John J in Pickens
Community Member
Hi, all!
Well, at last I am finally ready to get the seawater, sand, and rock in my BioCube 16 and fire it up. I will be transferring my two Oscellaris Clownfish and three Blue Leg Hermit Crabs from their 10-gallon trickle filter tank in a week or so. My concern is with the Clownfish. I have had these clownfish for 7 years, having bought them from a LFS. They were captive-bred and only about an inch long. Seven years later, one is about four inches long and the other is about three inches long. They eat like pigs and seem just fine. I admit I have been lax on water changes over the past seven years, maybe one-gallon water change every three months. I had not really kept up with the salinity level at all in the last seven years. I tested it last week and saw the level was 1.020. The seawater I purchased from the LFS is 1.025. I realize that is a big difference. I don't own a drip acclimation setup right now, but will get one in the next month or so. in the meantime, would it be acceptable to put my Clowns in a medium mixing bowl and maybe every 15 minutes or so take a quarter cup of water out of their bowl and put a quarter cup of my seawater from the LFS into the bowl, and continue for a couple of hours? Will this minimize the risk of shock to my Clowns? (I was going to put the Hermit Crabs in the bowl as well, and break down the tank, clean it out and disinfect it after everyone is out of the 10-gallon tank.) If there is anything else I need to consider, please let me know. TIA - John in SC
Well, at last I am finally ready to get the seawater, sand, and rock in my BioCube 16 and fire it up. I will be transferring my two Oscellaris Clownfish and three Blue Leg Hermit Crabs from their 10-gallon trickle filter tank in a week or so. My concern is with the Clownfish. I have had these clownfish for 7 years, having bought them from a LFS. They were captive-bred and only about an inch long. Seven years later, one is about four inches long and the other is about three inches long. They eat like pigs and seem just fine. I admit I have been lax on water changes over the past seven years, maybe one-gallon water change every three months. I had not really kept up with the salinity level at all in the last seven years. I tested it last week and saw the level was 1.020. The seawater I purchased from the LFS is 1.025. I realize that is a big difference. I don't own a drip acclimation setup right now, but will get one in the next month or so. in the meantime, would it be acceptable to put my Clowns in a medium mixing bowl and maybe every 15 minutes or so take a quarter cup of water out of their bowl and put a quarter cup of my seawater from the LFS into the bowl, and continue for a couple of hours? Will this minimize the risk of shock to my Clowns? (I was going to put the Hermit Crabs in the bowl as well, and break down the tank, clean it out and disinfect it after everyone is out of the 10-gallon tank.) If there is anything else I need to consider, please let me know. TIA - John in SC
