What’s wrong with my Nems??

[Roobixqub]

Feed these guys shrimp. Yesterday they were small and yuck. Today they are fat, exposed and maybe happy?? I’m not sure about their color. The white turned brownish is a long bubble tip and the was white turned brown with purple is a haitian. And guys gonna be honest..have no clue what’s up with the pink one. I think it’s dying.
perimeters are all in normal range. I feel like they might be malnourished?? They live in a 29 gal bio-cube, no protein skimmer.

 

[T-J]

How old is tank? What are your "normal" parameters? Please post actual numbers. How long have you had the nems? What lighting do you have?

 

[Jekyl]

How old is tank? What are your "normal" parameters? Please post actual numbers. How long have you had the nems? What lighting do you have?

This

 

[Roobixqub]

The tank has been running for over 6 months.
PH is 7.8-8.0
Ammonia is 0
Nitrites is 0
Nitrates is 20 ppm

Larry (long tip) has been in the tank and rock for 4-5 months
Pinky (the pink one, not too sure exactly what he is) has been in the tank for a month
Prince (Haitian) has been in the tank and rock for a week.

The lighting is a programmable biocube LED with whites and blues. (Factory lid with led lights??)

The video is what Pink and Nugget look like the day we brought them home.

 

[Vested]

Need alkalinity and calcium numbers, phosphate too if you're feeling fancy

 

[Roobixqub]

Well…looks like I need to spend some money and buy those testing kits. ‍*facepalm*
What are acceptable limits for these tests??

 

[Jekyl]

Well…looks like I need to spend some money and buy those testing kits. ‍*facepalm*
What are acceptable limits for these tests??

My nems are very happy.
Salinity 1.026
Alk 8.5
Phosphate .03
Nitrate 10
Calcium 420
Magnesium 1350

 

[Vested]

Recommend salifert test kits, they arnt super expensive and are reliable. For phosphate a hanna checker is what i use. Definatly start testing alkalinity and calcium though! Those are the most important for your tank.

 

[Vested]

If your nems are looking real bad before you can get test kits, do a larger water change and hopefully that helps things. Heres a thread about recommended parameters for everything and what they are. https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/optim...oral-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.79/

 

[Roobixqub]

I will have hubby work on getting these test kits. Once I have levels I will post them. Would any of these levels explain why these guys look and are behaving the way they are??

 

[olonmv]

My nems are very happy.
Salinity 1.026
Alk 8.5
Phosphate .03
Nitrate 10
Calcium 420
Magnesium 1350

+1

that’s about where my numbers are, my nems are happy. Except for my emo anti-social nem. Within a week he hid under a rock and has stayed there since. It’s been well over a couple of months. I got 2 rockflower and 2 Bali red mini carpets.

 

[Roobixqub]

I believe pinky is on his “last leg” but I’m not really sure. I can’t feed it because my clown pulls the food out I give it too. But I am really confused why my other too look so fat??

 

[Jekyl]

I will have hubby work on getting these test kits. Once I have levels I will post them. Would any of these levels explain why these guys look and are behaving the way they are??

100% The key to keeping things alive is all about water chemistry and stability.

 

[MaxTremors]

I will have hubby work on getting these test kits. Once I have levels I will post them. Would any of these levels explain why these guys look and are behaving the way they are??

I would definitely get an alkalinity and phosphate test. Calcium is important, but it you’re not keeping hard corals, you can probably wait. I keep quite a few hard corals and I rarely test my calcium. I test alkalinity every couple days, nitrate and phosphate once a week, and calcium probably once every two weeks. The thing about calcium is that it is used up in proportion to alkalinity, so if you’re dosing a two part, if the alkalinity is stable then the calcium should be as well (and for me it is, mine is always right around 430 when I test). My tank is 28 gallons (probably 20 gallons of water) and most of my stony corals are fairly small, so I am currently dosing 0.75ml of two part a day (0.75ml of each part). Once you find out roughly how much alkalinity you’re using, then it’s fairly easy to find a dose that maintains it. Alternatively, you could dose something like All-For-Reef, which has all of the additives you need in one formula, you also find the appropriate dose by testing alkalinity. But you definitely need Alk and Phosphate tests, in order of importance for a cycled tank, it’s: Alk, Phosphate, Nitrates, PH, Calcium, Magnesium. That’s not to say that they’re not all important, but Alk, Calcium, Mag, and PH all interact with and influence each other, so if you’re dosing a two part and doing regular water changes, if your alkalinity is stable, the other parameters will generally be stable as well (but you still want to verify).