Hi everyone 
Here is my set up...
20 long brackish aquarium with a viquarium to provide half land and half water. It is about a month old now and has been cycled using filter media from my previous tank. In addition to the viquarium, I have a coral tree, plants, and a couple magnetic rocks on the back of the tank for access to air.
The water testing was perfect for a week before we introduced the new babies. Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5 or less
PH between 7.5 & 8
Temp in the high 70's both land and water.
Salinity .005 using reef crystals
We had one resident female rcc from out previous tank. Three days ago we decided it was ready for our additions, so off to petsmart we went and chose 3 tiny baby rcc, 1 male and 2 females.
I'm testing the water daily since the addition of the babies and yesterday we had a slight spike in ammonia (less than 25) which I chalked up to the additional load on the tank. I added prime to neutralize the ammonia and nitrifying bacteria to give the filter system a boost. Weekly water change and clean up is due tomorrow morning. Everyone seems active and healthy, eating well, etc.
Now for my questions...
My previous rcc spends much of her time on land. She is very shy and hides in her shell until you turn off the lights. I have moonlights on the tank and those don't seem to bother her. I have yet to see the babies come out of the water. They will climb up on something just until their eyestalks come out of the water and then run. I have read that they will die if they can't come out of the water. Is this normal behavior during settling in? Will they be OK?
Something else that concerns me is that tonight when I fed them, I noticed that my little male's (Bam-Bam) carapace is starting to turn orange!! It's just on one side now, but I can't find any information despite 2 hours of google searching it. Is he sick? Is this a reaction to something in the water? Has anyone ever seen this before?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, as this crab mommy gets more nervous by the minute
Here is my set up...
20 long brackish aquarium with a viquarium to provide half land and half water. It is about a month old now and has been cycled using filter media from my previous tank. In addition to the viquarium, I have a coral tree, plants, and a couple magnetic rocks on the back of the tank for access to air.
The water testing was perfect for a week before we introduced the new babies. Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5 or less
PH between 7.5 & 8
Temp in the high 70's both land and water.
Salinity .005 using reef crystals
We had one resident female rcc from out previous tank. Three days ago we decided it was ready for our additions, so off to petsmart we went and chose 3 tiny baby rcc, 1 male and 2 females.
I'm testing the water daily since the addition of the babies and yesterday we had a slight spike in ammonia (less than 25) which I chalked up to the additional load on the tank. I added prime to neutralize the ammonia and nitrifying bacteria to give the filter system a boost. Weekly water change and clean up is due tomorrow morning. Everyone seems active and healthy, eating well, etc.
Now for my questions...
My previous rcc spends much of her time on land. She is very shy and hides in her shell until you turn off the lights. I have moonlights on the tank and those don't seem to bother her. I have yet to see the babies come out of the water. They will climb up on something just until their eyestalks come out of the water and then run. I have read that they will die if they can't come out of the water. Is this normal behavior during settling in? Will they be OK?
Something else that concerns me is that tonight when I fed them, I noticed that my little male's (Bam-Bam) carapace is starting to turn orange!! It's just on one side now, but I can't find any information despite 2 hours of google searching it. Is he sick? Is this a reaction to something in the water? Has anyone ever seen this before?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, as this crab mommy gets more nervous by the minute
