My 1st SW tank. Seahorses are in!NEW PICS!

[Devilishturtles]

Yeah, please do look for the link. Never heard of another species of peppermint shrimp before or anything like that.

The hydroids are the clear polyps in the picture. It's not the best photo though, I'll see if I can find a better one. Try and get a picture...your description sounds like about 3 or 4 different things.

About the PH placement, I'd not point it at the polyps, but instead try and get another powerhead to create a circulating/crashing motion in your tank. You don't want it blowing at the polyps, that will just irritate them.

HTH

 

[STARFYRE]

Thanx for that tip. I'll shoot the flow somewhere else. I didn't like it there anyway....It was blowing right at my hitching posts for my ponies. I plan on picking up another PH on tuesday. Any suggestions how I should place the two of them?? I'll post a shot of my tank, so you can see how everything's placed. This shot's not too good, but it's the only updated pic I have.

I got great news!!! That aptasia thing is GONE! Hooray! No trace of it anywhere! And I can't find that link anywhere. I was looking for it again today. I found tiny white snail lookin things stickin to my tank, and they were in the guide I was looking at. I can't remember if they're good or not? I've been searching so much stuff, and I can't remember where I found that link!! It was great too. It had pics of hitchikers, what they were, what they do, and if you should dispose of them immediately.
Here are some pics I took today...
These are my colony polyps. On the bottom right of the rock I got 4 or 5 brown star polyps...SWEET!

And this is the best shot I could get of my newest addition....
Scooter Blenny

All my levels are pretty good
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0
NitrItes 0
NitrAtes 20ppm
I did a pwc today. I'm gonna test tomorrow to see if it went down.
I plan on adding another PH. I'm also gonna pick up a trochus snail, and possibly two nerite snails. I need more info on the nerites. I know they stay small, which is ideal. But that's about all I know. Anyone got info or experience with them???

 

[Devilishturtles]

Cool, tank is coming along nice! Make sure one of the powerheads is pointing upwards slightly, enough to agitate the surface. Never had trochus snails or nerites, but one you may want to look into also is the nassarius snail. They are aweeeesome sand sifters.

 

[STARFYRE]

Sorry...I thought I updated my stock in this thread. Here's what I got.....
3 nassarius snails(I love them)
2 cerith snails
1 anemone shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp
1 colony of polyps
1 scooter blenny
and two of these guys. My LFS calls them "mini turbos". I think they're Astraea snails. I'm gonna post this in the ID forum as well for additional feedback.

After I get the trochus snail and maybe the two nerites, I'm gonna put my order in for the seahorses. So I figure two weeks till they're in my tank. That'll give me some time to monitor water conditions and make sure everything's stable.
About the PH placement...I got a HOB filter that agitates the surface pretty good. I have a ripple effect going through the entire surface, so I'm lookin to use the PHs to move the rest of the tank. Based on my pics, do you have any suggestions?

 

[STARFYRE]

I moved the PH.I placed it up about 4 inches, but pointed in the same general direction. It made a huge difference! The water is flowing throughout the whole tank now. There are some spots where it's not moving as much, but it's not stagnant. I don't think I have any dead spots now. I think I have plenty water movement for what I plan on sticking in there.
The ponies will have a retreat spot, where the water isn't flowing as much. They have plenty of hitching posts where the flow is at a medium level. And on the right side bottom of the tank, the flow is low, and it's an ideal spot to stick my mushrooms. So I think everything is in working order.
Now....about those nitrAtes......I did a 10% pwc yesterday. I tested the NitrAtes and they're still at 20ppm. Is there a such thing as too many pwcs??? Can I do a 10% pwc everyday to see if it'll bring the levels down?? I have a cartridge in my HOB filter. Could this be affecting my nitrAte levels? I really don't want to put any additives in the tank. I'd much rather see if I can fix the problem without having to dose this and that. Suggestion???

 

[Devilishturtles]

Since you don't have anything in the tank right now, why not do a few days of 50% water changes? Essentially you do 50% at 20 ppm, they will drop to 10 ppm. 50% more, you drop them to 5 ppm, so and and so on. But, if for some reason they are stuck at 20 (mine are!) that's not too too bad.

Take the cartridge out of your HOB. You got the Seaclone skimmer right? Ideally you could take the HOB off completely, or just use it for flow. The cartridge could be conrtibuting to nitrates, yeah.

Give those a go, and see what happens.

 

[STARFYRE]

I took the cartridge out of my filter and did a 20% pwc. The color of my nitrAte test looks lighter, but it's so hard to read. My LFS has a different type of test kit, so I'm gonna bring in a water sample and have them test it for me.

 

[STARFYRE]

My levels are finally ok!
pH is stable at 8.2
Ammonia 0
NitrItes 0
NitrAtes 20
Hooray!!
I went to the LFS to pick up my xenia, and they just got their shipment in. They have 2 kinds of seahorses, spotted and colored tank bred. I didn't have time to hang around, but I'll definately be going back tomorrow to check them out!
My xenia seem to be doing much better than the last time I brought them home. I acclimated them differently this time. They are still pumping. I turned on the light and some of them closed up. So I turned on just the blue light. I figure maybe they'll have a better time adjusting. Tomorrow I'll go back to the normal light schedule.
I am sooooo excited about the seahorses!!! I'm not sure which ones I'm going to go with.? I don't suppose I could have a couple of each? I'm assuming the spotted ones will get larger because they are twice the size of the colored ones. I'll check more into it tomorrow, make my decision and have them hold them for me. I can't wait!!!!

 

[Devilishturtles]

Congrats.

Sorry, I can't help with the horses. I have NO clue about them at all.

Best of luck.

 

[STARFYRE]

I stopped in the LFS before work today. The only ones that had left for sale are the same exact ones Mike (melosu58) got. My guy at the LFS told me he has another dealer that has different kinds. He told me to check out their website tonight and see if he wants me to special order any from there. He said he would hold 2 of the spotted ones (like Mike's) until tomorrow, to see if I'd rather take those instead of waiting.
The ones he has seem healthy. They are active and eating frozen food. Now I'm uncertain as to what to do....Go with the sure thing now and pick them up tomorrow, OR have nice colored ones special ordered and risk them not being as healthy?? Oh the decisions!

 

[melosu58]

Mine were kind of lethargic for the first day or so but they are kind of perky now if you can call them that. They are not the most active of fish. Woke up to this morning and they were swimming around the tank. I really like these spotted ones. They ate good yesterday. I`m attempting to try to find some pods to keep in the tank in the LR so they can snack when they want. I had a chance to get 4 but I said let me make sure of two first.

 

[STARFYRE]

I tried to look up the species for you, but I'm having no luck. That's another iffy factor. The other ones that I can special order are the kudas (tank bred). At least I would have a heads up on the species and know if they have special care requirements. I'm thinking about heading to the LFS now and picking up 2. I would much rather have the yellow kudas, but these guys are healthy and I've watched them eat. The kudas I'm looking at only get 6 inches; which is good. I'm not sure how big these guys get.

 

[STARFYRE]

I made up my mind, so I thought....I got to the LFS and was ready to say "bag em up". They told me they're putting in an order for the yellow ones tomorrow and they should be here Tuesday. So I'm gonna wait and see what the yellow ones look like, if they're healthy, eating frozen etc....My tank seems pretty stable. My xenia looks like it's doing pretty good also. Hooray! It's still not pumping, though. One of the patches was balled up, and when I turned on the actinic bulbs, it started pumping, but they're not fully extended. The other 3 patches are fully extended, but not pumping...wierd. But they all seem healthy. My zoas are doing great too! They look really groovy when just the actinics are on. They turn this flourescent green color.
So it looks like the seahorse addition is stalled for another couple days...Oh well. I'd rather have the bright yellow ones, so I guess it's worth the wait if they turn out to be healthy and eating frozen. That's all for now

 

[Devilishturtles]

Can't wait to see pics of the seahorses.

 

[STARFYRE]

I got new batteries for the camera. Two sets, just in case. I'll def be taking pics and posting them. I can't wait either!!!

 

[STARFYRE]

I think today may finally be the day!!!!! My LFS got the new ponies in Thursday night. I went there yesterday before work to see what they had. I am sooooo glad I waited for this shipment!!!! The new ones they got are gorgeous! He put a sign on the tank "Do not sell seahorses". He said that I have first dibs on them. I'm going with two pair. They seem to have hooked up with mates already. I watched them for about an hour yesterday. I want to make sure all of them are eating, and there are no changes in their health and activity. I'm leaving in about an hour to go check them out. Wish me luck!!!
p.s. I'll be taking pics as soon as I get them acclimated. I figure, if I get them today, I should have pics downloaded, sized, and posted by tomorrow. Any suggestions on acclimation methods??? I was thinking a slow drip over 2 hours.

 

[Innovator]

I acclimate Hippocampus' by floating the bags for 30mins and then drip for 4hrs together.

 

[STARFYRE]

I got the seahorses!! I got some pics. I'm waiting for my honey to size them for me so I can post them. They're still acclimating. I figure this will take up most of my evening. I read that you shouldn't net them. Should I try to scoop them up in a cup?

 

[Innovator]

I usually transfer them by hand. The exposure to air for the split second shouldn't be detrimental.

 

[melosu58]

I scooped mine up with my hand also. I also agree with James to float them first to get temp right first then acclimate them by drip. I `m glad for you. Cant wait to see. Mine are doing great. They love frozen Mysis.