Day(s) 46, 13, and 10

This is how “green” I’m keeping the water in the kreisels now. Adding extra nannochloropsis is helping SO much!! Each of the 2 1/2 gallon kreisels is able to carry a much heavier biological load without crashing. As a result, I’m seeing minimal losses and lots of well-fed, fast growing survivors. I also lowered the temperature a bit. We’re hovering just below 80 degrees Fahrenheit now, when it had been at 83. That’s helping keep oxygen levels up and bacterial growth down. Hatching and feeding more of the live brine shrimp has also helped with water quality. But I will really have to watch the salinity now that the weather is cooler and my house is drier. I hadn’t checked in a few days, but I thought things were looking just a little off. Did a test tonight and it was pretty high—like 38, when it should be 35 or lower. Fixed that, none too soon. 😬

I moved the second little guy in a shell from the transition pool to the mini tank. So there are two in there now. I sure hope they don’t fight / cannibalize. The new one is super shy, unlike the first one. Every time I work around him he retracts and stays retracted for a long time. He’ll have to get over that! Last I saw him he was picking at a fresh rose petal. Oh! And the first little guy swapped his shell! He’s now in a long, rose-colored spiral shell.

For their dinner I used the tip of a toothpick to add the smallest possible amount of crumbled cricket, ripe banana, cooked squash, and a powdered tropical fruit mix I’ve been “recipe testing” in my big tank. You know, typical baby food. 😂