Peppermint Shrimp Larvae

A female peppermint shrimp in ST2 has been producing larvae for several months (approximately once a month), but I haven't been successful to capture the larvae on photos. With my new camera and macro filters, this is the first time I could take photos and videos of the tiny larvae. I used all the macro filters I have (+1+2+4+10) in order to get enough magnification. The larvae seem to be in zoea stage, which is abnormal for crustaceans. I suspect that the nauplius might develop inside the eggs while the mother was still brooding.

(mother)

I also captured the larvae movement in a video. They used their thoraxial appendages to swim, which is an apparent characteristic of zoea larvae.

Saltwater Tank 1 Clean Up!

After a month without maintenance, Saltwater Tank 1 did not change much because of low lighting; however, the refugium was filled with macroalgae.

There were many pulsing xenia visible at the top of the algal canopy, but other corals were completely covered. All algae were removed from the refugium, and I found many more pulsing xenia hidden under the algae. Many pulsing xenia seemed light-deprived, as their feathers were much thinner than those of the healthy ones.

After 4 days, the xenia were very quick to recover as their feathers grew back really quickly and most of them became healthy again.

Saltwater Tank 2 Clean Up!

After a month without any maintenance, Saltwater Tank 2 was filled with algae, especially on the glass. I could barely see what was left inside the tank.

I cleaned the filters and changed all filter pads, then scrubbed out most of the algae on the front glass and performed a 10% water change.

All tank inhabitants seemed fine despite the very limited water flow during the previous month. There are still 3 peppermint shrimps, 2 ghost shrimps and 1 xanthid crab. On the following day, I decided to move the xanthid crab to Refugium 2 in order to prepare ST 1 for seahorses.