Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Saltwater shipment today

I had a store credit to my favorite online saltwater fish supplier and i wanted to use it before winter begins, cause then its too cold to  ship anything.  My tank keeps me entertained during the winter when i can't garden, so i wanted to get that loose end tied up.
I'm getting algae growth that is encroaching and choking out some corals, so i  need an urchin. Tuxedo urchins are a great all-purpose algae eating helper. They will eat all types of algae that i have ever had in my tanks. Their only drawback is that they are little round bulldozers, so i had to tack as much as  i could down with epoxy putty. If i don't, the critter will either knock a coral or frag down behind something where i can't see or enjoy it and it might get shaded out and die. Or else the urchin will pick it up and parade around the tank 'wearing' it, usually this ends the same way, the coral or frag dies because it gets improper lighting.
Anyway my shipment is coming by FedEx, and should be here soon. Its about 9:30am here. I'm getting a small order, just the urchin, 3 peppermint shrimp and one scarlet/skunk cleaner shrimp.

Box arrived at 10:00am
Peppermint shrimp:









 (above)
Scarlet or Skunk cleaner shrimp.  These are the type of shrimp that fish will line up for like patients at a Dr.'s office waiting for a checkup.
 (below)
Tuxedo urchin:


All being drip-acclimated,  takes 2 hours at least so there is no shock to their systems due to differences in water chemistry:

 


Everything looks good so far.