attention dwarf lovers

[Veronica]

Completely new to the 'aquascene' here.
A few quick questions

First, if you begin with a percentage of live sand and the rest not live, say 50/50 or whatever, will the percentage of live sand gradually increase? Is there a danger in using live sand when starting a tank for dwarves?

Second, since my only interest is to keep dwarf seahorses, could I cycle the tank using caulerpa and sea lettuce with perhaps no live rock and live sand?

Also, is it possible to cultivate a colony of Amphipods (Grammarus) as a food source for the horses to supplement feedings of brine shrimp and thereby reduce daily hatching? Mostly what I’ve read stresses the high concentration of newly hatched brine shrimp needed as a food source. However, it seems to me that this would be more dispersed in the natural habitat, so isn’t there any other food source which could perhaps be cultivated right in the tank with them? At least as a supplement?

Finally, do you know if the tiniest hermit crabs from Genus Calcinus and the little snails like Nerita Picea and Astraea are compatible in a tank with dwarf seahorses? Is there a danger to the fry?

Speaking of hatching brine shrimp, am I correct in discerning that you do not have to decapsulate the cysts before hatching? If you allow the water to settle, isn’t it true that the shells will float up? Then, if you harvest from the bottom.. won’t you collect mostly bbs ( I hope I’m using this abrieviation correctly) and very little debris?

Approximately how long can dwarf horses feed off of a hatch before the shrimp become to large for them?

How long do you keep the fry separated for intensified feeding?

Have you found it true that your horses will not overpopulate their tank?

I’m looking at the Eclipse systems, perhaps the hex 5 or the 6gal. Other than covering the bio-wheel intake with a sponge, what adjustments would you suggest for success with dwarves?

[Elsherst]

I can't answer all of those questions, but I can a few of them.

On the sand: yes the % will increase. It will all become live sand after time. Live sand is just sand that is full of beneficial bacteria and sometimes mini stars and wurms. So when mixed with non live sand, the bacteria start growing onto the new sand until it also becomes live sand. Criters that stir up the sand help to speed up this process. On a new setup it would probly work best to mix the sand up in very shallow water in your tank before you fill you tank all the way up.

Live sand and Live rock is a big part of the cycle. There is some dead things on the new live rock and live sand which brings up the ammonia levels, the bacteria that convert it into nitrite start to multiply with the large suply of food with the byproduct of nitrite. Once your nitrite levels go up the bacteria that consume nitrite start to grow as their source of food goes up, converting it to nitrate. After all the bacteria are there the levels settale down and your tank is cycled. So with any biological filtration you will get a cycle, depending on what type and how much biological filtration will determine how big of a cycle. And any sand and rock you put in a marine tank will end up as live rock or sand as the bacteria grow. Purchased live rock normaly will have other interesting things on it as well.

You can cultivae amphipods a few ways, normaly it's done in a refugium that can be gravity fed back to the main tank so the pod's can get in the tank without being hurt by a return pump (done by having the fug above the display tank). Or they can be cultivated in a seperate tank fed by photoplancton and spot fed to the horses.

The rest of the questions I'm not sure about, so will need someone else to chime in to help you.

Hope the little bit I know can help you there.

[Elsherst]

Few articals that might interest you.

phytoplankton (http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/breeder.htm)

copepods (http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/breeder2.htm)

Brine Shrimp (http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2002/breeder.htm)

Not sure if yo uwould use this one, but here is another food source that can be used for different things.

Rotifer (http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2002/breeder.htm)

[Veronica]

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer some of my questions. The answer about the live sand makes sense; good to know I'm thinking along the right lines. Also, the rest of the information reinforces what I've learned so far... Still wondering whether a combination of food sources is realistic in keeping dsh. I've learned ways to delay the maturation of bbs, reducing the frequency of hatching, but still.... I'll keep digging! Talk to everyone again soon.

[Elsherst]

I know some combo's of food sources aren't good because one of the 2 sources will eat the other. So before combineing 2 food cultures, do some research to see if they are going to be ok together.
And glad I could be of some help for you. :)

[Veronica]

By the way, I haven't had the chance to peruse the cited articles; hopefully this weekend.... thanx in advance.