is noticeably smaller than yours. The larger one will become the female and the new smaller one will be the male. They can actually change sexes. If the large female died and you added another clown, the previous male would most likely change into a female.