Day 38, 5, and 2

Still deciding what to do with the new spawn. Put a few in the kreisels, but the majority are still in the 2 1/2 gallon tank and doing okay.

I spent most of my efforts on updating the transition tank. I knew it wasn’t working. There should have been 22 megalopa in there and I just wasn’t seeing them. I took out the whole big bin and then the clock was ticking in terms of warmth and oxygenated water. Really hustled to try and find any survivors AND set up a new tank at the same time. They are SO tiny and I kept taking my glasses off, putting them back on, trying the magnifying glass and flashlight, hoping to find them without hurting them, examining the ramp and rock for hangers on, etc. Found five survivors and lots of dead ones. No matter how many times I tell myself that live sand is a good idea, it just isn’t. It’s too hard to keep clean in a small space with a tiny siphon. [Please remember that, Mary.]

In fact, I would recommend the least natural-looking transition tank possible since it is SO hard to tell what’s going on in there. Contrast is your friend when it comes to transition tanks. Fortunately, two of the survivors look really strong, including the one from the shell picture yesterday. I found him among the sand and shells by rocking the bin and simulating a wave. When one of the shells moved, I knew I had found him. He moves fast. He also switched shells as soon as I put him in the transition tank, then started to climb out so I grabbed my camera to video it. This shell he took looks like a freshwater snail shell. Much lighter. After the video I put a shrimp on the ramp.

Untitled from Mary Akers on Vimeo.

This new setup is smaller and inside a bin of the same size as the other. It’s a mini-paint tray that I silicone sand and some craft mesh on to make it easy to climb out. As you can see, he had no trouble.

I was a HOT MESS the whole time, though. I think I’m wearing a Path between the crab tank and the sink. I tried to remove the shells to move them, but they’re so tiny they stick to my fingers, so I tried to “flick” them off my hand and into the small cup of previously sorted and cleaned miniature shells. When I did that flick, I accidentally flicked the whole cup and they went everywhere—into my trash can, and all over my mini-shell-colored rug. Ugh. They will be so hard to find and retrieve but I just didn’t have the time or intestinal fortitude to search for them. Just had to keep going and get the megalopa I found into the new transition tank. I don’t think very many will make it, but they were sure to have died if I hadn’t at least tried.

So there’s that.