CHANGING THE AQUA DRAGONS WATER
We all want our Aqua Dragons to live in clear, salty water. When their water suddenly becomes murky or cloudy, it can cause concern, but they usually live like this - in murky, salty lakes, rivers, and the ocean. Thus, they are accustomed to various conditions, including different levels of salinity and murky water.
In fact, murkiness is the food they eat by filtering! Aqua Dragons happily live in an aquarium with sediment and/or in murky water, unless they appear very sick, swimming slowly.
Below you will find frequently asked questions about water care.
MY AQUA DRAGONS WATER IS MURKY GREEN, CAN I CLEAN THE WATER?
It's normal for the water to be a little murky, usually it's due to food in the water so consider how much you're feeding the Aqua Dragons and make sure it's not too much. If you have many Aqua Dragons (hundreds) feed every 2-3 days, if you get fewer such as 30-50 dragons every 4-5 days is enough. Moderate the amount of food to the number of Aqua Dragons. If the water is murky then there is still food in the water column. If it’s very clear and the Aqua Dragons are drilling or digging the food that has formed a sediment at the base then it’s time to top up with a small level spoonful of food. Also remember to oxygenate your tank daily with the pipette or by pouring your Aqua Dragons from one recipient into another and back or by using a pipette to expel bubbles into the tank. Aqua Dragons can get slow and sickly if their water is not well oxygenated, so doing this daily helps make the water healthy for them.
MY AQUA DRAGONS WATER LEVEL IS LOW OR EVAPORATING, CAN I ADD WATER?
The water in the tank will naturally evaporate, but the salt will not. So, to help maintain the water quality, keep the tank topped up to the water line with bottled, room temperature, water.
HOW CAN I CLEAN MY AQUA DRAGONS TANK?
It’s not normally necessary, but if you want to clean the tank you can carefully tip your Aqua Dragons (and their water) into another clean container (maybe a large jam jar) while you rinse out their tank, at this point if you want you can throw away the sediment at the bottom of the tank, remember it might have your next generation of Aqua Dragons eggs in it. Only use water and a clean cloth or brush to clean the tank, don’t use any chemicals or detergent, because even small amounts could harm your Aqua Dragons.
WHAT LIGHT CONDITIONS SHOULD I KEEP THE TANK IN FOR THE WATER TO BE IDEAL?
When salt water is too cold it can go cloudy white. If this could be the reason move your tank to a sunny, warm window or above a radiator or under a lamp. In hot summer your tanks should get indirect sunlight, in cold winter place them on a sunny window sill, the sunnier position the better, keep the water between 17ºC and 30ºC.
HOW CAN I CHANGE MY AQUA DRAGONS WATER?
The Aqua Dragons water has a special ph and salinity level that is established by the contents of the Aqua Dragons eggs sachet, so please do not change their water for tap water or bottled water. Only change the water following one of the options below:
Either use sea water from the sea, or purchase salt water from an aquarium store. (Note, It does not work to mix kitchen salt with water).
Or
Make new clear water using a packet of Aqua Dragons eggs with 400ml of bottled water and set up a new body of water.
Then, you can then carefully fish out your Aqua Dragons from your murky water and transfer them into the clear new sea water using the wide end pipette or a teaspoon. After you do so, you should give them a spoonful of food as the new water probably has little nutrition for the Aqua Dragons to filter feed from.
THERE IS SEDIMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK, CAN I CLEAN IT AWAY?
The sediment at the bottom of the tank is algae, poop and dead Aqua Dragons. There may also be your next generation of Aqua Dragons eggs in there. This does not need to be removed, it is part of the ecosystem. If it really bugs you, you can use the pipette to suck up some of the sediment and remove it from the tank. Replace the water by topping up with a little bottled water.
