All My Hermit Crabs Died...

Fishnthecorner · 11/27/2009, 07:35 AM

I bought a dozen red legged hermit crabs and within 48 hours, they all died. I tested my water: Temp 80 degrees, salinity 1.022, Ph 8.4-8.6, O ppm amonia, 0 ppm Nitrate and nitrite. All fish seem very healthy and happy along with the snails... And I also havent seen my sally lightfoot in a few days... What could cause this?

cjj14u · 11/27/2009, 08:07 AM

How did you aclimate them? Inverts are VERY sensitive to salinity change.....

Fishnthecorner · 11/27/2009, 08:33 AM

Just like I do fish, floated the bag for a few minutes, then slowly dumped them in...

mnchartier · 11/27/2009, 08:46 AM

Normally with inverts I float the bag for 30 minutes then drip for about 45-90 minutes depending on the difference in parameters of the bag's water to mine.

cjj14u · 11/27/2009, 08:47 AM

I'm pretty sure that is the reason they died. Inverts need to be "drip" aclimated over a period of 2 hours or so.....

sedor · 11/27/2009, 08:54 AM

Hmm...i've always just temp acclimated and dumped my hermits in, and never really had a major loss like that. Possibly my LFS keeps around the same salinity as me.

bearpeidog · 11/27/2009, 08:54 AM

Copper Kills.

sc reefer · 11/27/2009, 08:56 AM

IMO hermit crabs and all inverts should not be kept in salinities under 1.024 or so.

Toly · 11/27/2009, 10:20 AM

+1 on acclimation.. you need to acclimate them for couple of hours first. Not necessarily drip acclimation but gradual additions of your water to the bag.

The Crowing · 11/27/2009, 11:01 AM

It is possible that they were not acclimated long enough, but I find that most hermits are exceptionally hardy. Perhaps your water parameters were greatly different than the dealer's tank. It is always good to drip acclimate tho. However, bearpeidog brings up a good point. Copper is incredibly toxic to inverts. Have you ever used any kind of copper product in your tank perhaps to treat fish? Meds that use heavy metals have a nasty habit of being absorbed into substrates and rockwork even if you are using carbon. They can linger in small quantities for a long time after you are done using them.

bertoni · 11/27/2009, 11:04 AM

That salinity is very low, but not low enough to kill that quickly. The problem might have been acclimation, or there might be some copper in the tank. If you can get a PolyFilter easily, that would help detect small amounts of copper, and remove some of it, as well.

Fishnthecorner · 11/27/2009, 11:18 AM

I really douby there is any copper. I have never used any meds in the tank, and no pennies... I have a poly filter. I will raise the salinity, and try again, with drip acclimation. Thanks guys.

rcranf1 · 11/27/2009, 02:34 PM

how do u deal with the temp change when drip acclimating ur fish. I mean i keep my tank around 80-81 but when i drip the fish after about an hour the temp is dooown to 73 in the bucket or even further

Daemonfly · 11/27/2009, 02:47 PM

I use a small heater.

mnchartier · 11/27/2009, 02:48 PM

The container I use sits in my sump so the temp does not drop much at all. I use a plastic trash can and clamp it to the side of my sump (100 Gal stock tank).

dudley moray · 11/27/2009, 03:02 PM

how long is the trip from lfs to home ? i have literally taken all my hermits out of the bag and tossed them in with no fatalities same for snails. what elements do you dose ? how long did it take for all to perish as in they all died at the same time or one every hour etc are there any survivors even one? what is your stocking list ?can you provide a pic of this event ? i have a few hunches but no solid ideas...do you use tap water ?? do you have a pistol shrimp , where did your live rock come from geographically ?

johny · 11/27/2009, 10:40 PM

From what I have experience, if you just toss them in after you temp acclimated they will live for months but if you drip acclimated they live over a year plus.

You could have bought them the same day the LFS got them in and got stress out from double shock if they just toss them in their tanks.

Are there remains still in the shell so to eliminate a possible predator?

Johnnydee · 11/27/2009, 10:47 PM

Man, i'm sorry. I guess learn from mistakes and prevent them in the future.

Korrine · 11/27/2009, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dudley moray

do you have a pistol shrimp ,

I have a pistol shrimp and it's not a snail or hermit killer

I drip acclimate for an hour. My peppermint shrimps for 2.5 hrs.

I just took this tonight

jenjen · 11/28/2009, 01:54 AM

I agree with previous posters that acclimation may be to blame. A good rule of thumb is to test the water params from the LFS and in your tank, and acclimate longer when the params vary by a great deal. I have one LFS who's params are very close to mine, in which case I acclimate for less than 30 mins. I also have one LFS who keeps their SG quite low, in which case I acclimate closer to 2 hours. Inverts are particularly sensitive to changes in water chemistry, so longer acclimation is usually a good idea.

TRichardson79 · 11/28/2009, 02:34 AM

perhaps I need to start drip acclimating inverts also. My first batch I just temp acclimated and dropped them in. 5 astreas, 5 nerites and 2 hermits. And they are all perfectly healthy. And growing quite a bit. I dunno, maybe I got lucky.

Arkayology · 11/28/2009, 03:30 AM

+1 for the acclimation. It is a bad idea to just dump anything into your tank cold turkey.

Maxi · 11/28/2009, 09:58 AM

Yeah, i've lost a gobie due to acclimation.

Slow it down, there is no rush. And if there is - wait for another day. Hermits don't ever run out.

Also, test for copper.

Falconeer · 11/28/2009, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc reefer

IMO hermit crabs and all inverts should not be kept in salinities under 1.024 or so.

+1

I keep my tank at about 1.026 SG and have drip acclimated all my inverts for 2.5, or 3 hours. I have had no losses and every single one of them seems healthy as ever.

dudley moray · 11/28/2009, 10:50 PM

i don't believe acclimation has anything to do with this hermits and snails are just not that sensitive i do the toss right out of the bag no temp acc and all mine are alive and well and breeding for years i think there may be either copper leaching out of your water pipes or perhaps maybe a mantis maybe a spearer if no snapping is heard also yes pistols being nearly blind will kill unwary hermits if the come to close in the dark mine has killed three and three emeralds as well !!!

11/27/2009, 07:35 AM	#1
Fishnthecorner Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: United States Posts: 430	All My Hermit Crabs Died... I bought a dozen red legged hermit crabs and within 48 hours, they all died. I tested my water: Temp 80 degrees, salinity 1.022, Ph 8.4-8.6, O ppm amonia, 0 ppm Nitrate and nitrite. All fish seem very healthy and happy along with the snails... And I also havent seen my sally lightfoot in a few days... What could cause this?

11/27/2009, 08:54 AM	#6
sedor Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 4,689	Hmm...i've always just temp acclimated and dumped my hermits in, and never really had a major loss like that. Possibly my LFS keeps around the same salinity as me. __________________ Ryan

11/27/2009, 08:54 AM	#7
bearpeidog Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Milton, Vermont Posts: 560	Copper? Copper Kills.

11/27/2009, 11:04 AM	#11
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	That salinity is very low, but not low enough to kill that quickly. The problem might have been acclimation, or there might be some copper in the tank. If you can get a PolyFilter easily, that would help detect small amounts of copper, and remove some of it, as well. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/27/2009, 03:02 PM	#16
dudley moray sisternofuselessknowledge Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: orillia ontario Posts: 795	how long is the trip from lfs to home ? i have literally taken all my hermits out of the bag and tossed them in with no fatalities same for snails. what elements do you dose ? how long did it take for all to perish as in they all died at the same time or one every hour etc are there any survivors even one? what is your stocking list ?can you provide a pic of this event ? i have a few hunches but no solid ideas...do you use tap water ?? do you have a pistol shrimp , where did your live rock come from geographically ? __________________ We urge hobbyists to develop a good 'BS' detector that will allow you to question information presented to you without any experimental evidence to support it. chris Current Tank Info: 90 gal south pacific biotope 40 gal sump/fuge ,65 gal rebuilding

11/27/2009, 08:07 AM	#2
cjj14u Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 147	How did you aclimate them? Inverts are VERY sensitive to salinity change.....

11/27/2009, 08:33 AM	#3
Fishnthecorner Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: United States Posts: 430	Just like I do fish, floated the bag for a few minutes, then slowly dumped them in...

11/27/2009, 08:46 AM	#4
mnchartier Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oh look a river Posts: 458	Normally with inverts I float the bag for 30 minutes then drip for about 45-90 minutes depending on the difference in parameters of the bag's water to mine.

11/27/2009, 08:47 AM	#5
cjj14u Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 147	I'm pretty sure that is the reason they died. Inverts need to be "drip" aclimated over a period of 2 hours or so.....

11/27/2009, 08:56 AM	#8
sc reefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 99	IMO hermit crabs and all inverts should not be kept in salinities under 1.024 or so.

11/27/2009, 10:20 AM	#9
Toly Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: NY Posts: 85	+1 on acclimation.. you need to acclimate them for couple of hours first. Not necessarily drip acclimation but gradual additions of your water to the bag.

11/27/2009, 11:01 AM	#10
The Crowing Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Dallas Posts: 16	It is possible that they were not acclimated long enough, but I find that most hermits are exceptionally hardy. Perhaps your water parameters were greatly different than the dealer's tank. It is always good to drip acclimate tho. However, bearpeidog brings up a good point. Copper is incredibly toxic to inverts. Have you ever used any kind of copper product in your tank perhaps to treat fish? Meds that use heavy metals have a nasty habit of being absorbed into substrates and rockwork even if you are using carbon. They can linger in small quantities for a long time after you are done using them.

11/27/2009, 11:18 AM	#12
Fishnthecorner Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: United States Posts: 430	I really douby there is any copper. I have never used any meds in the tank, and no pennies... I have a poly filter. I will raise the salinity, and try again, with drip acclimation. Thanks guys.

11/27/2009, 02:34 PM	#13
rcranf1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ft Lewis WA Posts: 319	how do u deal with the temp change when drip acclimating ur fish. I mean i keep my tank around 80-81 but when i drip the fish after about an hour the temp is dooown to 73 in the bucket or even further

11/27/2009, 02:47 PM	#14
Daemonfly Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Pa Posts: 806	I use a small heater.

11/27/2009, 02:48 PM	#15
mnchartier Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oh look a river Posts: 458	The container I use sits in my sump so the temp does not drop much at all. I use a plastic trash can and clamp it to the side of my sump (100 Gal stock tank).

11/27/2009, 10:40 PM	#17
johny Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Glen Cove NY Posts: 40	From what I have experience, if you just toss them in after you temp acclimated they will live for months but if you drip acclimated they live over a year plus. You could have bought them the same day the LFS got them in and got stress out from double shock if they just toss them in their tanks. Are there remains still in the shell so to eliminate a possible predator?

11/27/2009, 10:47 PM	#18
Johnnydee Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 50	Man, i'm sorry. I guess learn from mistakes and prevent them in the future.

11/28/2009, 01:54 AM	#20
jenjen Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Langley BC, Canada Posts: 1,710	I agree with previous posters that acclimation may be to blame. A good rule of thumb is to test the water params from the LFS and in your tank, and acclimate longer when the params vary by a great deal. I have one LFS who's params are very close to mine, in which case I acclimate for less than 30 mins. I also have one LFS who keeps their SG quite low, in which case I acclimate closer to 2 hours. Inverts are particularly sensitive to changes in water chemistry, so longer acclimation is usually a good idea. __________________ "Challenges forge the greatness in you" Current Tank Info: 180gal softy reef (Apr '09)

11/28/2009, 02:34 AM	#21
TRichardson79 Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 112	perhaps I need to start drip acclimating inverts also. My first batch I just temp acclimated and dropped them in. 5 astreas, 5 nerites and 2 hermits. And they are all perfectly healthy. And growing quite a bit. I dunno, maybe I got lucky.

11/28/2009, 03:30 AM	#22
Arkayology Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,597	+1 for the acclimation. It is a bad idea to just dump anything into your tank cold turkey.

11/28/2009, 09:58 AM	#23
Maxi Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 1,381	Yeah, i've lost a gobie due to acclimation. Slow it down, there is no rush. And if there is - wait for another day. Hermits don't ever run out. Also, test for copper.

11/28/2009, 10:50 PM	#25
dudley moray sisternofuselessknowledge Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: orillia ontario Posts: 795	i don't believe acclimation has anything to do with this hermits and snails are just not that sensitive i do the toss right out of the bag no temp acc and all mine are alive and well and breeding for years i think there may be either copper leaching out of your water pipes or perhaps maybe a mantis maybe a spearer if no snapping is heard also yes pistols being nearly blind will kill unwary hermits if the come to close in the dark mine has killed three and three emeralds as well !!! __________________ We urge hobbyists to develop a good 'BS' detector that will allow you to question information presented to you without any experimental evidence to support it. chris Current Tank Info: 90 gal south pacific biotope 40 gal sump/fuge ,65 gal rebuilding