Water again

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3Corsameal

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
58
Location
Essex UK
right, tested my water lastnight with that quick test strip kit, and here is the results.

PH = 7.7
KH = 10
GH = 14
NO2 = 10
NO3 = 250 shocked, i'm sure this is strange.

Any advice?

went to look at my crabs and one of em is looking normal, one had his belly bit open (front of crab was open) and was sitting very still, and there was an empty shell with the belly bit in same position as the other one.

so i guess they are re shelling, and one has already come out of shell, but the other one was still still this morning, it had a leg missing and a loach was eating it, i think its dead.

anyone know much about crabs?

Loaches seem much happier since i put a cave in there!!!! :D
 
Water change water change water change! You need to get those nitrites out of there, and reduce those nitrate levels. I'd also suggest getting some liquid test kits (the ones that come with the vials); they are much more accurate. I only use the strips for a quick peek; if it appears to have any color change I then test with the liquid tests to get correct readings.

Dunno bout crabs tho; maybe William will pop in. I know he's kept a few and may have some suggestions.
 
3corsameal, you really need to get some liquid test kits, when you do pop in for that coffee and a chat bring me some water and i will test it here.
 
You can easily tell if a shell is a dead crab or just a molted shell, Also. A recently molted crab will most likely be very nervous and stressed for the first few days as its new shell hardens, since it is nothing more then a soft, tasty snack with out its shells.


MOlting is a good sign of a healthy tank I believe, because if they don't feel safe or comfortable they just plain won't do it, I'm not quite sure about this particular bit however.


Do you have a way for crabs to get above the waterline? I off the top of my mind [ I just woke up, and am drugged out of my mind for various sickness's I came down with recent;y ] I can't remember why they open their gill flaps, But I know its normal and that they like to do it from time to time above the water line. .

If your crab with the missing leg hasn't molted yet, he will grow it back when he molts.

Oh, what do you feed them? My guys [ i have 8 fiddlers :p ] all love to munch on shrimp pellets and hikari algae wafers. They like to eat my hornwort plant to, but thats a different story :D


all and all I say this sounds pretty much like normal crabby behavior, just some pointers however..


Never put two males in the same tank together if their claws are about the same size, It could result in fighting. If one has a clearly larger claw then it should be okay, and always remember that they will always be minor scuffles, its just them asserting themselves on the others, and don't be surprised if your female [ I'm assuming you have a male and female ] ends up whomping the males butt from time to time :D


I'll check back when I'm not so wooky
 
the crab that was half open seemed alive lastnight, but i do think it is dead now, one that i thought was dead and turned out to be an empty shell was on top of pump and alive, next to the shell.
so i have an empty shell, a healthy looking crab and one that i think was changing but got eaten during it.
not sure really, am confused, but gonna check whats happened when i get home.

@ Terry, i'll pop over soon and get some proper test kits from you....

what can people do with fish they don't want, a friend of mine is taking someones fish and tank that they don't want anymore, but the friend wants to get rid of the fish.
2 are small and will go into another tank, but one is a big catfish of some sort, must be 8inch long, healthy looking and dark black. what can he do with that?
 
If nothing else see if a LFS will take it.

My uncle had a monstrous foot and a half long catfish in their 55gal tank [ bought it when it was like, 2 inches long ].


They had to git rid of it because, well, it was eating FULL GROWN ANGELFISH!!!!

so he gave it to another of my uncles, who has like.. umpteen billion 100+gallon aquariums all throughout his house.

He put it in with an oscar, and theres an invisible line down the middle of the tank I hear, if one crosses over into the others territory, all hell breaks loose! 8O :? 8O
 
Just to hop in on the topic of giving fish to the lfs...does anyone have any secrets or suggestions on how to do that??

I received a "gift" of a common pleco, that I obviously need to find a new home for before he gets much bigger. But when I called my lfs...they said they wouldn't take him till their pleco stock had diminished...but of course...once it had diminished...they got more. LOL...is it all in the timing here? Or should I try somewhere else?
 
If nothing else put an add in the classifieds, " Free to good home, Common Pl*co, Must have 70gal aquarium or larger "
 
sweetsuvvyb.
I would phone around abit, some stores will take them and some won't. It all down to size of fish and how long the store thinks they will have them.

This week alone, i have had 1 oscar 8", 1 Angel 6", 1 upside down cat 4.5" and 20 geophagus jurupari 1.5-2" brought into my store. Luckly i had the room.

Adds in the classifieds always work.
 
Only joking William :lol:

I have a small aquarium store on the out-skirts of where i live, it is'nt very big. I have about 8 tanks for coldwater fish and a 350gal koi vat, and 47 assorted tanks for the tropical fish. I do not sell marine fish, my store isn't big enough. Between having my store and being on Aquarium Advice what else could a man ask for, i have my whole life in this fantastic hobby and even though i have been keeping fish for 25yrs this hobby changes from day to day and i am always learning new things. If you take this site, the sort time that i have been on here it is great to find out how people from differant countrys are involved so much in this hobby. And the way that technology has advance over the years is just amazing.

All i will say to you william is enjoy the hobby, if you can take the downs as well as the ups you will enjoy many great years of fish keeping.
 
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