Soul Mosaic

I am not sure that things in the nursery tank are going well. A sudden reversal in fortunes over the last day or so. Very decreased numbers of babies. In fact, this morning, it’s hard to tell if there are any left. The water got cloudy, like an algae bloom, and the nitrites spiked high and even a touch of chlorine showed on the dipstick, odd since I use distilled water. So the chlorine is coming from tank conditions, not the water I used. Some thoughts:

I am not sure if the decrease in numbers is:

1) Normal? They cannibalize each other.
2) High nitrites?
3) Touch of chlorine?
4) Wrong food?
5) Too much or not enough food?
6) Salinity? Are the science articles wrong and should I have left it brackish?

Water quality:

It started out that the water would get cloudy for a little while after I put food in the tank. Then it would return to being clear. Now, however, it’s cloudy all the time. I replaced 1 gallon of water last night (still “marine” at 1.019), and I added buffer to raise alkalinity for them to have enough calcium to molt. I also added Prime to get rid of chlorine and decrease nitrites. I succeeded with raising the alkalinity, and eliminating the chlorine. Nitrates are still in the “okay” zone, but nitrites didn’t drop.

This morning the tank is still cloudy. I will recheck parameters in a little while, and probably replace another gallon of water. I hate to do that because if there are babies left, I am most likely pouring some of them down the drain with water I tank from the tank. I do pull the water from the side of the tank where the babies did not hang out much, but still. Nothing to be done there though. a.m.

It occurred to me this morning that maybe the phytoplankton was either a bad idea or I just gave too much. The phytoplankton is alive. I noticed the water I drew off last night had a greenish tint. That means the phytoplankton, which is PLANT plankton, and alive, may be blossoming, in fact, maybe it’s a phytoplankton bloom in the tank. Given it’s not the open ocean, but a closed environment, the bloom, while successful in generating more food for the babies, maybe too much of a good thing in an aquarium. If too much growth, is it raising the nitrites and killing off the babies? I am wondering if I should have left the food at “Small Fry” and maybe the ground up krill and not added the phytoplankton.

I will also put a sample of the water under my “precision” microscope later to see if in fact the water is jammed with plant cells.

I will update on the results of water change, microscope viewing, and repeated parameters later, as well as whether it looks like there’s any babies left.

Live and learn. As my husband says, “Next time”….I think there’s always things we can do better. AND, once this experiment is over, we’re going to leave that spare tank up and running empty so it can settle out with a matured nitrogen cycle. Stay tuned for updates.