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

[Amethyst]

Where do I buy the bottle of bacteria from a trusted source, most of the reviews say it came dead. Can you link me with a website to buy it for my tank?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Where do I buy the bottle of bacteria from a trusted source, most of the reviews say it came dead. Can you link me with a website to buy it for my tank?

For FritzZyme TurboStart 900, their site has 2 sellers listed within 10 miles of Oceanside, California:

Find a Store

Fritz Aquatics is one of America's leading water quality product manufacturers for aquarium, pond, water garden and aquaculture hobbyists and professionals.

fritzaquatics.com

Bulk Reef Supply and AlgaeBarn are two of the biggest, most trusted names in the reefkeeping industry:

Fritz-Zyme TurboStart 900 - Fritz

/p> Rapidly cycle your aquarium in as little as 5 days! Start your aquarium's nitrogen cycle the right way by using only the best live nitrifying bacteria. TurboStart 900 contains proven strains of effective, live nitrifying bacteria in a highly concentrated form. TurboStart 900 reduces fish...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Or you can try their Amazon store:

 

[Amethyst]

so is it like 1oz per 10 gallons?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

so is it like 1oz per 10 gallons?

1 oz per 10 gallons would be great (that’s right around the amount recommended by Dr. Reef).

 

[Amethyst]

also I can't find reefers garage at the adress and this is the other one

I think I am going to one of them idk

 

[Amethyst]

which one is it?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

which one is it?View attachment 2968305

Here’s the actual address for Reefers Garage (it says it’s in the North County Tropical Fish Store):
611 S Santa Fe Ave Vista CA 92083

 

[Amethyst]

also my crab used to look something like this:

and here is how it looks now (this is the other crab cuz the other one freaked out when out of water)
but it is the same type, I think it is sick and also very aggressive

i forgot to turn flash off on my phone by accident but this is zoomed in alot.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

also my crab used to look something like this:View attachment 2968331

and here is how it looks now (this is the other crab cuz the other one freaked out when out of water)
but it is the same type, I think it is sick and also very aggressiveView attachment 2968353i forgot to turn flash off on my phone by accident but this is zoomed in alot.

Some crab ID advice: take a pic of the front like you did (mainly to show the claws - good job there - but also a little to show the face), and also take a pic of the back of the crab (take the pic from above the crab looking straight down at it - this shows the shell and back of the crab, which can both be important for ID too).

 

[Amethyst]

Some crab ID advice: take a pic of the front like you did (mainly to show the claws - good job there - but also a little to show the face), and also take a pic of the back of the crab (take the pic from above the crab looking straight down at it - this shows the shell and back of the crab, which can both be important for ID too).

ok, ima send more in 1 sec but do you have an idea on what it is based on the first pic?

 

[Amethyst]

Here are the pictures (note: this is the one that lost it's claw and it is calm enough now to take photos)

oops that's my cat

here are the photos (don't mind the cat)

 

[Amethyst]

and is this the store?

 

[Amethyst]

also is feeding every other day enough or do you feed multiple times a day?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Here are the pictures (note: this is the one that lost it's claw and it is calm enough now to take photos)
View attachment 2968393View attachment 2968394View attachment 2968396View attachment 2968397oops that's my cat
View attachment 2968398 here are the photos (don't mind the cat)

Love the cat.

So, the black tipped claws on the first crab (the one with two claws) give away for sure that it's not a dungeness crab. It does seem to be a Cancer genus crab, and there are only eight black-claw-tipped Cancer crabs in California.

Do you have pictures of the second crab's one good claw? Also, do you have pictures of both crab's bellies (the entire underside of the crab - this can be useful for ID'ing species in the Cancer genus).

and is this the store?View attachment 2968409

Given that that's the address, I would assume so, but you can call their number to verify it: +17604777594

also is feeding every other day enough or do you feed multiple times a day?

I'm not how often larger, predatory crabs like these would need fed (not many people keep them). Personally, I'd guess a 2-3 feedings a day is probably better, but - again - I'm not sure.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Where do I buy the bottle of bacteria from a trusted source, most of the reviews say it came dead. Can you link me with a website to buy it for my tank?

One of most widely used while Fritz is good are Micro bacter 7 and for new tanks MMicro Bacter XLM

Brightwell Aquatics - MicroBacter Start XLM

brightwellaquatics.com

 

[Amethyst]

K, both the crabs are identical except the original crab is missing a claw and bigger. I will go get the pictures of the single clawed one and its belly and claws

 

[Amethyst]

I finally got him to sit down after he tried to hold my finger for ransom

this guy tried to jump off the desk but I stopped him and set him diagonally and quickly took a photo then put him back in the tank and he quickly dug down.

is this enough to identify the crab?

 

[Amethyst]

Oh also something weird is there is a gap on top of where the missing arm was and it shows the inside of the crab, I have a suspicion that something burrowed inside it and as a result it ejected it's arm.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

View attachment 2968558I finally got him to sit down after he tried to hold my finger for ransom
View attachment 2968560this guy tried to jump off the desk but I stopped him and set him diagonally and quickly took a photo then put him back in the tank and he quickly dug down.

is this enough to identify the crab?

The pics are understandably a bit blurry, but I'm thinking it may be Cancer antennarius (the current, accepted name is Romaleon antennarium, but some people dispute the taxonomy) - if it has small, red spots (like someone's been dotting it with a marker), then it is most likely C. antennarius.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Oh also something weird is there is a gap on top of where the missing arm was and it shows the inside of the crab, I have a suspicion that something burrowed inside it and as a result it ejected it's arm. View attachment 2968591

I would assume that the gap is normal (probably where the joint of the missing arm sat inside the shell or something), not a result of something burrowing into it. It's surprisingly hard to find pictures of the joints where crabs have dropped limbs from, but here's one (the source is linked below - the picture is from page 18 of the PDF):

https://www.nwyachting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Northwest-Yachting-November-2019-Web.pdf