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View Full Version : O. havanensis tank dillema?

jennahenry
01/21/2011, 02:57 PM
i got an o. havanensis about a week ago. he (i think he's male) was bright and healthy and dug a little burrow over the course of a couple days when he was first put into the tank. my tank is not ideal for the o. havanensis; it's a cube system - but he's only 1.5 inches long.

there were two damsels in there with him and they both began to appear sick not long after i added the havanensis. so, i decided to remove them/do water change. in the process, i had to remove the rocks around which he'd built his burrow. he hasn't attempted to rebuild it. he does eat, but only target feeds. this may have a lot to do with the seller target feeding him (dead food) for the past two months. i imagine he's lost some of his luster because of this.

yesterday, my partner decided to beautify the tank - much to my dismay somewhat. i'd asked for a small shrimp at the LFS for the mantis, and came home to more soft corals, some red and green algae, a dwarf seahorse, and an $8 peppermint shrimp. the peppermint shrimp would have been an expensive meal, but i was looking forward to seeing if he would go for it. he did not, and when i target fed him the peppermint shrimp even attempted to steal his meal. i thought oh he's gonna attack him, but he didn't. just laid on his back and ate the rest of it while the peppermint shrimp stood on top of the mantis and picked at little scraps.

anyway, after that long-winded introduction, my question is this: is it possible that the mantis is stressed from all this redecorating and having to keep the light on more? he's been a bit lazy and hasn't attempted to rebuild his burrow. i mean he seems ok, but i'm just a bit concerned. i included pictures of him today. he's not on his back or side, just hanging out in the back of the tank near a little cave in the rock.

also - i know this is not an ideal set up for a havanensis. please keep in mind he's very small.

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz70/jennahenry2009/Havanensis%20tank/IMG_2502.jpg

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz70/jennahenry2009/Havanensis%20tank/IMG_2511.jpg

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz70/jennahenry2009/Havanensis%20tank/IMG_2516.jpg

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz70/jennahenry2009/Havanensis%20tank/IMG_2513.jpg

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz70/jennahenry2009/Havanensis%20tank/IMG_2503.jpg

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz70/jennahenry2009/Havanensis%20tank/IMG_2508.jpg

http://i814.photobucket.com/albums/zz70/jennahenry2009/Havanensis%20tank/IMG_2507.jpg
Gonodactylus
01/21/2011, 03:14 PM
THe most likely explanation, in my opinion, is that the water quality went off when you stirred up the substrate - plus you then greatly increased the bio load on the tank. One of the most common events that causes us to lose O. havanensis is when someone stirs the substrate. These guys are not tolerant of low oxygen and/or nitrogen.

Roy
jennahenry
01/21/2011, 03:21 PM
hey dr,
the substrate was disturbed a bit, but my partner and i are aware of the sensitivity and oxygen needs of this species and tried very hard to do this carefully. water tests fine at near 0 nitrates. alkalinity is at 11. pH is at 8.0. specific gravity 32. what's in there are the havanensis, the seahorse, a small emerald crab, the peppermint shrimp, and 4 tiny pinky-nail sized hermits.

i have a smaller 3 gallon eclipse that i've used as a sick tank. i could clean it up and add more live sand to it - would this be a better option even though it's a smaller tank?
scadsobees
01/21/2011, 10:33 PM
That poor seahorse don't stand a chance in there. Between the damsels, anemones, stomapods, crabs, and the fact that they need frequent feeding of live brine shrimp, its a goner.
jennahenry
01/21/2011, 11:15 PM
Actually there aren't damsels in this tank. There is no anemone - that's a torch coral in the top right. The crabs feed on detritus from the live rock. The seahorse is target fed and I'm culturing copepods to be added to the tank to supplement the brine shrimp he's given twice per day.
ritter6788
01/22/2011, 10:31 AM
That poor seahorse don't stand a chance in there. Between the damsels, anemones, stomapods, crabs, and the fact that they need frequent feeding of live brine shrimp, its a goner.

Actually there aren't damsels in this tank. There is no anemone - that's a torch coral in the top right. The crabs feed on detritus from the live rock. The seahorse is target fed and I'm culturing copepods to be added to the tank to supplement the brine shrimp he's given twice per day.

There is a mantis in there. If you plan on keeping the seahorse I would start making plans to separate them ASAP. That is a beautiful mantis and tank, I hope it works out well for you.
scadsobees
01/24/2011, 01:48 PM
Actually there aren't damsels in this tank. There is no anemone - that's a torch coral in the top right. The crabs feed on detritus from the live rock. The seahorse is target fed and I'm culturing copepods to be added to the tank to supplement the brine shrimp he's given twice per day.

Ok I misread the part about damsels, but a torch is still little better than an anemone. New information gives it a 5% chance of survival instead of 0% :rolleyes: Torches and anemones (and anything with tentacles) are both big no-no's with sh's, especially dwarfs.

http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/tankmates/lps.shtml