Help identifying crab and making sure he’s still alive.

[megan.911]

Can anyone help me identify this crab? Can’t find it on Google search the crab was a gift from its previous owner but previous owner said he bought him and added him to a tank and never saw him again inside the tank until today when he was transferred to my tank. He has completely lost color and I am worried he’s dead.I am BRAND NEW to the hobby and don’t know anything about crabs see the pics below and let me know if he didn’t make the transfer. I attached a before and after of his color.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Pom pom crab?
Usually when u add a new shrimp or crab or lobster invert ect. They molt after acclimation. Than they will molt as they grow.
D

 

[megan.911]

Pom pom crab?
Usually when u add a new shrimp or crab or lobster invert ect. They molt after acclimation. Than they will molt as they grow.
D

So I’ve got a pompom crab with no pompoms. Thank you, I was super worried hopefully that’s what he is doing, any advice on what to add in there for him to be as comfortable as possible? I’ve got live rock, Kenya trees, green star Polyps that’s about it. I’ll upload a pic. Any advice is helpful I’m only like 2 days into the hobby (besides the time I’ve spend cycling the tank with just live rock) I have no fish or coral yet! Now I’ve got to go check out the molting process!

 

[fishmonkey]

So I’ve got a pompom crab with no pompoms. Thank you, I was super worried hopefully that’s what he is doing, any advice on what to add in there for him to be as comfortable as possible? I’ve got live rock, Kenya trees, green star Polyps that’s about it. I’ll upload a pic. Any advice is helpful I’m only like 2 days into the hobby (besides the time I’ve spend cycling the tank with just live rock) I have no fish or coral yet! Now I’ve got to go check out the molting process!

how are you testing your water parameters?

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Looks ok. Sexy shrimp look happy. Point your pump output nozzle more up and horizontal to create water surface movement.
D

 

[megan.911]

how are you testing your water parameters?

With an electric salinity and temp reader! It’s like a two in one pen it’s really good quality but I’d like to know the best way and I keep seeing people checking multiple things… not just two. I won’t be adding any cool coral and was told with coral or special plants I don’t have to check anything else and I feel lied too lol…

how are you testing your water parameters?

 

[megan.911]

Looks ok. Sexy shrimp look happy. Point your pump output nozzle more up and horizontal to create water surface movement.
D

I was wondering why the top was a little stagnant. Thank you I’ll do that now!

 

[megan.911]

Looks ok. Sexy shrimp look happy. Point your pump output nozzle more up and horizontal to create water surface movement.
D

How that?

 

[fishmonkey]

With an electric salinity and temp reader! It’s like a two in one pen it’s really good quality but I’d like to know the best way and I keep seeing people checking multiple things… not just two. I won’t be adding any cool coral and was told with coral or special plants I don’t have to check anything else and I feel lied too lol…

Digital salinity checker is the way to go. I use the hanna one and it works great for me. The probes should be rinsed with distilled or rodi water after every use though.

For temp I use an inkbird temperature controller with eheim jager heater just to be safe because the electronics that turn the heater on and off are what is most likely to fail and not the heater itself. Maybe consider one of those mercury thermometers to have constant knowledge of temp just don’t break the glass.

invertebrates need some calcium but yea things like green star polyp grow like weeds. I wish I started with that coral.

my suggestion if you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a triton apex is to get a Hanna alkalinity checker, salifert calcium and magnesium test kits and either the salifert or Red Sea nitrate test kit. If you want to know phosphate levels I recommend the Hanna digital tester for accurate readings. If you want a ball park reading for ph the test kits are ok but to really know you would need a ph probe and controller and that can be quite costly unless you consider using reef-pi controller but that’s advanced stuff and I assume you don’t even have a sump.

But yea all this stuff isn’t really necessary but can help you on your journey to success and prevention of potential problems. In summary the most important parameters to keep stable for you right now imo are temperature, salinity, alkalinity, calcium, nitrates, magnesium, ph but I’m sure you can get by with what you have. Don’t get discouraged if things die it happens and it’s a learning process.

 

[fishmonkey]

Digital salinity checker is the way to go. I use the hanna one and it works great for me. The probes should be rinsed with distilled or rodi water after every use though.

For temp I use an inkbird temperature controller with eheim jager heater just to be safe because the electronics that turn the heater on and off are what is most likely to fail and not the heater itself. Maybe consider one of those mercury thermometers to have constant knowledge of temp just don’t break the glass.

invertebrates need some calcium but yea things like green star polyp grow like weeds. I wish I started with that coral.

my suggestion if you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a triton apex is to get a Hanna alkalinity checker, salifert calcium and magnesium test kits and either the salifert or Red Sea nitrate test kit. If you want to know phosphate levels I recommend the Hanna digital tester for accurate readings. If you want a ball park reading for ph the test kits are ok but to really know you would need a ph probe and controller and that can be quite costly unless you consider using reef-pi controller but that’s advanced stuff and I assume you don’t even have a sump.

But yea all this stuff isn’t really necessary but can help you on your journey to success and prevention of potential problems. In summary the most important parameters to keep stable for you right now imo are temperature, salinity, alkalinity, calcium, nitrates, magnesium, ph but I’m sure you can get by with what you have. Don’t get discouraged if things die it happens and it’s a learning process.

oh yea I forgot about auto top off. The more your water evaporates the saltier the water gets. Make sure the water level stays the same so salinity doesn’t go up

 

[megan.911]

Digital salinity checker is the way to go. I use the hanna one and it works great for me. The probes should be rinsed with distilled or rodi water after every use though.

For temp I use an inkbird temperature controller with eheim jager heater just to be safe because the electronics that turn the heater on and off are what is most likely to fail and not the heater itself. Maybe consider one of those mercury thermometers to have constant knowledge of temp just don’t break the glass.

invertebrates need some calcium but yea things like green star polyp grow like weeds. I wish I started with that coral.

my suggestion if you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a triton apex is to get a Hanna alkalinity checker, salifert calcium and magnesium test kits and either the salifert or Red Sea nitrate test kit. If you want to know phosphate levels I recommend the Hanna digital tester for accurate readings. If you want a ball park reading for ph the test kits are ok but to really know you would need a ph probe and controller and that can be quite costly unless you consider using reef-pi controller but that’s advanced stuff and I assume you don’t even have a sump.

But yea all this stuff isn’t really necessary but can help you on your journey to success and prevention of potential problems. In summary the most important parameters to keep stable for you right now imo are temperature, salinity, alkalinity, calcium, nitrates, magnesium, ph but I’m sure you can get by with what you have. Don’t get discouraged if things die it happens and it’s a learning process.

Once I have those things then would you say it’s safe to add in corals and fish? Thank you I took a screenshot the post so I can take it to my lfs and get some supplies!

 

[fishmonkey]

Once I have those things then would you say it’s safe to add in corals and fish? Thank you I took a screenshot the post so I can take it to my lfs and get some supplies!

assuming your tank is cycled you can probably add fish. its very important if you want to add fish that your tank is cycled. fish can survive relatively high nitrate but ammonia and nitrite will hurt them.

there's many videos on it but here's a short one that includes info about using live rock.

honestly after that you can probably add soft corals like green star polyp if you want because they are so hardy even without testing but im pretty sure you would want to graduate to LPS corals pretty soon and no harm in testing.

you see all that pretty purple stuff on the live rock you have? its called coralline algae . this is probably when you need some of those test kits and keep stable parameters. once that stuff starts growing everywhere you are ready for adding stony corals like LPS or SPS. i personally didn't wait for the coralline to grow and kinda got away with adding some hardy LPS like candy cane but if i were to go back i would have added soft corals first or just have waited for the coralline to grow.

corals also need lighting. thats a whole other black hole you can get into but yea your corals will need light to grow.

also i wouldn't recommend buying something you aren't sure you need. I'm just some random guy on the internet and I'm not some reefing guru. i recommend you do your own research to feel comfortable buying something you feel you need. BRS makes lots of informative videos but be warned they are trying to sell you stuff. if you want to buy something you gotta understand why you need it and how you plan on using it or else its just a waste of money. they say the only way to become a millionaire in this industry is to be a billionaire. its easy to just spend money for nothing in this hobby.

 

[megan.911]

Thank you, I checked out the videos, I haven’t cycled my tank as far as I am aware because it’s only been a little over a week but my situation may be different sense I took the plants and about a tenth of the water directly out of a already existing tank. I did add the live rock the ones shown immediately to my tank and then added in some live bacteria I picked up from the store for my tank size let that work it’s magic for a few days before adding in the Kenya trees, green star, let that sit a few more days made sure it started growing and the Kenya trees were healthy and remaining healthy then added in my sexy shrimp and a Pom Pom crab. The crab has sense molted and the sexy shrimp are thriving as it was a big upgrade on tank size and cleanliness for them they seem happy and full of energy… I already have a ton of hitchhikers, duster worms, I have a HUGE (I am losing the name but big worm that has feather looking things running down it’s side it’s pink so not a fire worm) I have some kind of neon green/yellow looking sponge that is growing so it looks like I have a more mature tank then what people start with… I definitely will be getting a test device or kit that you recommended for checking all of the levels in my tank I will check them for a week or two understand the testing and fixing process then get maximum two clown fish I don’t want one to be lonely lol… but I only have a 13 gallon tank and am one of those people that believe animals need space and it’s unfair to add more to this tank size when I already have mini sexy three shrimp, I will add maybe a snail or two to keep track of Algae. What do you think? I don’t need recommendations from some guru who has thousands of dollars worth of corals and intricate tank and pump designs. I am brand new to the hobby and want to keep it a simple as possible those who have commented on my posts before were not the kindest and not very helpful so I appreciate it and ALWAYS research and investigate before I take anyones word I just need to know what to research and investigate so I appreciate the help! I’ll attach a pic of where my tanks at today! My Kenya’s aren’t looking too hot because I made the Rookie mistake of turning my light completely off for three hours today. Nearly had a heart attack when I came to look and they were completely in hibernation lol.

 

[fishmonkey]

Thank you, I checked out the videos, I haven’t cycled my tank as far as I am aware because it’s only been a little over a week but my situation may be different sense I took the plants and about a tenth of the water directly out of a already existing tank. I did add the live rock the ones shown immediately to my tank and then added in some live bacteria I picked up from the store for my tank size let that work it’s magic for a few days before adding in the Kenya trees, green star, let that sit a few more days made sure it started growing and the Kenya trees were healthy and remaining healthy then added in my sexy shrimp and a Pom Pom crab. The crab has sense molted and the sexy shrimp are thriving as it was a big upgrade on tank size and cleanliness for them they seem happy and full of energy… I already have a ton of hitchhikers, duster worms, I have a HUGE (I am losing the name but big worm that has feather looking things running down it’s side it’s pink so not a fire worm) I have some kind of neon green/yellow looking sponge that is growing so it looks like I have a more mature tank then what people start with… I definitely will be getting a test device or kit that you recommended for checking all of the levels in my tank I will check them for a week or two understand the testing and fixing process then get maximum two clown fish I don’t want one to be lonely lol… but I only have a 13 gallon tank and am one of those people that believe animals need space and it’s unfair to add more to this tank size when I already have mini sexy three shrimp, I will add maybe a snail or two to keep track of Algae. What do you think? I don’t need recommendations from some guru who has thousands of dollars worth of corals and intricate tank and pump designs. I am brand new to the hobby and want to keep it a simple as possible those who have commented on my posts before were not the kindest and not very helpful so I appreciate it and ALWAYS research and investigate before I take anyones word I just need to know what to research and investigate so I appreciate the help! I’ll attach a pic of where my tanks at today! My Kenya’s aren’t looking too hot because I made the Rookie mistake of turning my light completely off for three hours today. Nearly had a heart attack when I came to look and they were completely in hibernation lol.

So even though corals don’t like lighting changes too often they can survive without light for a while. Think of how they get shipped around and what not as well as in nature there can be storms when the corals don’t get light for days.

the clownfish is doable but will eventually grow out of a 13 gallon tank so expect upgrading to at least a 20 gallon or ideally 30 gallons for two when fully grown. Maybe consider other fish like small gobies or damsels. Here’s a thread on it. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-for-10g-nano-reef.472702/. Keep in mind 13 gallons is very small for saltwater and can be harder in some senses to keep because parameters can swing 10 times as fast than a 130 gallon tank. Ease of water changes is where having a nano tank can make up for that.

also I noticed you don’t have a wave maker. I think the return pump can provide enough flow but keep in mind corals and even fish need some turbulence in the water to be healthy. The corals you have right now can handle most any situations but you need at least a little flow.

 

[megan.911]

Look who came out of hiding, he definitely molted!!! I’m so happy!