Scarlet cleaner shrimp dead.

FishysPlace · 07/31/2013, 11:17 AM

Wow! It's been a cruddy week for my tank! First I lost my new hammer coral in 2 days. Now my newly added cleaner shrimp was found shredded and dismembered this morning!
I've checked the water like 3 times since Sunday! Had the LFS check my water on Monday!
What's going on? Why am I experiencing this?
It's a 20g Long, with 2-18" T-8 bulbs, a 100w heater, 20 gal HOB carbon filter, and a Aqueon circ pump.
Everything was great before the tank transfer on Sunday. I went from a 10 to the 20.
I'll check the water again after work but honestly don't expect there to be any problem.
Livestock; 1-Blue Devil Damsel, 2-Emerald Crabs, 5-Blue Legged Crabs, 1-Turbo Snail, 1 or 2 bristle worms that snuck in on me.
Only have a zoa frag in the tank right now.
What's going on? I am really at wits end this week and its only Wednesday.

bnumair · 07/31/2013, 11:39 AM

if there was no water parameter issues due to move then could it be molting? or are you posstive of shrimp being dead?

Cymonous · 07/31/2013, 12:06 PM

Yeah, could be a molt actually. Pretty common after shrimp are in tank for a week or so.

FishysPlace · 07/31/2013, 04:29 PM

Well, I doubt it was a molt. I found what appears to be shrimp "meat" in the tank. The shell was dark rather then clear like previous molts on the prior camel back I traded it for.
Could it be the emerald crabs? Or maybe the bristle worm?
I'd think he'd be fast enough to escape either.
Or maybe it just was ill.
I drip acclimated it over an hour and emptied half the water out around 30 mins. This has always worked for me before.
When I lost my other shrimp it was due to rapid change in salinity. I have not done anything to mess with the salinity as I am letting it get back up to 1.025 from 1.022 that it is currently.
The shrimp was fine for about 6 hours before lights went out and about 10 hours later when the lights cut back on, he was in pieces.

This pic shows the shrimp meat to the left of the empty crab shell.

FishysPlace · 07/31/2013, 04:30 PM

Here is the head of the shell.

FishysPlace · 07/31/2013, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnumair

if there was no water parameter issues due to move then could it be molting? or are you posstive of shrimp being dead?

I'm taking a water sample to a different LFS to have tested.
I just tested the water for the 4th day in a row.

PH 8.0-8.2
Salinity 1.022
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 0
Nitrite 0

API Test kit

Same result using the dip stick tester.

Water temp 76-78

RA · 07/31/2013, 05:42 PM

The salinity of 1.022 is probably your problem with the coral and shrimp. It should be 1.025.

FishysPlace · 07/31/2013, 05:48 PM

The coral was tipped onto its head. The shrimp was slowly acclimated (a little over an hour) using 1 drip per second from my tank into the LFS water. Shouldn't that have helped it properly acclimate?
I am letting the tank evaporate and will top off with some 1.025 water. I am not adding anything until its back up.

FishysPlace · 07/31/2013, 05:52 PM

What about this hitch hiker? Apistacia(sp?)
Could he have killed the shrimp?

Josh40996 · 07/31/2013, 05:57 PM

Hello fellow reefer!

First I would like to say that I am sorry for your loss. I am a little tired at the min so sorry if you have already mentioned this, are you using RO/DI water for top offs and water changes? If not, copper may have entered your system and killed your shrimp.

I would also like to address your lighting. T-8 are pretty crap and won't be too good in lighting a reef tank and so may cause problems with your coral.

You say that your perameters are 0, 0, and 0? Honestly, I doubt those perameters are anywhere near close to the actual numbers as it is very difficult to achieve 0 nitrate without any algae growth. You may want to seriously think about investing in a quality liquid test kit to get some accurate numbers and may help solve your problems.

Don't loose hope, keep on reefing and good luck!

hossa81 · 07/31/2013, 06:08 PM

Same thing happened to me. I lost a fox coral, mushroom coral, and scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp in the first few months. I lost a few fish too. It can take some time to get used to the hobby, but its all worth it in the end.

shifty51008 · 07/31/2013, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RA

The salinity of 1.022 is probably your problem with the coral and shrimp. It should be 1.025.

I doubt that is the reason, i run my mixed reef tank with skunk cleaner shrimp and all diffrent types of corals at 1.022 because of my clownfish eggs and everything does great.

robotman · 07/31/2013, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FishysPlace

I'm taking a water sample to a different LFS to have tested.
I just tested the water for the 4th day in a row.

PH 8.0-8.2
Salinity 1.022
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 0
Nitrite 0

API Test kit

Same result using the dip stick tester.

Water temp 76-78

yeah change your t8 to at least a t5, and salinity may be a problem but it never bothered my cleaner shrimp for a couple months, but one did die, other is still lively and added another one, but i think that was from the constant ich attack i added. how far did you place your hammer coral from the top of the light after introducing. the t8 isnt enough lighting for a hammer.

Spork3245 · 07/31/2013, 10:28 PM

This may sound ridiculous but are you sure those are emerald crabs? Cleaner shrimp are extremely hardy in my experience. Sounds like something hunted and killed the shrimp, not the water parameters.

FishysPlace · 08/01/2013, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spork3245

This may sound ridiculous but are you sure those are emerald crabs? Cleaner shrimp are extremely hardy in my experience. Sounds like something hunted and killed the shrimp, not the water parameters.

I'm 100% sure that's what try we're sold to me as. Lol.
They are emerald green with red in between their shell joints. The pinchers are oval pad shaped on the tips. They have yellow hair on their legs. I'll get a picture when I can

FishysPlace · 08/01/2013, 05:40 PM

Is it or is it not?

shifty51008 · 08/01/2013, 08:14 PM

Yeah thats an emerald crab

Spork3245 · 08/02/2013, 09:35 AM

Def an Emerald crab. It's always still possible that the crab(s) could have attacked it, they are opportunistic after-all (though it's more unlikely with this type of crab).
It could also be that there's not enough iodine in the water and they are dying during an attempted molt?
The salinity is fine btw, I keep my tank at 1.022-1.023 with no problems for my inverts (FOWLR)

07/31/2013, 11:17 AM	#1
FishysPlace Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 118	Scarlet cleaner shrimp dead. Wow! It's been a cruddy week for my tank! First I lost my new hammer coral in 2 days. Now my newly added cleaner shrimp was found shredded and dismembered this morning! I've checked the water like 3 times since Sunday! Had the LFS check my water on Monday! What's going on? Why am I experiencing this? It's a 20g Long, with 2-18" T-8 bulbs, a 100w heater, 20 gal HOB carbon filter, and a Aqueon circ pump. Everything was great before the tank transfer on Sunday. I went from a 10 to the 20. I'll check the water again after work but honestly don't expect there to be any problem. Livestock; 1-Blue Devil Damsel, 2-Emerald Crabs, 5-Blue Legged Crabs, 1-Turbo Snail, 1 or 2 bristle worms that snuck in on me. Only have a zoa frag in the tank right now. What's going on? I am really at wits end this week and its only Wednesday.

07/31/2013, 11:39 AM	#2
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	if there was no water parameter issues due to move then could it be molting? or are you posstive of shrimp being dead? __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

07/31/2013, 12:06 PM	#3
Cymonous My Clown Attacks Me Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Akron, OH Posts: 2,105	Yeah, could be a molt actually. Pretty common after shrimp are in tank for a week or so. __________________ 100 Gallon Long with 20L sump 10 Gallon Office Tank Current Tank Info: 2 False Percula Clowns, One Spot Foxface, Diamond Watchman Goby, Yellow Tail Damsel, Engineer Goby

07/31/2013, 05:57 PM	#10
Josh40996 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 415	Scarlet cleaner shrimp dead. Hello fellow reefer! First I would like to say that I am sorry for your loss. I am a little tired at the min so sorry if you have already mentioned this, are you using RO/DI water for top offs and water changes? If not, copper may have entered your system and killed your shrimp. I would also like to address your lighting. T-8 are pretty crap and won't be too good in lighting a reef tank and so may cause problems with your coral. You say that your perameters are 0, 0, and 0? Honestly, I doubt those perameters are anywhere near close to the actual numbers as it is very difficult to achieve 0 nitrate without any algae growth. You may want to seriously think about investing in a quality liquid test kit to get some accurate numbers and may help solve your problems. Don't loose hope, keep on reefing and good luck!

07/31/2013, 06:08 PM	#11
hossa81 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Geneva,IL Posts: 900	Same thing happened to me. I lost a fox coral, mushroom coral, and scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp in the first few months. I lost a few fish too. It can take some time to get used to the hobby, but its all worth it in the end. __________________ Enjoy life, there's plenty of time to be dead. Current Tank Info: 180 FOWLR, 29 BioCube

07/31/2013, 05:42 PM	#7
RA Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: S. Jersey Posts: 976	The salinity of 1.022 is probably your problem with the coral and shrimp. It should be 1.025.

07/31/2013, 05:48 PM	#8
FishysPlace Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 118	The coral was tipped onto its head. The shrimp was slowly acclimated (a little over an hour) using 1 drip per second from my tank into the LFS water. Shouldn't that have helped it properly acclimate? I am letting the tank evaporate and will top off with some 1.025 water. I am not adding anything until its back up.

07/31/2013, 10:28 PM	#14
Spork3245 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: South Central New Jersey Posts: 1,088	This may sound ridiculous but are you sure those are emerald crabs? Cleaner shrimp are extremely hardy in my experience. Sounds like something hunted and killed the shrimp, not the water parameters.

08/01/2013, 08:14 PM	#17
shifty51008 12-5 Chiefs record Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 10,134	Yeah thats an emerald crab __________________ 75 gal. mixed DT, 100 gal. sump, 50 gal. fuge, Clownfish breeder

08/02/2013, 09:35 AM	#18
Spork3245 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: South Central New Jersey Posts: 1,088	Def an Emerald crab. It's always still possible that the crab(s) could have attacked it, they are opportunistic after-all (though it's more unlikely with this type of crab). It could also be that there's not enough iodine in the water and they are dying during an attempted molt? The salinity is fine btw, I keep my tank at 1.022-1.023 with no problems for my inverts (FOWLR)