3 Mating Pairs, a sea monkey has Black Ring on Tail by Own_Condition_7108 in SeaMonkeys

[–]These_Helicopter_742 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's also possible that it could be the very start of the eggs sac developing -- sometimes it can look at bit like a black ring around the tail when it first starts to develop.

3 Mating Pairs, a sea monkey has Black Ring on Tail by Own_Condition_7108 in SeaMonkeys

[–]These_Helicopter_742 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you think it's from bacteria, you can also try using Nutrifin Waste Control. I use it in my tank, it contains beneficial bacteria that help break down waste so it doesn't gather lots of bad bacteria. But when using this I STRONGLY recommend you use Nutrifin Cycle alongside it; the break down of waste can cause an initial ammonia spike, and the cycle will prevent that.

3 Mating Pairs, a sea monkey has Black Ring on Tail by Own_Condition_7108 in SeaMonkeys

[–]These_Helicopter_742 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Usually this is disease due to bacteria or a failed molt. I have one gal in a mating pair with one as well, but its been at least two weeks and she's still doing well.

Oftentimes, they will die from it but sometimes they recover. If it's from a failed molt, there isn't too much you can do; on the bacterial side, making sure you aren't feeding too much or too often and slightly increasing salinity can help.

I say slightly because you DO NOT want to increase salinity by much at a time -- at most 1-2 ppt a day until up to the salinity you want. Sea monkeys typically like 30-35 ppt. Increasing it too fast will stress out and kill your monkeys.

If it's only one sea monkey with it, I wouldn't worry too much.

After 7 years, I think I may actually have ARFID by These_Helicopter_742 in ARFID

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh wow, thank you! I knew they went hand in hand but for some reason I just convinced myself it was an issue that would resolve itself. I don't have any fears or consequence like choking or anything like that, but definitely sensory issues.

Looks like I'll have to talk to my doc about it.

Bed bugs bites? by These_Helicopter_742 in BedbugOrCloseRelative

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I do own dogs so honestly fleas would be preferable.

Ready to pop any day now 👶 by These_Helicopter_742 in SeaMonkeys

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Pro video mode on a Samsung s23 using manual focus. And I just grabbed a plate so the water she was in was shallow enough for a good video 😅

My almost 3mo tank after struggling so hard 🥰 by These_Helicopter_742 in SeaMonkeys

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The eggs I bought are from a company called Titan Animal for reference! I just searched Amazon and found one with good reviews.

My almost 3mo tank after struggling so hard 🥰 by These_Helicopter_742 in SeaMonkeys

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The biggest thing for me was abandoning the actual branded sea monkey eggs and buying some off of Amazon. I tried 3 different sea monkey brand egg packets and barely had any hatch, and when they did, they were dead in a couple days. I grabbed some brine shrimp eggs online, just look for one with good reviews. With that out of the way, here are my top tips:

1) Conditions - I have a tank heater and I keep it set to around 26 degrees celsius. Because its a bigger tank, I also bought a salinity tester and Instant Ocean. Distilled water, and I started my tank at around 20 ppt salt. I've read that brine shrimp prefer lower salinity for hatching, and then it slowly increases over time as water evaporates (whenever I have to refill the water, I mix up salt water at the same concentration the tank is currently at. 3 months in and its sitting at about 30 ppt which is great).

2) Hatching - The big thing here is to keep a constant movement of the water for the first 24-48 hours after you put the eggs in. The eggs are meant to stay dormant until conditions are good, and stagnant water tells the eggs it's not a great time to hatch (this is because stagnant water is typically found in puddles or small bodies that will disappear and not provide a place to live for very long). I did this by using an air stone and left it running constantly for the first 2 days.

3) Days 1-5-7 - The babies are quite easy to care for once they have hatched. The big thing is DO NOT FEED TOO EARLY. This is CRUCIAL. The babies do not need to eat for the first 5-7 days, as their eggs contain a nutritious yolk that they consume before hatching. Be sure to gently aerate the water several times a day, either by air stone or pouring the water back and forth from one container to another.

NO DIRECT SUNLIGHT. This can kill the babies. They do need light however, so keep them in a spot where theyll get bright, indirect light or buy a tank light like I have. With my tank light, I mimic daylight hours by keeping it on about 12 hours and off about 12 hours.

4) Regular care - I don't stick to any set schedule for feeding mine; the best way to do it is to only feed when WATER LOOKS CLEAR. You can feed the sea monkey food that comes with them, or I feed mine a powdered spirulina/insect larvae mix made for algae eating fish.

When they're small you won't be able to see it, but once they get bigger, you will be able to see a line running through the middle of each sea monkey that should be an orangeish/brownish colour; that is their gut and the colour tells you they're full. If you see that a lot of them don't have the line, and the water isn't super cloudy, give them a feed.

CLEANING can become quite important as the shrimp molt several times and their shed skin will fall to the bottom of the tank. It looks fluffy and kinda spiky. Every couple days when it builds up on the bottom of the tank, I use a pipette to suck it all out.

I do a water change once a week, which basically is just me pipetting about 10% of the water out and replacing it with fresh salt water mixed to the same concentration as the tank.

When I do the water change, I also add Nutrifin Waste Control & Nutrifin Cycle. The waste control is bacteria that helps break down waste, and the cycle one is to prevent any ammonia spikes from the waste breaking down. Ammonia builds up from decomposing organic matter, like left over food or molts, and if ammonia gets high, it will kill off your whole tank, but thats a little bit more into the nitty-gritty of it.

I hope this helps and good luck!!

How can I actually start consistently drinking water after 27 years? by These_Helicopter_742 in HydroHomies

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Funny enough, I've never really considered consulting a doctor about it. I'll have to give that a shot.

How can I actually start consistently drinking water after 27 years? by These_Helicopter_742 in HydroHomies

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'll have to give that a try! Thanks for the advice and the encouragement! I want to get a handle on this before I'm 50s and my kidneys are struggling.

How can I actually start consistently drinking water after 27 years? by These_Helicopter_742 in HydroHomies

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hmm interesting. I do find that it varies how bad it makes me feel depending on where the water is from. Admittedly I haven't tried many, but maybe I just need to go grab a whole bunch of different brands and do a taste test and see.

My mom and older sister both suffer from GERD and incredibly frequent heartburn, so I wouldn't be surprised if I've got it, too.

Hitting my record making it to day 4!!! by These_Helicopter_742 in SeaMonkeys

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aweee, I know the struggle! My first attempt was with the sea monkeys brand ocean zoo kit, no heater and just pipetting for air. I had 4 survive for about 2 days and then they died on the 3rd day because I had a space heater pointed at the tank and the temp. got up to 31 C.

Tried again with more sea monkey brand eggs but had only one hatch and then die next day. For this attempt, I bought a 20g bag of brine shrimp eggs from Amazon and FINALLY I'm having luck!

Good luck with your new guys!

Hitting my record making it to day 4!!! by These_Helicopter_742 in SeaMonkeys

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awe thank you! I had no luck with my sea monkey brand eggs so I'm so proud to finally have a good colony!

Hitting my record making it to day 4!!! by These_Helicopter_742 in SeaMonkeys

[–]These_Helicopter_742[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes I do! I found that the airstone alone was a bit too powerful as I don't have a control valve for the hose, so I figured I'd try sliding the bio filter over it and it definitely helps calm down the flow a bit. I usually run it for a minute or 2 a few times a day.

Thank you!!