Trouble with my first tank life

mxmarks · 03/09/2008, 09:47 PM

So Ive finally let me tank cycle (a month), with all my levels in check. My Nitrate is around 20, but after posting here, people said that although it's a little high, it's not unheard of - and since I had no ammonia, and all other things checked out (calcium, phosphorous, ect...) I decided to finally add some inverts and start a clean up crew.

I added 4 turbo snails, 1 emerald crab and a bunch of really tiny hermits I got from PetCo.

I floated the bag as I went to my computer to read about how to acclimate them properly, because I had read drip acclimation was best, but had also seen a lot about floating the bag, and adding a little water to the bag as it floats.

Well, when I returned from reading, the bag was at the bottom of the tank. It had become loose where I attached it to the side, and sank. I emptied the bag, and the emerald crab scurried into the heart of my rocks.

I went to bed and when I woke up all the hermits were gone, and the turbos hadn't really moved much at all.

Throughout the day, I kept picking up the turbos. When I would, they would come out from thier shell, but whenever I placed them down, they would just sit there. Two eventually made it over to the glass, but not very far up it, and right before I posted this I looked, and one has since fallen off the glass.

So my questions are:

Did I do something wrong? Are snails like fish, in that they may just be docile the first couple days? The activity seems to be the same, day or night. And there is PLENTY of brown algae around.

In a 75 gallon tank, should I ever expect to see my hermits and emerald crab again? Or are they living (hopefully) a happy life in the crevaces of the live rock? There is a decent amount of hair algae on top, so I'm hoping the emerald crab takes care of that eventually. I didn't see any crabs of any kind today.

I know this hobby requires patience, and I will fail before I succeed, but I was wondering if I'm worrying about nothing, or if I've made an error. My lights are on from 10AM-7PM (I had cut the time down as it cycled to help control algae pre-clean up crew), my temp is at 78ish, and Im running a skimmer.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Blown 346 · 03/09/2008, 09:51 PM

Snails are very sensitive to salinity PH etc. They have t be acclimated slowly.

Im sure you dont see the hermiots as they are cleaning crevices in and out of the rock. The emerlad crab wil hide, they are most active at night

Larah · 03/09/2008, 09:55 PM

I wouldn't worry about it too much...

The emeral you won't see unless you sneek a peek with a flashlight at night...

kevin2000 · 03/09/2008, 09:55 PM

My 02

The only problem I see is that water from a Petco tank may have gotten into your show tank ... that significantly increases the odds that you now have ich in your show tank. Easy cure ... just don't put any fish in your tank for the next 5 weeks ... if you want a fish in the interim just setup an inexpensive 10 gallon QT and start that process = lots of posts on how to setup a QT.

mxmarks · 03/09/2008, 10:07 PM

I actually do have a 'rid ich' medication from a case some of my freshwater fish had - can I add that medication (it does say marine safe on it) now, as a precaution?

Also - I just hit the lights in the room quickly to see if I spotted the crab - and there was no sign, but I did catch a VERY cool looking worm thing coming out of a hole in my rock! It was like a orange-ish tenticle that was waving around, and retreated to the hole again after a minute.

The snails not moving though is bothering me. If they weren't properly acclimated (which I know they weren't), would it take this long for them to die? As of this afternoon, they were all still alive...just not really going anywhere.

jackets22 · 03/09/2008, 10:13 PM

No do not add the rid ich. Never add any type of chemicals to the display like that. Use a QT tank. I wouldnt worry about the ich situation. As a reefer I am learning not to over think and worry about what hasnt even happened yet. Just step back and give it a couple of days. You will see the snails perk up and you will see the rest when they are moving around. Dont expect too much to fast.

kevin2000 · 03/09/2008, 10:23 PM

My 02

The only thing that would safely eliminate ich within the show tank is leaving it without fish for 5 weeks .... ich require a fish to perpetuate their life cycle. Rid ich or any of the other "reef safe" meds isn't going to help at this stage.

There isn't squat you can do for your snails or crab .. they are either going to live or die and there isn't anything you can do at this point. Its common for crabs to hide and snails to stay immobile for a few days. If the snails don't move after a few days .. then pick them up and see if they are dead .. if dead .. toss. No big deal.

mxmarks · 03/09/2008, 10:27 PM

Thanks guys - man, reef keeping is awesome. I just hit my tank with a flashlight - and there was the emerald crab! It's just so drastically different than freshwater fish keeping I tend to over-react. I have no problem waiting another 5 weeks for fish - I'm slowly adding my CUC, to try and minimize mistakes, so I should be able to wait.

Thanks a ton - I had no idea the kind of life that only comes out at night! Back to the tank!

03/09/2008, 09:47 PM	#1
mxmarks Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Liverpool, NY Posts: 122	Trouble with my first tank life So Ive finally let me tank cycle (a month), with all my levels in check. My Nitrate is around 20, but after posting here, people said that although it's a little high, it's not unheard of - and since I had no ammonia, and all other things checked out (calcium, phosphorous, ect...) I decided to finally add some inverts and start a clean up crew. I added 4 turbo snails, 1 emerald crab and a bunch of really tiny hermits I got from PetCo. I floated the bag as I went to my computer to read about how to acclimate them properly, because I had read drip acclimation was best, but had also seen a lot about floating the bag, and adding a little water to the bag as it floats. Well, when I returned from reading, the bag was at the bottom of the tank. It had become loose where I attached it to the side, and sank. I emptied the bag, and the emerald crab scurried into the heart of my rocks. I went to bed and when I woke up all the hermits were gone, and the turbos hadn't really moved much at all. Throughout the day, I kept picking up the turbos. When I would, they would come out from thier shell, but whenever I placed them down, they would just sit there. Two eventually made it over to the glass, but not very far up it, and right before I posted this I looked, and one has since fallen off the glass. So my questions are: Did I do something wrong? Are snails like fish, in that they may just be docile the first couple days? The activity seems to be the same, day or night. And there is PLENTY of brown algae around. In a 75 gallon tank, should I ever expect to see my hermits and emerald crab again? Or are they living (hopefully) a happy life in the crevaces of the live rock? There is a decent amount of hair algae on top, so I'm hoping the emerald crab takes care of that eventually. I didn't see any crabs of any kind today. I know this hobby requires patience, and I will fail before I succeed, but I was wondering if I'm worrying about nothing, or if I've made an error. My lights are on from 10AM-7PM (I had cut the time down as it cycled to help control algae pre-clean up crew), my temp is at 78ish, and Im running a skimmer. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

03/09/2008, 10:13 PM	#6
jackets22 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 277	No do not add the rid ich. Never add any type of chemicals to the display like that. Use a QT tank. I wouldnt worry about the ich situation. As a reefer I am learning not to over think and worry about what hasnt even happened yet. Just step back and give it a couple of days. You will see the snails perk up and you will see the rest when they are moving around. Dont expect too much to fast. __________________ Jon __________ Current Tank Info: 75 gal mixed Reef

03/09/2008, 09:51 PM	#2
Blown 346 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rockford, Illinois Posts: 6,596	Snails are very sensitive to salinity PH etc. They have t be acclimated slowly. Im sure you dont see the hermiots as they are cleaning crevices in and out of the rock. The emerlad crab wil hide, they are most active at night

03/09/2008, 09:55 PM	#3
Larah Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portland, Oregon USA Posts: 1,932	I wouldn't worry about it too much... The emeral you won't see unless you sneek a peek with a flashlight at night...

03/09/2008, 09:55 PM	#4
kevin2000 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,805	My 02 The only problem I see is that water from a Petco tank may have gotten into your show tank ... that significantly increases the odds that you now have ich in your show tank. Easy cure ... just don't put any fish in your tank for the next 5 weeks ... if you want a fish in the interim just setup an inexpensive 10 gallon QT and start that process = lots of posts on how to setup a QT.

03/09/2008, 10:07 PM	#5
mxmarks Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Liverpool, NY Posts: 122	I actually do have a 'rid ich' medication from a case some of my freshwater fish had - can I add that medication (it does say marine safe on it) now, as a precaution? Also - I just hit the lights in the room quickly to see if I spotted the crab - and there was no sign, but I did catch a VERY cool looking worm thing coming out of a hole in my rock! It was like a orange-ish tenticle that was waving around, and retreated to the hole again after a minute. The snails not moving though is bothering me. If they weren't properly acclimated (which I know they weren't), would it take this long for them to die? As of this afternoon, they were all still alive...just not really going anywhere.

03/09/2008, 10:23 PM	#7
kevin2000 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,805	My 02 The only thing that would safely eliminate ich within the show tank is leaving it without fish for 5 weeks .... ich require a fish to perpetuate their life cycle. Rid ich or any of the other "reef safe" meds isn't going to help at this stage. There isn't squat you can do for your snails or crab .. they are either going to live or die and there isn't anything you can do at this point. Its common for crabs to hide and snails to stay immobile for a few days. If the snails don't move after a few days .. then pick them up and see if they are dead .. if dead .. toss. No big deal.

03/09/2008, 10:27 PM	#8
mxmarks Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Liverpool, NY Posts: 122	Thanks guys - man, reef keeping is awesome. I just hit my tank with a flashlight - and there was the emerald crab! It's just so drastically different than freshwater fish keeping I tend to over-react. I have no problem waiting another 5 weeks for fish - I'm slowly adding my CUC, to try and minimize mistakes, so I should be able to wait. Thanks a ton - I had no idea the kind of life that only comes out at night! Back to the tank!