therootcause
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Posts posted by therootcause
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4 minutes ago, ArmyVetReefer said:
I ended up getting a custom acrylic tank built
48x24x18
Awesome. I look forward to seeing that build thread.
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1 minute ago, ArmyVetReefer said:
Still looking good man! Just picked up my new tank sunday. I might start a build thread
Do it! What did you get?
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Last week I was in Orlando and visited WWC and Top Shelf Aquatics.
I ended up getting several pieces from TSA shipped home.
Blue & Green Sympodium
TSA Grizzly Galaxea
No name acro
Finger leather
Turbinaria Heronensis (Hero Coral)
2 x D. deformis anemone hermit crabs
8 x blue/green chromis
I combined my selection with a friend and TSA shipped everything home at no cost after our trip. All items were expertly packaged and arrived exactly as they appeared in the shop.
10/10 would recommend TSA. -
On 9/22/2023 at 6:18 PM, RW09903 said:
Speaking about a nice design! I like the concept of having viewable panels that are not obstructed by equipment/pumps. Do you have any flow issues on the left side of the tank?
Not yet.There is an MP40 on the far right side and also a couple Jebao powerheads on the back that you can't see.
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On 9/21/2023 at 8:43 PM, RW09903 said:
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade? Right before RAP NY, a bad storm flooded our basement after the sump pump failed. This wasn't the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last.
Oh no! Man, that sucks! In my old house I added a water powered emergency back up. It just comes off of the cold water supply in the house and has it's on float switch. NO POWER REQUIRED. It uses water to pump water and drains straight out the drain you already have. More reliable, and cheaper, than a marine battery backup. (This only works if you have a city water supply - not a well - as your well pump will not run if you have no power).
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I’ve been driving pH higher with a homemade CO2 scrubber and Kalkwasser since last week. I moved the probe two nights ago and everything went haywire. I recalibrated with 7.01 & 10.1 solution and the results remain unchanged. I’ll need to test pH manually and compare. I also bought a new probe from BRS as the current probe is 5 years old. Alkalinity remains at 8.4 dKH.
The CO2 media looks good but I picked up a new reactor today from a friend.
Yesterday I plumbed up the frag tank, adding about 40-45 gallons to the overall water volume.
I’ve been dealing with this fish injury/illness the past couple of days. On Saturday afternoon I noticed a curvature in the mandarin’s spine and odd swimming behavior. A few hours later it was spiraling ipward into the water column.
Here is the R2R thread.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/seemingly-healthy-mandarin-now-swimming-in-spirals-has-lost-control-of-its-balance-buoyancy.1005777/#post-11716690
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oooooo that last leather coral pictured is awesome. Blue capnella?
I got it from Randy B. in Severna Park. I think he got it as a wild coral from Soheil.
I call it the “Randy B. Rare Neptheidae” aka “RBR Neptheidae.” I haven’t tried to narrow it down from there but the lack of sclerites, the lines along the trunk, and the random babies twisting off I’d guess a capnella.
Two of my RBR’s are 10+ inch corals and they drop babies at the same time then stop for a month or two.
A baby from the same coral is pictured center (leaning right, to the right of the pajamas).
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Yesterday I welcomed two new pajamas, a starry blenny, and a second fighting conch. Acclimated everyone for 20 mins and dumped them in. I’ve learned nothing and have chosen to forego QT, again.
Praise be to UV
The pajamas immediately fell into the school with the other five. They are really a delight to watch when gathered together. The blenny found the perfect cave within 30 seconds and I may only see his head for the next few days.
Blenny in cave…
I’ve lost some acros. The lights were too hot (PAR) and so I raised them a few inches and turned them down. The softies have long stalks and are reaching up for the light now. I’ll have to find a balance. This week I’d like to mount a few pieces that I have on islands in the back and also cut the tips off of my burnt acros. I’ve also lost the birdsnest colony.
My gorgeous nem also split. It has the most exceptional bubbles. It’s bubbles even have bubbles. I couldn’t be happier with this $5 nem from the last frag swap at TFP.
A few more updates on sponges and corals. The neptheas are pinching off lots of babies that are collecting in one area of the tank and even attaching to the back glass. It’s my favorite coral in the tank and is pictured as the last photo in this post so to have more is a win.
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I really like your setup, and those lights look killer, nice canopy design. How are the fish doing? Have you added anything that has an appetite for GHA?
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I was finally able to plumb water to both of the sinks in the fish room. Lots of pex ring crimping. Both drain into the same macerator pump.
Our contractor is working in the basement today so the tank has been given the serial killer bed sheet. 🫣
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2 hours ago, DaJMasta said:
I've also seen that when you've got the Vossen trap going with larvae already in it, there is some tendency that they start piling up in the middle of the mesh portal
I have seen the same thing with my (presumably mysid) larvae. By morning they are swirling around the center of the Vossen and bouncing off of the mesh. This can last for several days as they stay suspended and seem to be unharmed. Not that I recommend leaving them in the trap. Like @Kathryn Lawson, my shrimp have carried eggs yet I struggle to get them into the trap. My return pump ramps down at night and two of my three powerheads turn off. I may shift the light schedule forward two hours so that I have more time to stay up and collect and relocate.
Have you seen this breeding site? http://www.mbisite.org/Species.aspx
@Kathryn Lawson you may find this link specific to Sexy Shrimp breeding journals helpful. http://www.mbisite.org/Search.aspx?Species=181
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Wow - outstanding job. The insert and twist design for the skimmer cup was excellent forethought. This is a much better design than the HOB refugium air lifter that I've been thinking of setting up as a larval trap. I run the vossen trap overnight, but have been thinking of adding an air solenoid and an LED powered by one of the EB832's 24V DC accessory ports. Have you thought about adding timers to the air lifter and light?
Reading the title I was hoping you actually printed a "Pelagic Larva". If you do decide to print a larva please send via local post to A. Haynos, Lebanon, PA.
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1 hour ago, Kathryn Lawson said:
A mystery indeed! What's your tank stocking? Maybe we can narrow down the possibilities?
I haven't started a thread for the sexy shrimp yet, though that's not a bad idea - had been waiting until I had something of interest to report! In the meantime, I've been keeping notes on my phone
As far as inverts that were intentionally added. There is one sea cucumber, one banded serpent starfish, 350 hermit crabs, 100 asterina snails, 5 peppermint shrimp, five emerald crabs, and 1 skunk cleaner shrimp. At some point i must have added some mysid (maybe from macroalgae or a piece of live rock).
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This thread is officially a dumpster fire. There is no way for me to edit the title or previous posts so whoever reads this thread, God Bless'm. @Kathryn Lawson, have you started your Sexy Shrimp thread?
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OH MY... @DaJMasta you are right! when I collected peppermints a few years ago I swear they had tiny claws from the moment that they hatched! And I remember their little legs moving as they floated around - could it be mysis??
It might not be three weeks old. The oldest shrimp in the container should be around three weeks. I grabbed the largest shrimp I could find while taking a 30 second look around the tub. So this shrimp in theory is anywhere from 1-3 weeks old. I also only looked at this single specimen as I ran out of time and had to accomplish some other things this morning.
I remember my older peppermints did have longer legs so what the heck are we looking at then? There is a skunk cleaner and 5 peppermints in the tank. The peppermints have eggs often. The vossen trap is running so hopefully there will be some to collect this week.
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Do you think that carrot nose is a baby artemia sticking out of it's mouth - or part of the shrimps anatomy?!
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Let’s take the day to just admire the ridiculous features of a three week old peppermint shrimp. Enjoy.
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This is also a “fish room” build thread so let’s have a look at that.
I got the old cabinets and countertop from a kitchen remodel at work.
The peg board I got from a building demo, and the rest of the wood was leftover from various projects.
The basement ceiling will stay open and accessible in this room, plus there was already plumbing so I installed this macerator pump to lift the sink water up to the drain. I have another one of these VEVOR pumps on the other side of the basement and haven’t had problems with it so I decided to use the same pump for the fish room.
I have white LED panels to install overhead but haven’t gotten to it yet. I also have to run the permanent electrical for the macerator pump. There is currently an extension cord taking it to an outlet.
I mounted a power strip and an air bank for bubbling pods, artemia, and baby peppermints. The coral QT tank has been running for several months, and I have cabinet storage underneath to keep chemicals away from the kids. On the far right I have the air pump, which will also need an outlet if I decide to keep it there.
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I appreciate you sharing your PAR measurements and coral locations. This is helpful for those looking to get into the hobby by fixing them concrete data to compare.
It's also admirable how you've been overcoming the recent setbacks. Keep up the great work!
Thank you. I’ve since reduced the PAR further as some of my SPS was bleaching out and the birdsnest has polyps bailing. I’ll take more measurements tonight and post them this week.
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@DaJMasta Interesting that your sexies have been spawning around 2-3 am! I actually saw what I think is the same female spawn like 10 minutes before lights out at 10pm exactly 2 weeks ago, and had read that others found similar timing right before/after lights out, but maybe that previous one was unusually early - I guess time will tell! I haven't noticed a green color, but both times the eggs have been practically spilling out during the day beforehand and thus provided a visual cue. I'll have to pay more attention to their color in the future, especially for the second female that I haven't seen spawn or noticeably have/lose eggs yet.
I might try trapping the female in the future, but like you said, she might not have another batch at the next molt. I suspect spawning frequency is going to be more helpful than larvae number for my first attempts, so will hold off on that for now. Although I potentially saw mating behavior mid-day today, so maybe it wouldn't be too late if I added her back in the morning.
I believe the fertilization occurs immediately following the molt and if the shrimp is isolated during that time then it would miss the opportunity
until the next cycle. I may be mixing up the order of events…
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16 minutes ago, Kathryn Lawson said:
Larvae every 2-3 days, wow! I didn't realize it was that frequent, though I guess with 5 that all can carry eggs, it makes sense. I'm waiting on my sexy shrimp - I've got two females, and they apparently release larvae every 2 weeks. Annoyingly, it seems I completely missed one last night, despite staying up late to try to catch it, and setting up a DIY larvae catcher as an overnight backup. The female had eggs practically spilling out yesterday, and none today... time for more waiting! Though that will give my pods some time to get going - I would have had to try this run with dry food if I'd caught it.
With peppermint shrimp I think it is the "male" in the mating event that holds the eggs, while also being considered a "female-phase" adult. Gender pronouns unknown, ha. I wonder if sexy shrimp breed in the same manner.
Here is something interesting that I read yesterday...
"Peppermint shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) are protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite. It means that all individuals first mature as a male (male-phase) and then later change to a female (female-phase – FP) that spawns and broods embryos but can also mate as a male.
They have a remarkable capability of copulating and inseminating as males on the very night in which they themselves undergo a spawning molt and copulate, as females, with another FP. Mating experiments confirmed that Lysmata wurdemanni females are capable of mating as a male or as a female with subsequent spawning of eggs. They are, however, incapable of self-fertilization."
Source: https://aquariumbreeder.com/peppermint-shrimp-detailed-guide-care-diet-and-breeding/
Try saying this 3x fast!
"protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite
protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite
protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite"
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10 hours ago, DaJMasta said:
Glad to see more attempts...
Thank you. Right now there are five adult peppermints in the tank (Waterbox 180.5) and I'm collecting larvae every 2-3 days. I was still able to capture about 100 larvae with the disappointing light provided with the vossen trap. I wonder how many didn't make it to the trap.
For food I'm using BBS that are less than 12 hours old with a table top hatchery. I've also added small amounts of crushed flake food and spirulina powder. I haven't seen the shrimp actively feed or gather and pursue food - I also haven't spent much time looking.
I'm using the 5 gallon jug pictured below. I have several of them from culturing copepods a few years ago ($12 at Walmart in 2020 - currently $14.88). I have not had the container blacked out over the past two weeks, but it is in the basement so it's dark 22 hours out of the day. I may cover it with a trash bag so that it remains dark while I'm working in "the lab". An airline is moving the water at about 2 bubbles per second. Most of the shrimp are clinging to the sides of the container and the BBS are free floating. The eldest shrimp in the container (if still alive) are between 9-16 days old. I didn't take good notes in the first five days and I can't remember which day I collected the first batch.
I started the container with 2 gallons of water from my reef tank and then added 1/2 gallon of new, heated, saltwater every 2 days to dilute waste. Once at five gallons I've siphoned out 1/2 gallon each night and replaced with water from my reef tank AWC.
9 hours ago, Cris said:Very cool
Thank you Cris!
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This is less of a tutorial and more so me attempting to use methods developed by others to be successful in raising peppermint shrimp from zoea (word I learned today) to adult. I started by reading several posts on Reef2Reef and WAMAS. There are a few WAMAS threads over the past 10 years from members have had interest in breeding them but the threads that I found dried up without much success.
Additional resources:
- https://reefs.com/magazine/behavior-and-breeding-of-peppermint-shrimp/
- https://www.algaebarn.com/blog/invertebrates/shrimp/breeding-peppermint-shrimp/
- Kirkendoll, April, 2001. How to Raise and Train Your Peppermint Shrimp. ( I don't own this book but many of the online articles reference it.)
- Vossen Larval Trap - https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/larval-trap-vossen.html
Here is my Vossen trap used to catch the babies. With filtration and flow running continuously on the reef tank it is incredible that any of the larvae make it into the tank, but sure enough this trap can easily catch over one hundred of them in a night.
I believe this shrimp to be 36 hours old. The trap has been in the tank with no air or light driving the larvae to the trap for the past few days, but it somehow manages to collect 40-50 of them just through the tanks flow.
Here is a larvae that is 5-12 days old. Unsure of the age as I have collected several times over the past two weeks. The eyes and legs are much more developed as well as the darkening of the exoskeleton.
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Here are the PAR meter readings as of 8/1/2023. I noticed fading and loss of flesh in the green slimer and fading in the montis, so I turned down lights and took readings.
There are some typos but you get the gist. Ranked by highest par at current settings. Values for the top 10 corals were 25% higher before turning down the LED light to current settings. Yikes.
Happy Birthday Chip
in General Discussion
@lynn.reef.nerd @YHSublime ban this scammer please?