General discussion and questions about my tank because I am noob at this

[Amethyst]

General discussion and questions about my tank because I am noob at this
I have many creatures, all caught from the beach with a net (even a 1 inch kelp bass) and I keep them in my 10gal tank, my dad is considering buying a 50 gal
(this thread is suppose to last a long time so I might have a 25gal or 50gal or maybe higher by the time you are reading this, as of December 1st 2022 I only have a 10 gallon tank)

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

The link here from the other thread works.

Edit: the other thread for anyone interested:

EMERGENCY - Quick I was trying to catch ghost shrimp for fishing and I took them home in a livewell and they had babies...

This is an urgent emergency there are tiny saltwater ghost shrimp and I cant go back to let them free for a while, I need to know how to keep them alive and raise them. I have not found anything on the web about what to feed new saltwater ghost shrimp, it is all about freshwater ghost shrimp. I...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Amethyst]

The link here from the other thread works.

ok g8

 

[Amethyst]

I will be sending the videos of what I think are parasites soon

 

[Amethyst]

The link here from the other thread works.

Edit: the other thread for anyone interested:

EMERGENCY - Quick I was trying to catch ghost shrimp for fishing and I took them home in a livewell and they had babies...

This is an urgent emergency there are tiny saltwater ghost shrimp and I cant go back to let them free for a while, I need to know how to keep them alive and raise them. I have not found anything on the web about what to feed new saltwater ghost shrimp, it is all about freshwater ghost shrimp. I...

www.reef2reef.com

how do u have the imbed thing

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

how do u have the imbed thing

I copy the link and paste it into the post.

 

[Amethyst]

I copy the link and paste it into the post.

o ok

 

[Amethyst]

I can't get the video but I have really bad news, all my ghost shrimp are dead and nothing else.
all of them have their gills ripped apart and everything else on their body is untouched, the parasites live in their gill flaps, I think they are the cause. how do I fix this and will they effect my other creatures?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I can't get the video but I have really bad news, all my ghost shrimp are dead and nothing else.
all of them have their gills ripped apart and everything else on their body is untouched, the parasites live in their gill flaps, I think they are the cause. how do I fix this and will they effect my other creatures?

To my knowledge, the parasite they are known for hosting, Ione cornuta (an isopod), only infests Thalassinideans (taxonomic infraorders Gebiidea and Axiidea), so it probably won't infest your other creatures, but Thalassinideans are relatively closely related to crabs and hermit crabs, so I can't say for certain.

Not much info is really available on Ione cornuta, so if you want to try keeping these guys again, I'd guess you'd need to just wait for the parasites to die off, as any treatments I can think of which might kill the parasite would kill the shrimp too. Maybe the disease experts on the forum here would have useful treatments though. Either way, without knowing the exact lifespan of the parasite, I'd guess they'll die off probably the next few months. So, probably wait 80-90 days, find more shrimp, inspect their gills for either parasites or commensal organisms (commensal organisms don't hurt their host, they just live in them - Neotrypaea californiensis has two commensal species known for living in their gills in addition to the one parasite; the two commensals are Clausidium vancouverense and Hemicyclops thysanotus, which are copepods) before collecting them, discard ones with things in their gills, and keep the ones with clean gills - make sure the ones with clean gills are put into a livewell that has not been exposed to the ones with infected gills. Short of having a QT/Observation tank for each individual shrimp so that you can regularly inspect them for the first two months or so to be sure they are parasite free, that's about the only way I could see trying to make sure they're safe.

Just as a note here about the prevalence of parasites on these guys, when these guys are purchased from bait shops, they've found parasites infesting ~5.8% of them*, so your odds of getting an infected one are relatively high.

*The study I pulled that number from:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226363730_Evaluating_risks_associated_with_transport_of_the_ghost_shrimp_Neotrypaea_californensis_as_live_bait

 

[Amethyst]

To my knowledge, the parasite they are known for hosting, Ione cornuta (an isopod), only infests Thalassinideans (taxonomic infraorders Gebiidea and Axiidea), so it probably won't infest your other creatures, but Thalassinideans are relatively closely related to crabs and hermit crabs, so I can't say for certain.

Not much info is really available on Ione cornuta, so if you want to try keeping these guys again, I'd guess you'd need to just wait for the parasites to die off, as any treatments I can think of which might kill the parasite would kill the shrimp too. Maybe the disease experts on the forum here would have useful treatments though. Either way, without knowing the exact lifespan of the parasite, I'd guess they'll die off probably the next few months. So, probably wait 80-90 days, find more shrimp, inspect their gills for either parasites or commensal organisms (commensal organisms don't hurt their host, they just live in them - Neotrypaea californiensis has two commensal species known for living in their gills in addition to the one parasite; the two commensals are Clausidium vancouverense and Hemicyclops thysanotus, which are copepods) before collecting them, discard ones with things in their gills, and keep the ones with clean gills - make sure the ones with clean gills are put into a livewell that has not been exposed to the ones with infected gills. Short of having a QT/Observation tank for each individual shrimp so that you can regularly inspect them for the first two months or so to be sure they are parasite free, that's about the only way I could see trying to make sure they're safe.

Just as a note here about the prevalence of parasites on these guys, when these guys are purchased from bait shops, they've found parasites infesting ~5.8% of them*, so your odds of getting an infected one are relatively high.

*The study I pulled that number from:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226363730_Evaluating_risks_associated_with_transport_of_the_ghost_shrimp_Neotrypaea_californensis_as_live_bait

Yeah yesterday it turns out there was one left, he emerged his head from the sand and then his head popped right off and he died

 

[Amethyst]

Uhm there is insane build up of algae, how do I prevent this and are there any creatures that remove the algae? also now that the ghost shrimp is gone the Dungeness crab is getting really homicidal and has killed 2 scallops and I haven't seen the other crabs, ever since the ghost shrimp have gone the balance of the tank has gone downhill. The ghost shrimp kept the tank safe and balanced but now it is not and I don't know what to do.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Uhm there is insane build up of algae, how do I prevent this and are there any creatures that remove the algae? also now that the ghost shrimp is gone the Dungeness crab is getting really homicidal and has killed 2 scallops and I haven't seen the other crabs, ever since the ghost shrimp have gone the balance of the tank has gone downhill. The ghost shrimp kept the tank safe and balanced but now it is not and I don't know what to do.

The main thing for algae build up - to my understanding - is controlling nutrients (Nitrates and Phosphates) in the tank (usually by controlling how much you're feeding, doing more and/or larger water changes, increasing your filtration, etc.).

There are plenty of "herbivorous" creatures that control algae, but none that I know of would work with a Dungeness crab (which will eat just about anything it can, as I understand it). A lot of snails (non-carnivorous ones - including limpets), chitons, some blennies and other small fish, certain small crab and hermit crab species, etc. A lot of times these algae eating animals are called Clean Up Crew (CUC). The snails and chitons (and possibly small hermits/crabs - though I don't know for sure with these, as I'm not too familiar with coldwater CUC) would likely be best for your tank, but - again - your crab would probably eat them.

So, unless you remove the crab, you'll probably just have to clean the algae out by hand.

Assuming the other crabs are alive, they may either be molting, or they may hiding from the Dungeness crab.

Personally, I'd see about either getting rid of the Dungeness crab, or getting it a large tank of its own. From there, you can restock this tank with small, nonaggressive species and some good CUC. If the algae is too bad, you may want to look at Brandon429's threads here on Reef2Reef about rip cleaning.

 

[Amethyst]

The main thing for algae build up - to my understanding - is controlling nutrients (Nitrates and Phosphates) in the tank (usually by controlling how much you're feeding, doing more and/or larger water changes, increasing your filtration, etc.).

There are plenty of "herbivorous" creatures that control algae, but none that I know of would work with a Dungeness crab (which will eat just about anything it can, as I understand it). A lot of snails (non-carnivorous ones - including limpets), chitons, some blennies and other small fish, certain small crab and hermit crab species, etc. A lot of times these algae eating animals are called Clean Up Crew (CUC). The snails and chitons (and possibly small hermits/crabs - though I don't know for sure with these, as I'm not too familiar with coldwater CUC) would likely be best for your tank, but - again - your crab would probably eat them.

So, unless you remove the crab, you'll probably just have to clean the algae out by hand.

Assuming the other crabs are alive, they may either be molting, or they may hiding from the Dungeness crab.

Personally, I'd see about either getting rid of the Dungeness crab, or getting it a large tank of its own. From there, you can restock this tank with small, nonaggressive species and some good CUC. If the algae is too bad, you may want to look at Brandon429's threads here on Reef2Reef about rip cleaning.

I think we are going to get a 50 gallon tank and put all the creatures in it and give the Dungeness crab the 10 gallon until it grows. I cleaned off the sides with an algae scrubber and replaced the big filter with a fresh one last night and it is looking way better, at the beach there are a ton of snails all over the ocean floor at low tide, maybe I could get one of those

Edit: The Dungeness crab has gotten way bigger now like 2x the size

 

[Amethyst]

OK THAT IS IT I AM FRYING THAT DUNGENESS CRAB FOR DINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE HAS RIPPED APART THE KELP BASS

Just kidding I am not frying the Dungeness crab but I am going to move him to another tank like in the next week

 

[Amethyst]

Ok I have a question... you see these filter walls, they aren't high enough. The water breaches the walls of the filter and goes back into the tank before being filtered when it is suppose to be going out the other side. 50% of the water isn't filtered and breaches the wall, do you know any way to raise it so the water doesn't go over and is hot glue safe? and what are these for

?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I think we are going to get a 50 gallon tank and put all the creatures in it and give the Dungeness crab the 10 gallon until it grows. I cleaned off the sides with an algae scrubber and replaced the big filter with a fresh one last night and it is looking way better, at the beach there are a ton of snails all over the ocean floor at low tide, maybe I could get one of those

Edit: The Dungeness crab has gotten way bigger now like 2x the size

Keeping the dungeness crab in its own tank and upgrading your main one are both good ideas. With regards to the snails, you will want to be careful which ones you get, as many snails are predatory (usually against other snails or bivalves like clams, scallops, mussels, oysters, etc.). As I mentioned before, I’m not very familiar yet with coldwater herbivores, but the link below has some good info on a few of the more common species that should work and a little bit of info on what to avoid.

Comming Soon

Ok I have a question... you see these filter walls, they aren't high enough. The water breaches the walls of the filter and goes back into the tank before being filtered when it is suppose to be going out the other side. 50% of the water isn't filtered and breaches the wall, do you know any way to raise it so the water doesn't go over and is hot glue safe? and what are these for

?

I honestly don’t know how to help much with the filter here (I haven’t looked much into mechanical filtration at this point, so hopefully others who can answer this will help you out here). That said, hot glue should be safe, but it might not last long term for you:

The polymers used in hot melt glues will be reef safe.

That is a different question whether they will hold in your application, however. Some may not hold long term underwater unless the surfaces being glued have a lot of roughness to key into.

 

[Amethyst]

Keeping the dungeness crab in its own tank and upgrading your main one are both good ideas. With regards to the snails, you will want to be careful which ones you get, as many snails are predatory (usually against other snails or bivalves like clams, scallops, mussels, oysters, etc.). As I mentioned before, I’m not very familiar yet with coldwater herbivores, but the link below has some good info on a few of the more common species that should work and a little bit of info on what to avoid.

Comming Soon

I honestly don’t know how to help much with the filter here (I haven’t looked much into mechanical filtration at this point, so hopefully others who can answer this will help you out here). That said, hot glue should be safe, but it might not last long term for you:

k thank u

 

[Amethyst]

Thoughts on adding baby corbena or whatever it is called and a red prawn? I am adding some of 2 species of sea snail to keep the tank clean

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Thoughts on adding baby corbena or whatever it is called and a red prawn? I am adding some of 2 species of sea snail to keep the tank clean

Corbina get up to 28”, and they hit 10” at two years old, so that’d outgrow a 50 gallon tank fast. Personally, I’d look around for some of the cool smaller species like kelpfish so you could keep them happily long term, but that’s just me.

The Red Prawn gets big and is known to opportunistically prey on just about anything, so if you put it with small fish, it may eat them. However, if you put it with a big fish, then the shrimp might be eaten. So you may need to choose tankmates for a red prawn very carefully, but if you can find something that works with it, it would be a cool inhabitant to have.

Edit: to clarify, I didn't mean species like the Giant Kelpfish, Heterostichus rostratus, I meant species like the Striped Kelpfish, Gibbonsia metzi.

 

[Amethyst]

Corbina get up to 28”, and they hit 10” at two years old, so that’d outgrow a 50 gallon tank fast. Personally, I’d look around for some of the cool smaller species like kelpfish so you could keep them happily long term, but that’s just me.

The Red Prawn gets big and is known to opportunistically prey on just about anything, so if you put it with small fish, it may eat them. However, if you put it with a big fish, then the shrimp might be eaten. So you may need to choose tankmates for a red prawn very carefully, but if you can find something that works with it, it would be a cool inhabitant to have.

Edit: to clarify, I didn't mean species like the Giant Kelpfish, Heterostichus rostratus, I meant species like the Striped Kelpfish, Gibbonsia metzi.

The Prawn might be dead. I did a water change before adding the prawn, so before we left the beach I refreshed the water the prawn was in so it had enough oxygen but because I had surgery recently I couldn't carry it so my dad had to. He didn't want to get up when we were home so it ended up being an extra hour before it was in the tank water, and it wasn't moving. I think it needs some time to breath but it has been like 5-6 mins and it is still not moving I am really scared. The Corbina is bigger than most stuff in the tank and absolutely loves the tdo chroma boost, it has a small mouth, too small to fit anything that lives in there into it's mouth. My mom and dad do not want to spend a lot of money on a 50 gallon tank and we just found a 55 gal for 100 dollars and my dad is on board with it and is waiting for mom's confirmation to get the tank. That is huge and will be great for my creatures, very soon will I get my hands on that tank and then I will get baby sand crabs to feed my corbina because they love sand crabs. I just fed my Dungeness crab a meal worm and thought it was done because he was in the sand and I couldn't see the worm but when I was about to feed him another he made the one he was eating visible so I can see like he was saying "hey, I'm not done yet!" those creature are so smart and I can't wait to upgrade my tank again. It started 5 gallons, then 10, and now 20, and it is about to be 50, then 100, then multiple 50's and 100's and a massive 200-300 tank. Only time will tell how far I will get.
my mom wants me to get into farming fish I forgot the names but it is really profitable. I am into aquarium tanks for fun but that would be fun too. At the beach today a spear fishermen appeared in front of me suddenly while I was netting fish and he had a massive halibut and then suddenly a big octopus went on his leg and he was afraid of the octopus, it was wild.