Fintastic’s Salt Water Chemistry Lesson -
Calcium

Calcium is used by all salt-water organisms. Some animals use much more than others do; in fact, to some animals, calcium is one of the major components of the diet. Therefore certain types of salt water systems require more attention to the calcium levels. In all salt-water aquariums, calcium must added to replenish the amount consumed by organisms or removed by protein skimming. Calcium monitoring is especially important in reef tanks where a large number of hard or stony corals, clams or invertebrates are present. This is due to the fact that these animals use calcium to build their skeletons. In addition, coraline algae also consume calcium. This form of algae is present in all salt water systems, so calcium must be monitored regardless of the type of ecosystem.

Below, we will try to describe the various methods available for monitoring your calcium levels. Of course this is not an exhaustive list, but it is merely a guide for the most common methods for the novice. Talk to a Fintastic employee to determine what is best for you.

Calcium exists in the ocean as the ion Ca2+. This ion is very soluble in water; meaning lots of calcium can be dissolved. For example, in the oceans of the coral reefs, calcium exists at about 400 PPM (mg/Liter of seawater).

When stony corals grow, they consume calcium by the following reaction.

Ca2+ + CO3 -2 → CaCO3

As you can see, the calcium is consumed during this reaction. If calcium is not added to your system, the reaction will slow down, as the calcium becomes depleted. (Notice the other ingredient in the reaction is CO3 -2 . This is the carbonate ion, and we will discuss this compound in the alkalinity lesson).

You can replace the calcium with four methods.

1) Water changes. Obviously, this is the least efficient method for controlling calcium, but it does work. In a thriving reef aquarium, calcium must be monitored daily; therefore; weekly water changes will not be sufficient for this type of tank. For a soft coral or fish only tank, water changes should be sufficient to maintain calcium.

2) Another method is the addition of Calcium chloride solution. These are the calcium solutions advertised by Kent Marine, SeaChem, etc. Calcium chloride is very soluble in water; therefore, it is very easy to add vast amounts of calcium quickly. However, the disadvantage is that adding calcium chloride also adds chloride. If too much chloride is added, the balance of the total system chloride level will be thrown off which can first appear as an abnormally high salinity reading via a hydrometer when the actual salinity may be low.

3) The third and best manual method is Kalkwasser addition. Although very effective, Kalkwasser demands attention to safety, and the mixture can be dangerous to you and your tank. Kalkwasser is simply Ca (OH) 2 dissolved in water (or commonly known as( lime). Kalkwasser must be prepared before use (within 24 hours) and allowed to settle so that the clear Lime water is only added to the aquarium. Kalkwasser must be added very slowly, usually with a drip system or electronic doser. If the solution is added to quickly, then the pH of the system will be sharply increased. A sharp rise in pH will wipe out an entire tank. Speak with a Fintastic employee before engaging in the use of Kalkwasser. Note that mixed Kalkwasser will react with the oxygen in the air we breath and render it useless if allowed to sit out in the open. You must only mix the amount you will use within the 24 hour period to maintain the highest concentration of calcium in the Kalkwasser.

4) Calcium Reactors “ This is absolutely the best way to add calcium to your aquarium. The calcium reactor utilizes CO2 to drop the pH of the water circulating within the reactor to 6.5 “ 6.2 pH. At this pH, the calcium carbonate material in the reactor will gradually dissolve into the circulating water in the reactor. This will literally raise the carbonate hardness of the water in the reactor to 35-45 DKH. The reactor affluent is then dripped back into the aquarium giving a continual supply of calcium and alkalinity plus trace elements to the system. The single most negative to a calcium reactor is the initial investment into the system. A basic system begins at $850 with the more advanced systems reaching $2,000.

Reef Aquarium Parasites

Reef tank parasites such as cryptocarion (Ich) and Amyloodinum (Velvet disease) are ubiquitous and almost impossible to completely eradicate when you are first establishing your tank. Traditional treatments would be fatal to most of the invertebrates you may be trying to raise.

Although there are several methods for controlling these parasites, and fierce differences of opinion as to which method is the best, the most effective way to protect your fish is to introduce it to your tank in the most stress-free way possible.

Carol Bowerin, in her 1983 book, stated that the effects of Ich and Velvet disease are rarely found in the wild. This leads us to believe that a healthy, nonstressed fish is better able to fend off diseases.

Avoid water change shock as much as possible. Taking care that the salinity and pH of your tank, and that of the store you make your purchase in, are the same is very helpful. It’s wise to develop a relationship with your stock source. Our knowledgeable and reliable staff can make all the difference to you insuring your purchase will live long and prosper

Hermit Crabs-Nature’s Original Mobile Home

Hermit Crabs submitted June 2009 page 1 of 3
Hermit Crabs
Nature’s Original “Mobile Home”
Submitted June 2009 1,028 words 5,787 characters with spaces

Hermit crabs are probably one of the most popular animals that are kept by marine
hobbyists, since there are many different sizes and types available. It is the rare marine
aquarium that does not have at least a few hermit crabs, and the larger hermit crabs are often
kept as the focus of an aquarium just for them, perhaps with a few fast and hardy fish.

Types of Hermit Crabs as “Cleanup Crew”
Small hermit crabs are often thought of as “janitors” or part of the “cleanup crew” for
marine tanks. Usually the small hermits offered for sale go by common names such as blue legs,
red legs, or scarlets. They are all collected wild throughout all of the tropical and temperate
seas, reefs and beaches, and they represent various genera and species. The most common small
hermits in the hobby are from the genera Clibanarius, Calcinus, or Paguristes and which exact
species they are really doesn’t much matter. All of these hermit crabs stay small and will eat
algae and tiny pieces of leftover food. They can be seen constantly crawling around the tank,
probing into small crevices and openings in the décor and picking at nuisance algae.

All of these small hermit crabs are considered pretty much reef-safe, meaning that they
will not bother prized specimens of corals, clams or other inverts. Sometimes hobbyists get
upset when the cleanup crew eliminates what was considered decorative algae on the live rock,
but other than that there are normally not any problems with the small hermits in reef tanks. The
typical rule of thumb is to have one small hermit crab for each gallon of water in the tank, but
that can sometimes be too many, depending on how heavily the tank gets fed.

Care and Feeding
When it comes to the care and feeding of small hermit crabs it is really not sufficient to
assume that they are getting enough to eat simply by their scavenging. I have always made sure
that small pieces of spirulina wafers made it down to the bottom of the tank for the hermits, and
that when the tank itself was fed there were, in fact, some leftover foods that made it down for
the hermit crabs. In most types of marine tanks there will be enough leftovers that the hermit
crabs will get plenty to eat. However, in the very low nutrition levels and pristine water quality

of some of the more advanced reef tanks there will not be much of anything for the hermit crabs
to eat; in these cases it is very important to make sure they get some food.
Most of the time the availability of shells is a more important factor in keeping these
small hermit crabs than availability of food. As they grow and molt, hermit crabs are always
looking for new and usually larger shells. Sometimes you will see two crabs fighting over a
shell, which is very interesting to observe. If there are no appropriate shells available for a
newly molted/molting hermit crab, they have been known to kill snails to get the shells. It’s a
good idea to have many shells, of different sizes but especially larger ones, kicking around the
tank for any hermit crab that wants a new one.

“Specimen Tank” Hermit Crabs
The larger hermit crabs can make very interesting inhabitants of a tank devoted to them
alone, or with other fish and invertebrates that are fast and clever enough not to become a meal
for the hermit crab. The most interesting hermit crab to keep is by far the “decorator” or
“anemone carrying” hermit crab (Dardanus pedunculatus). These animals walk around in a
shell to which they have attached certain small anemones, and sometimes pieces of macroalgae.
I once watched as one moved from one shell to another. The process began with the typical
feeling around of the new shell, the fast move from the old shell into the new one, and the
grasping onto the old shell just in case the fit wasn’t right. Once the crab decided that it liked
the new shell, it methodically peeled off the anemones from the old shell and placed them on
the new one.

Some of the larger regular hermit crabs can also make interesting specimen tanks, as long
as you are prepared for their rearranging everything in the tank. I have seen hermit crabs about
the size of a small fist, walking around in good-sized conch shells. As can be imagined, they
move around anything that isn’t permanently attached in the tank. The larger hermit crabs are
very interesting – you just have to be careful about what you put with them for tankmates and
decor.

Sidebar 1 Article Summary
• Small hermit crabs make up an important part of the cleanup crew for any marine
aquarium
• The most common types are blue legs, red legs and scarlets
• Usually reef-safe, it is important to make sure that the hermit crabs are getting
enough to eat
• Have plenty of extra empty shells, as they are always looking for newer and
slightly larger quarters
Sidebar 2 Land Hermit Crabs
In addition to the hermit crabs that are kept in marine tanks, land hermit crabs make
excellent pets. In many ways they are like a Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens) in that
they can be kept in a fairly small space and that they are often kept alone, although they can be
kept in groups. Land hermit crabs are very hardy, with minimal care required, and kids
absolutely love them.

Land hermit crabs are found all over the world, but the ones usually kept in the hobby are
Coenobita clypeatus and Coenobita compressus, which are native throughout the Caribbean.
There are a few primary suppliers of land hermit crabs to the industry, and the creatures are
available in all kinds of “homes”. Besides the natural shells, there are also “shells” that are little
football helmets in the livery of each professional football team, and many college teams. In
spring there are baseball caps as shells, and for major holidays such as Christmas and the Fourth
of July there are “theme” shells.
*************************************************************
SOURCES
In addition to my own experience, for this article I spoke with:
Brett Varnum Co-owner with his sister, Bethany Stockman
Laconia Pet Laconia, NH 603.524.8311
Steve Richmond Owner Lovely Pets
Quincy, MA 617.786.1898

Fish for the Beginning Marine Aquarist

The beauty and successful maintenance of a saltwater aquarium requires attention not only to the chemical and temperature balance of the water, but also to the temperamental aspect of the fish themselves. It is essential that you balance their personalities (thereby increasing compatibility) by grouping passive fish with other passive fish and aggressive fish with other aggressive fish. This is the only way to avoid difficulties with aggression among the tank’s inhabitants, outbreaks of disease due to stress-induced lowered immune systems, and the inability to provide proper nutrition (aggressive eaters vs. passive eaters!).

You also want to avoid species that have unusual or unique food requirements. The health and longevity of marine fish depend on both a proper aquatic environment and a balanced diet that supplies complete nutrition, including trace elements they would receive in nature. Fish, unlike some invertebrates, obtain their trace elements from the food, not the water.

Typical choices for a non-aggressive community would include most cardinalfish, hardy butterflyfish, gobies, blennies, tilefish, green chromis damselfish, and certain wrasses. At the other end of the behavioral spectrum are the aggressive eels, certain scorpionfish, groupers, some of the larger damselfish and dottybacks, porcupinefish and triggerfish. If you are a beginning marine aquarist be sure to look for these compatibility factors before you stock your tank.

If you have any doubts or questions about your setup, please talk to our staff. They are always happy to advise and answer any questions you have. After all, we want to ensure the success of your saltwater venture and assist you to become an expert yourself!

Captive-Bred Clownfish

Easily the most recognizable and popular saltwater fish in the hobby is the clownfish (or anemonefish). They are prized not only for their beauty and hardiness but also for their interesting symbiotic lifestyle with host anemones.

The news about these fish just gets better as they are among a growing number of marine fish being captively bred. Already, several hatcheries and “fish farms” produce an abundance of specimens in a variety unheard of just a few years ago, and among them, most species of clownfish. The biggest plus to captive-bred clownfish is that the fish are born and raised in hatcheries and are already adjusted to captive life, which makes them hardier and stronger. Wild clownfish, except for the mated pairs often exported from the Indo-Pacific region, arrive in very poor condition and are usually suffering from Brooklynella infestation. While these fishes can be treated and often recover, many do not. It seems wasteful to continue removing them from the ocean when captive bred specimens of all popular clownfish species are now widely available.

At Fintastic, we strongly advocate buying captive bred species whenever possible. Although there are many honorable collectors of wild-caught fish, there are also many unscrupulous ones who not only deliver unhealthy stock but damage the reefs and environment as well. If you’re interested in clownfish, our captive bred species include true percula (A. percula), clarkii (A. clarkii), false percula (A. ocellaris), and tomato clown (A. frenatus).

A word about anemones: though the clownfishes are generally a hardy lot, the anemones with which they associate are not. Unless you are an expert, most aquarists should choose between Entacmaea quadricolor, Bulb anemone, macrodactyla doreensis, and long tentacle anemone.

Fish aquariums are capable of providing a bundle of benefits to any room in the house. They can provide an aesthetic focal point to a room setting or a conversation starter for the local viewing audience. In addition, fish aquariums serve as great hobby starters for individuals wanting to develop interest and expertise in a satisfying and rewarding field. Both fresh and saltwater aquariums have their similarities as well as their unique areas of distinction. Though fresh water tanks are usually recommended for beginners to aquarium keepers, salt water aquariums definitely provide the opportunity to develop a more vivid and striking tank environment which presents many different options and choices in fish and aquarium communities. Salt water tanks can be a bit tricky; consequently it might be wise to embrace the following five suggestions in choosing your initial fish community for your first salt tank.

1. Adaptability
Salt water fish generally need a great deal more tank consistency, maintenance, and monitoring than their fresh water counterparts. This makes sense considering the ocean provides a more stable environment for its inhabitants than does a freshwater body of water which often changes in size, depth, and temperature. For your first fish community, consider those salt water fish that are more resilient and can adapt to small changes and fluctuations in temperature, salt levels, or oxygen content.

2. Cost
Some salt water fish can cost well over one hundred dollars to purchase. Though some of these fish are brilliantly colored, uniquely shaped, and capture attention and eye-appeal, they are a significant investment. Imagine the extra heartache you might feel if you found your two hundred dollar fish floating on top of the water as opposed to your five dollar fish. Obviously, you do not want to lose any fish while starting your aquarium, but inevitably, it happens. There are many wonderful fish selections that might be in the more appropriate price range of five to twenty dollars.

3. Compatibility
Saltwater fish can be rather aggressive and it is important to consider fish that will be able to get along with other fish in the tank. Some are definitely more compatible than others. If you consult an online guide or your local fish store, you can get great input to help you make an informed decision on the types of fish that get along with one another.

4. Feeding requirements
There are saltwater fish that can be extremely high maintenance when it comes time to feed them. Some need live food, or food that has to be presented in a certain manner, while some fish will pretty much eat whatever food you put in there for him. You will appreciate an easy going eater more than you might think.

5. Fish size
Salt water fish are more affected by tank size; the rule of thumb is approximately one inch of fish for every four to five gallons of water. Though this estimate is conservative, it is important that you purchase fish knowing the size that they will reach when they are full grown. Some fish will grow from one inch to three or four inches, whereas other one inch fish may grow to eight or nine inches in size. Your tank must be large enough to be able to accommodate that fish when it reaches its adult size.

These five factors may help you to get started with your salt water aquarium with the best possible chance for success, while keeping your investment modestly priced. Consult your fish website or local fish store for a list of fish that fit these five fish factors.