Islandoftiki
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Curiosity.
Ms. Peacock
- Thread starter Islandoftiki
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Islandoftiki
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Islandoftiki
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Because feeding time is always fun...
Islandoftiki
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Looks like molt time again. Both entrances shut for the past day. It's only been a month since her last molt, which seems kinda soon, but she's missing a raptorial appendage, so maybe the molt cycle is speeding up because of that.
Islandoftiki
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She came out of molting Friday. Everything looks good. She has a new raptorial appendage on the left side. It's about 1/3 size, but it appears to be functional even if maybe a little weak. It's lighter in color than the other side, kind of a milky reddish color. It should be back to normal in a couple more molts. She's noticeably larger and her coloring is more vivid than it was before. Maybe due to better water quality or the addition of Selcon to her diet.
She wasn't playing nice for the camera, so here are some poor quality pictures of her new rap:
She wasn't playing nice for the camera, so here are some poor quality pictures of her new rap:
Islandoftiki
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Here's a better picture of the new raptorial appendage:
Islandoftiki
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Here's a little bit of video footage that shows her new raptorial appendage a little better than the pictures.
Islandoftiki
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It's about 15 minutes past dinner time and Betty is hanging out at the front of the tank. She starts swimming against the front glass if you approach the tank. She does not want to miss her dinner! This is pretty much a daily ritual.
Fartin'Gary
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Haha that's silly. Sounds like Sponge Bob music. Mine will hammer the front a few times when it gets testy for me to feed it. Usually after two days. I try to feed her smaller portions every other day.:rollface:
Islandoftiki
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She likes to eat every day, so she gets 1/4 to 1/2 of a krill soaked in Selcon which she gobbles down in a couple minutes while watching out from her burrow. It's a small enough portion that she never buries it or saves it for later. Fortunately, she's a really clean eater and if anything should happen to escape her death-grip on the food, the damsel won't miss it. The tank stays amazingly clean.
That said, I still can't get the nitrates down to zero, which really shouldn't be a problem with this setup as it's very similar to my other tanks. Even with tons of water changes, I can't seem to get it all the way to zero. My concern is the substrate that the tank came with. I don't have crushed coral in any of my other tanks because it can tend to trap detritus. I'm thinking of mixing in some finer substrate with the crushed coral and/or removing some of the excess crushed coral.
Any thoughts on this? I've read extensive complaints about crushed coral substrate and nitrate issues.
Keep in mind, I'm being pretty picky. It's below 5ppm nitrate, but I'd be happier with zero.
Actually, before I worry too much about it, I'm going to get a second opinion from a different test kit with a good low range reading.
That said, I still can't get the nitrates down to zero, which really shouldn't be a problem with this setup as it's very similar to my other tanks. Even with tons of water changes, I can't seem to get it all the way to zero. My concern is the substrate that the tank came with. I don't have crushed coral in any of my other tanks because it can tend to trap detritus. I'm thinking of mixing in some finer substrate with the crushed coral and/or removing some of the excess crushed coral.
Any thoughts on this? I've read extensive complaints about crushed coral substrate and nitrate issues.
Keep in mind, I'm being pretty picky. It's below 5ppm nitrate, but I'd be happier with zero.
Actually, before I worry too much about it, I'm going to get a second opinion from a different test kit with a good low range reading.
Islandoftiki
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Also, I'll probably steal the limewood air stone skimmer off of my 10 gallon tank.
Fartin'Gary
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Sometimes I wonder if there is just a low bacteria count because of such a low bio load. I have not had problems with nitrates though.
Islandoftiki
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The chaeto in the HOB fuge is growing like crazy. I'm trimming off a tennis ball sized chunk every week and a half, so there is some good nutrient export going on.
I've only had this tank for a little over a month, so I'm just getting the hang of this tank's personality and what it needs. When I got it the nitrates were over 40ppm and I got them down to sub-5ppm after about a week. I just haven't been able to get to zero like all of my other tanks. I'm thinking there must be some built-up nutrients in the substrate. I'm not a big fan of crushed coral.
I've only had this tank for a little over a month, so I'm just getting the hang of this tank's personality and what it needs. When I got it the nitrates were over 40ppm and I got them down to sub-5ppm after about a week. I just haven't been able to get to zero like all of my other tanks. I'm thinking there must be some built-up nutrients in the substrate. I'm not a big fan of crushed coral.
Fartin'Gary
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I have some super fine grain, medium grain, and chunky crushed coral in mine. Much less of the big chunks. There is no space for left overs to fall between the cracks. My last tank was just CC and I didn't like that either. A bunch of nassarious snail buried in there too. Or what's left of them.
Islandoftiki
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I'll tell you what, no clean-up crew with this peacock. She'll promptly murder anything you put in the tank. A full CUC wouldn't last an hour.
I'm going to slowly start adding some finer substrate and remove at least half of the crushed coral. I think that would make more sense.
I will do it in sections and gravel vac the sections where I'm adding the new sand. Maybe do it in four to six stages so I don't upset too much of the substrate at once. I believe the substrate is only a couple months old, so there shouldn't be a huge amount of buildup in there. I think that's the safest way to go.
I'm going to slowly start adding some finer substrate and remove at least half of the crushed coral. I think that would make more sense.
I will do it in sections and gravel vac the sections where I'm adding the new sand. Maybe do it in four to six stages so I don't upset too much of the substrate at once. I believe the substrate is only a couple months old, so there shouldn't be a huge amount of buildup in there. I think that's the safest way to go.
Fartin'Gary
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My old peacock was a murderer as well. This one I am not so sure of. Maybe it was very young when it was caught or something. The other day the peppermint shrimp came out and was face to face with Peepers about 2 inches away and she did nothing. Didn't even care about it. The shrimp darted off in terror though. I also have a sexy shrimp in there.
Hi guys, just like your advice on high nitrates issues. Besides Chaeto, live rock and sand, what other filtration you used for your tanks.
I've been running a 4x5 inches vertical algae scrubber along with internal sump (wool, bio-rings, lava rocks) for my 80L cube tank but my nitrates are still bursting through the roof - beyond 160. The livestock seems happier and saw some white sponge growth after i've installed the VAS about a month ago although nitrate reading is still high. Livestock - 1 peacock (4-5"), 1 azure damsel (1.5"), 1 starfish, 1 cowry snail, 1 small hermit crab (1.5").
I've just remove 5 bioballs and 2 layers of wool (had 3 stacked on each other), are these known to hold nitrates? Thus removing them helps?
Thanks!
Fartin'Gary
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I have a 60 Eheim canister filter and a bunch of live rock with some micro algae. I do water changes once per week.
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