Captain's Log: May 2nd, 2014
Ahoy, Mateys! We have lots to talk about we do. The initial CUC has been doin' a fine job of swappin' the decks, and so far no injuries or deaths on the job. The Nassarius Snails are quite amusing to watch whenever food is added to the tank, seemingly out of nowhere, they rise from the sand bed like the undead in Michael Jackson's Thriller video to get some grub.
Yoda, the Emerald Crab, has been difficult to get any really good photographs of. He is either always hiding, or blends in so well that the camera has focusing issues, even in manual mode. He is strong with the force that one. From time to time, though, he does scurry around in the open...
The water parameters gave tested perfect ever since the CUC has been in. I mean absolute perfect, no hint of Ammonia, Nitrites, or Nitrates. And the GHA is subsiding quite a bit. The Nerite Snails have laid some eggs on the glass, or at least I'm 99% sure that's what it is. They never move, are small, white, discs. And they look exactly like ones I've seen posted online elsewhere. And there are Copeopods roaming around the glass, and presumably everywhere else as well. Life flourishes! Added another Mexican Turbo Snail to assist with the CUC.
Finally, we have these two cute additions to the tank!!!
They were added yesterday. There was much internal debate as to whether or not it was too soon, but I felt pretty confident that the tank was cycled enough with the evidence of the GHA subsiding, the Copeopods and Snail eggs showing up, and the abundance of Feather Dusters that have shown up everywhere. If I'm not careful, I might end up with a Feather Duster only tank!
Then there was much debate about whether I was going to quarantine the fish first, or send them straight to the display tank. I opted to go straight in for a couple of reasons. They had been quarantined at the LFS I got them from. I did a ton of research... A ton! And I know some of you may disagree, but I strongly agree with some who think that the first tank fish can be added without quarantining as long as you properly acclimate them and make the transition as stress free as possible. If they harbor diseases and their stress levels drop enough that they get sick, that will prolong the time of me being able to add anything else to the tank, but the truth is this. Stress is the number one reason as to why a disease dominates a fish. Stress weakens their immune system, and then they get sick. The display tank with no other tank mates to fear is a much more welcoming and comforting environment for the fish. Our tank is kept in a very quite part of the house as well, no loud noises or busy people roaming around too much. Not having to move into a quarantine tank, and then into the display tank actually reduces their chances of getting stressed to the point of sickness because they are already adapting to their final home.
On the first night, they were cautious about their explorations and huddled in corners. They did act hungry though, nipping at the rocks and nabbing anything small that floated by. So I fed them a small amount, which they happily enjoyed every bit of. Today, they are swimming all over, usually together but not always. They enjoy my company and seem just as curious about me as I am about them. They visit me at the side of the glass, probably hoping that I feed them again. So I did, and they ate very well again. No signs of irregular swimming, no indications of sickness, breathing is normal, and no hostilities toward anything. On occasion, they exercise themselves intentionally by swimming directly into a wavemaker's current.
I'm still trying to come up with good names for them. Trying to avoid the Marlin/Nemo or Marlin/Cora combo that is so popular. I will have to think on it more, though I have some ideas brewing.
Working on a custom made backdrop for the aquarium, to get away from that bright yellow and hide the hoses and such. I have one printed out, just need to trim it down and hang it up. Printed two copies in case I need to laminate one. I think you'll like it once I get it up and share a picture.
That's all for now.
