Roborep1 Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Can I get an explanation as to how to hook one of these up? Pictures would help. Also what is the best way to go about separating females from males. I have a bunch of mischlings and want to start moving males out leaving TB and female mischlings. Should I be able to tell by looking or do you just do it over time? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edwardnah and Johnnydok 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Assumming you don't know any of this here is some help for assembling it. If you have a store bought marina box the instructions are inside on a paper. If you purchased a used one, then here's what you do. wash thoroughly with very hot water and let air dry....never know what's in the box, dust, dirt, other unmentionables etc, so best to have it really nice and clean to start. the box has a 2 part tube system, with a cap with a hole in one end. the cap fits onto the tube, the one tube fits inside the other part and you can move it up or down however long you want it to be, and the bottom cap with the slots and side vent is on the other end. This is the part that goes inside the tank and sucks the water up into the box. The airline tubing (doesn't come with this so you need to buy some) cut to size (has to reach far enough to your pump, or you will need a connector) fits onto the little plastic piece with the slots on the bottom which is attached to the tube, this is your intake tube! Now you have a long tube with airline attached. This is your intake tube, it has a foot that sits inside the bracket part on one side of the box...on the left...push it down firmly because your lid has to fit snug over the top (you will see the lid has an indentation that covers the intake tube) On the other side (righthand) you have a small gate that comes with the box, this gate slides between the slots over the outtake side....stops the shrimps/fish/crays from escaping back into the tank. Also inside the box is a divider that you can use in the middle (it only fits the one way perfectly) and there is a slot inside the box that it slides down into to stop it moving around. There is also 2 for the large, and 1 for the medium/small box plate like things (for wont of a better word for them) these fit up underneath the box (there is holes for them) on either side to stabilize your box against the front/side of your tank where this box will hang. If you don't use them the box will hang uneven and spill water everywhere. So put your intake tube into the tank and hang the box on the side and fit the footed part into the slot on the left. Turn on your pump and the water will start to fill inside the box. Once the water has reached the level of the other side bracket it will spill back into your tank. It won't overfill. Put the lid on and now you have your marina box all ready for its inhabitants. What I do to set mine up for the shrimps I want to go in there is this (everyone does it differently) I put some of the soil from my shrimp tank into the box and spread it out (not deep, just enough to lightly cover the bottom) Shrimps tend to not like bare bottom areas, so this helps them acclimate and also provides biofilm for them to pick over. Add a moss ball or some moss/floating plants and an airstone. I feed the airstone through the hole in the lid. This provides extra oxygen for the shrimps and keeps the water circulation better inside the box. I currently have 2 of my black Pinto headed mammas inside mine right now awaiting birth. As for male/female identification....most females will be more square looking on the bottom and males more on an angle. Sometimes its hard to tell especially if they are young shrimps. You will develop an eye for this over time, but basically its a crap shoot most times. I can't even tell with my Fancy Red Tigers right now. Roborep1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roborep1 Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Thank you for a long and thoughtful reply. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiumanfu Posted June 7, 2015 Report Share Posted June 7, 2015 Wait for a female molt and catch all the males that are obviously dancing. If you are going to keep them in the box indefinitely, add lots of moss and maybe a chunk of driftwood. More surface area for biofilm munchies. Shrimpie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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