Turtle's Fairy Tale

[SashimiTurtle]

A little experiment that hopefully turns into a full time hatchery. My new 5g brine shrimp hatchery/grow out. This cost me nothing but water and salt to put together. I had everything else in the closet from previous set ups.

The tank is a 5.5g Top Fin(I think?) with a little LED in the hood. I had a spare preset heater that actually holds close to 78° and I sanitized the sponge filter I used in the QT tank.

Lights run 24 hours for now, probably will keep them that way because of the weak LEDs. Altho, they did grow fresh water wisteria, anubias and java fern...

The chaeto still contains some copepods, amphipods and I saw an asterina in that bunch. I'm not purposely growing pods, yet. I wanna get set up for phyto first. Brine can be fed with baby food. Yep, pureed sweet potatoes and peas mixed with a vitamin supplement, if desired, and RODI.

Hopefully this is successful long term and self sustaining, meaning I don't have to constantly set up more brine shrimp to hatch. Once I get more experience with this, then comes phyto and pods. The black leopard is still doing great, but pays no attention to frozen like the normal leopard. Buying a bottle of pods every month is going to get expensive.

Plus, maybe I can turn this into a little side money for frags... phyto, pods and brine shrimp anyone?

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I'd say the hatch was a success... just 1/4tsp of eggs and this tank is full of baby brine shrimp now. Yes, everything floating is a brine shrimp. The eggs are on the bottom.

 

[Brew12]

I'd say the hatch was a success... just 1/4tsp of eggs and this tank is full of baby brine shrimp now. Yes, everything floating is a brine shrimp. The eggs are on the bottom.

Well done!!!!

 

[NY_Caveman]

Looks pretty darn successful to me.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Well done!!!!

Looks pretty darn successful to me.

Thanks, I was shocked. Never got that good a hatch rate from the jar method and pickling salt(non iodized). Maybe reef salt is the trick... probably the stable temp too.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Don't buy nerites... this is 99.9999% of their daily activity. The other 0.0001%, is climbing back up to this spot after I throw them into the tank.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Mine love to ride the Trochuses for some reason. Funny because the Trochus can move quickly. I only added a couple of Nerites for fun and they do seem useless.

 

[najer]

Great work with the brine. :)

 

[SashimiTurtle]

It apears that I have a wrasse that likes to sleep under my acans. That's all fine, until my acans become buried in sand and I have to dig them back out and place them on top of the sand.

I have one more of those purple rocks from the 35g tank that shall not be named. I set it in the sump for now to start the cycling process. I know everything is pink. I promise its purple.

I'm not worried about it causing an ammonia spike. Not with the rock, mud and chaeto I already have. I just don't have time to mess with it today and I might as well start seeding it with good bacteria. My plan is to set it on that side where the acans already are, and let them grow all over that rock. I may find a few more small rocks like that and add them in various places for some favia, platygyra and echinata. Oh yea, pectinia and chalice also!

 

[Brew12]

It apears that I have a wrasse that likes to sleep under my acans. That's all fine, until my acans become buried in sand and I have to dig them back out and place them on top of the sand.

I have one more of those purple rocks from the 35g tank that shall not be named. I set it in the sump for now to start the cycling process. I know everything is pink. I promise its purple.

I'm not worried about it causing an ammonia spike. Not with the rock, mud and chaeto I already have. I just don't have time to mess with it today and I might as well start seeding it with good bacteria. My plan is to set it on that side where the acans already are, and let them grow all over that rock. I may find a few more small rocks like that and add them in various places for some favia, platygyra and echinata. Oh yea, pectinia and chalice also!

Wouldn't it be nice if the fish in our system were more respectful of our wishes? So inconsiderate.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Wouldn't it be nice if the fish in our system were more respectful of our wishes? So inconsiderate.

I have a feeling it's the radiant. He's been bullied a bit by I think the brunneus. Haven't seen him in a few days. That brunneus, supposed to be a peaceful fairy wrasse but he's a "richard..." He cannot stand the sapphire damsel, but it's tough enough to fight back. Those two flare up at each other all the time. The McCoskers wrasse stays clear also. Oddly, the leopards can come and go as they please and nobody pays them any attention.

 

[Scurvy]

Id guess the radiant as well.

I never could figure out where mine slept. one day i was scraping the glass, moving power heads and then adding another fish to the acclimation box and I saw him dive into the slightest of holes between two rocks. No clue how he gets in there but he seems to like the rock work for added protection I guess?? My other sand sleepers seem to simply choose the deepest sand they find which isnt always near rock work.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Dropped off the rest of the chaeto at a LFS yesterday for a guy to come pick up. Grabbed this little jewel also for $25. 10+ polyp Emeralds on Fire.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Well, hurricane michael came and went. Turtle shell 2, 2018 hurricanes 0. Panama City and Mexico City, FL didn't fare so well.

Went out today after the storm passed. Ate lunch with the old lady and window shopped at the local mall village thing... yes, I stopped by my LFS here close to the house. I picked up some TLF Sea Veggies and a frag of blastos. They are already opening after about 10 minutes in the tank.

Also, I seem to have created a rather large nutrient spike with the addition of the third rock in the sump. Same pesky film algae I had in the beginning is back... on the bright side, my zoas and LPS are LOVING the extra nutrients. They are growing very well and seem fat and happy.

Look at all that awesome burgundy coraline growing!!!

 

[Amoo]

Dude, I dunno if you have been following the WWC/BRS series on Youtube, but it's worth a watch if you haven't. Mixed tanks are SO much more difficult than SPS/LPS dominant tanks. Ryan really does a good job going into detail about the differences in Video 5 of the series.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Dude, I dunno if you have been following the WWC/BRS series on Youtube, but it's worth a watch if you haven't. Mixed tanks are SO much more difficult than SPS/LPS dominant tanks. Ryan really does a good job going into detail about the differences in Video 5 of the series.

I actually just started watching that tonight at work... slow night. I have a very good hunch on what my SPS issue is. It's self inflicted, altho unintentional, and hopefully, easily corrected. I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet...

I have a trip to Gatlinburg for vacation next week, after that I'm sending off an ATI ICP test. When the results come in, I'll reveal my hunch. My original plan was SPS dominant with zoas mixed in. It has shifted to Zoa dominant with LPS mixed in and an SPS death trap. Like I said tho, I'm pretty sure I know exactly what my SPS problem is, and I've already removed the "source." I'll drop a little hint, I noticed a change in the tank after the recent addition of something in the sump that tipped me off, kinda like a chain of thoughts in my head that lead from one thing to another until the light bulb dang near blew up.

 

[Amoo]

You know, it's really funny how there are SO MANY different ways to run a tank. I'm a Nem person (duh). If I couldn't have Nems and clowns I wouldn't own a tank. All that said I'd still like to have some SPS, but I honestly like a colorful blasto just as much as I love a cool acro and honestly my favorite WWC tank is their mixed tank.

I learned an awful lot about my system (a lot I already knew but was too stuborn to admit to myself) when I had my ICP test done. My ATI ICP was honestly the best thing I EVER did fore my tank, only because it confirmed what I was already thinking. I hope yours works out the same.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

You know, it's really funny how there are SO MANY different ways to run a tank. I'm a Nem person (duh). If I couldn't have Nems and clowns I wouldn't own a tank. All that said I'd still like to have some SPS, but I honestly like a colorful blasto just as much as I love a cool acro and honestly my favorite WWC tank is their mixed tank.

I learned an awful lot about my system (a lot I already knew but was too stuborn to admit to myself) when I had my ICP test done. My ATI ICP was honestly the best thing I EVER did fore my tank, only because it confirmed what I was already thinking. I hope yours works out the same.

I really want a nem for Bonnie and Clyde. They really look like they need a home. But then again there is no guarantee they will call a BTA home... I don't want to put a mag in my 90 and have it take up the whole thing. Then there is the Sebae, but they aren't as colorful as BTAs are... and if they do decide a BTA is a better home than rubbing on my trachy once a day, do I want to put up with it splitting and walking all over my tank stinging everything in it's path? Altho, I have kept a small rainbow BTA for several months without it walking, then I added it to my 35 gallon tank of hades fire where all things coral went to die.

In the tank's current state, if I have the problem I think I have, adding a nem will most certainly spell a quickly melted disaster.

 

[Amoo]

Dude all I can say is what I tell everybody else. If you're thinking of getting a Nem and don't want the Nem itself to be the centerpiece of your tank and you're willing to sacrifice everything else in your tank, don't do it.

Mag's are honestly not as hard as everybody makes them out to be, that said, they are definitely a step up from a BTA. In a mixed reef, I think a sebae is a good option, especially if you can get your hands on a cool purple one, but they all come in "white" so you never know.

Nems are cool, BTAs are frustrating, clowns are clowns regardless.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I'll probably pass on the nem... A sebae would be cool, but my conch knocked over a branch last night. I can only imagine what a sand dwelling nem would/could do. I may be adding some base rock to my scape. I like the open branches. But I think I need more caves and hiding spots to curb some aggression from a particular dominant wrasse. It should help with stability too.