Scarlet red legged hermit??
- Thread starter Semo
- Start date
EDGRAY
New Member
First of all :welcome to nano tank the friendliest web site.
mmmm all depends for how long has your tank been running???? did you wait until cycle was done is when nitrate,nitrite and amonia are at 0... cause if you didnt it might be dead cause of the high nitrates and amonia or cause its so little they hide pretty well on rocks but eventually you see them going all around the rock and sand so if you havent see him he might be dead cause your water but if you waited for the cycle it might be there some were they are really hardy creatures but sensitive to high nitrates. check this link, there are alot of things you need to know before adding anything to your tank and give it time to cycle so if you have time please read everything that is on the link really helpfull.
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/sbegin-setup.html :welcome
eddy :cool1:
mmmm all depends for how long has your tank been running???? did you wait until cycle was done is when nitrate,nitrite and amonia are at 0... cause if you didnt it might be dead cause of the high nitrates and amonia or cause its so little they hide pretty well on rocks but eventually you see them going all around the rock and sand so if you havent see him he might be dead cause your water but if you waited for the cycle it might be there some were they are really hardy creatures but sensitive to high nitrates. check this link, there are alot of things you need to know before adding anything to your tank and give it time to cycle so if you have time please read everything that is on the link really helpfull.
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/sbegin-setup.html :welcome
eddy :cool1:
The tank has only been up for a couple weeks...I bought cured live rock at my LFS (I am going out on a limb here assuming this means local fish store :stonight ) and didn't see much of a cycle, but did see one cycle, but very little nitrite. What I thougth was the cycle only lasted 4 days before ammonia, nitrite were to zero. Hope I didn't rush it.
I would double check the readings to make sure your cycle is complete, 4 days sounds way too shrt to me. BTW, LFS does mean local fish store. You should see a rise in ammonia first followed by a rise in nitrit with ammonia levels dropping and then finally nitrite levels coming down as nitrate levels start to rise. If you ammonia and nitrite readings are 0 and you have some nitrate your cycle is complete. You ideally want to keep nitrate levels as low as possible, usually we shoot for <10.
A single red leg crab could be right there in the shadows so he hasn't necessarily died but if the cycle wasn't complete he may have succombed to ammonia poisoning.
What are you using to make your water? You shouldn't have any silicates if you are using RO/DI water.
A single red leg crab could be right there in the shadows so he hasn't necessarily died but if the cycle wasn't complete he may have succombed to ammonia poisoning.
What are you using to make your water? You shouldn't have any silicates if you are using RO/DI water.
Thanks for the replies,
My ammonia hit .25 for 2 days then .5 for 2 days then .25 for 2 more...I can't remember what the nitirite jumped to but I only got a hint of on my test for one day. The nitrate got to 10ppm and I did a water change 3 days ago and now I have 0 on all readings. I wasn't sure if it was a true cycle or what.
I bought saltwater premixed from my LFS and had a friend bring me RO. My friend has been in it for years and his RO has no silicates but the saltwater mix from the LFS did test for some silicates <2. I am going to start using my friends RO water to mix my water until I get my own unit. Hopefully this will nip the brown algae, its getting ugly.
My ammonia hit .25 for 2 days then .5 for 2 days then .25 for 2 more...I can't remember what the nitirite jumped to but I only got a hint of on my test for one day. The nitrate got to 10ppm and I did a water change 3 days ago and now I have 0 on all readings. I wasn't sure if it was a true cycle or what.
I bought saltwater premixed from my LFS and had a friend bring me RO. My friend has been in it for years and his RO has no silicates but the saltwater mix from the LFS did test for some silicates <2. I am going to start using my friends RO water to mix my water until I get my own unit. Hopefully this will nip the brown algae, its getting ugly.
I agree that 4 days seems a bit quick .....I would recommend retesting the water. As for the crab I am not sure how much rock work you have but he could be hidden . Just keep an eye out for the little fella as he may reappear if the cycle wasent compleat he may not have survived as the others said . As for the algae it sounds like diatoms increse the flow and turn the lights off you can turn them on to peek (if you dont have any livestock, corals this will not hurt) this will pass in a few days - to a couple of weeks if it is really bugging you you could siphion some of it off but with the lights out increased flow it will eventually die off. :mrgreen:
EDGRAY
New Member
yeah and then you get the green hairy algae....right...and then you get your cycle i think is normal the LFS always tell you that your cycle is gone in a week or 2 but i think they just trying to push it .... like sadye told me one day at least you have to wait a month to let the water to stable and then put the cleaning crew to help you with the diatom & hairy algae..... the slower you do thing ...the more guarantee you'll that your live stuck will be live for a long time.....
eddy :cool1:
eddy :cool1:
Ed...You say I get the brown then green algae..then my cycle?
I really read up on this and none of my reading told me how long what would last. I do know ammonia-nitrite-nitrate is the cycle but, my reading really didnt give me ideas of how long each would last. I came home today and noticed quite a change in my tank.
I am gonna estimate the rock in the tank is 40% more green today. Its amazing the change in color. Is this telling me I haven't even started my cycle? Right now I am reading ammonia at .50 and 00 on nitrite, nitrate. I know be patient but, I just had readings on ammonia, then nitrite...small but still reading then nitrate...I thought it was the cycle. I actually took readings every day.
I really read up on this and none of my reading told me how long what would last. I do know ammonia-nitrite-nitrate is the cycle but, my reading really didnt give me ideas of how long each would last. I came home today and noticed quite a change in my tank.
I am gonna estimate the rock in the tank is 40% more green today. Its amazing the change in color. Is this telling me I haven't even started my cycle? Right now I am reading ammonia at .50 and 00 on nitrite, nitrate. I know be patient but, I just had readings on ammonia, then nitrite...small but still reading then nitrate...I thought it was the cycle. I actually took readings every day.
EDGRAY
New Member
about you parameters is normal when cycling they spike and then go until 0 thats sign of cycle and i mentioned the algae cause alot of people go through that process (including me) i got spikes then cause of too much lightning (i didnt know) a got alot of diatoms then after some weeks i notice hairy green algae but you can lower the growth by lowering you light time to almost nothing so thats why i mentioned and after all that i search and ask what to do to clean all that so they say cleaning crew if cycle is done... but this is what i say lets the experts tell you more....
eddy :cool1:
eddy :cool1:
that may be just a molt
your cylcle can take anywhre from 2 weeks to 8 weeks depending on the grade of live rock
the cycle should look something like this
ammonia rise then drops to 0
nitrIte rise then drops to 0
nitrAte rise then will drop (probably not to 0) you want to aim for low readings 10 and under
continue to test when all readings read 0 consistantly you are cycled then you can look into a clean up crew snails crabs ect . Once added test again you will cycle again tho it should be very small .. once every thing reads 0 you can add your next resident , test again .....ect then you may see the start of your algaes diatoms , red slime , green algaes and coraline (good stuff coraline is ) you may see the development of it before the cycles are done , or even after I saw my first hint of diatoms after we were cycled.
when you start to see the diatoms keep the lights off and increase flow they are a natural part of a new tank and will go away in a few days to a couple of weeks if they really bug you you could siphion them off ,since there is nothing in the tank that needs lighting you could turn them on to peek and then off .. I never had anything other than the diatoms and of course the problem with red slime that is under control now :mrgreen: then you should start to see coraline algae growth hope this helps :mrgreen:
your cylcle can take anywhre from 2 weeks to 8 weeks depending on the grade of live rock
the cycle should look something like this
ammonia rise then drops to 0
nitrIte rise then drops to 0
nitrAte rise then will drop (probably not to 0) you want to aim for low readings 10 and under
continue to test when all readings read 0 consistantly you are cycled then you can look into a clean up crew snails crabs ect . Once added test again you will cycle again tho it should be very small .. once every thing reads 0 you can add your next resident , test again .....ect then you may see the start of your algaes diatoms , red slime , green algaes and coraline (good stuff coraline is ) you may see the development of it before the cycles are done , or even after I saw my first hint of diatoms after we were cycled.
when you start to see the diatoms keep the lights off and increase flow they are a natural part of a new tank and will go away in a few days to a couple of weeks if they really bug you you could siphion them off ,since there is nothing in the tank that needs lighting you could turn them on to peek and then off .. I never had anything other than the diatoms and of course the problem with red slime that is under control now :mrgreen: then you should start to see coraline algae growth hope this helps :mrgreen:
I have not seen any evidence of the red leg crab. No site of the shell or any more legs. It was wierd..the legs were just lying on the bottom with a little clear meaty type stuff on top. I am quite new to this and not sure what a molt would look like. I have a 12 gallon tank with 11 lbs of rock. I can't imagine not being able to see the crab or atleast the empty shell, but who knows. Maybe one of the two will show up someday. I don't want a mantis shrimp for sure.
If you haven't heard a popping sound ( a mantis digging rock or a pistol shrimp does this popping sound with his claws ,not digging) chances are that you don't have a mantis . If it is a molt this will look just like the crab because it is a defence while they are so vulnerable (there exoskeleton is not hard ) Provide with extra shells for him to move into if there were none he may not have fit back into his old shell ..
little urchin
New Member
sounds just like a moult to me....everytime i see one i think someone has died!!!.....looks like a bunch of legs with clear/white 'stuff' at the top (which i always presume is flesh).....
until they appear again in a day or so when they have hardened again
i'd expect to see him again if you havn't found an empty shell....one of mine loves to hang aroud in little holes for days on end!!...you wouldn't know he was there if you didn't know his hiding places.
until they appear again in a day or so when they have hardened again
i'd expect to see him again if you havn't found an empty shell....one of mine loves to hang aroud in little holes for days on end!!...you wouldn't know he was there if you didn't know his hiding places.
Wow!!! It was a molt..He has made his appearance. Same shell though. I had tossed some extra shells in but they never moved. I can see legs digging so its still alive. I can not believe that...the legs looked like something just pulled them out of the shell leaving most of the body in the shell. At least I learned a few things. Maybe he will survive since it appears I may not have had a real cycle quite yet.