Cant seem to keep shrimp

stone

stone

Member
I cant seem to keep any shrimp other than a pistol shrimp with out them disappearing. I have a 90 gallon 55 gallon sump 150 lb live rock. Been up for 2 years I have never lost a fish due to sickness. I few jumped out or got stuck in a power head, ect I cant seem to keep Emerald Crabs ,Coral Banded Shrimp , cleaner shrimp, or any shrimp they just disapear after a few days. Hermit crabes and snales thrive in my system. Is it one of my fish maybe ?
Ph=8.4
Ammonia=0
Nitrates=.5
Nitrites=0
Salinity-1.023
These are the fish I have.
1 convict tang 4 inch
1 Red Stripe Goby 3 inch (big mouth LOL)
1 pistol shrimp
1 perc clown
2 pajama cards
1 Bicolor Blenny
1 Royal Gramma
many hermit crabs, snales
2 brittle stars
1 Serpent Starfish
thanks
 
dfox

dfox

Member
I am no expert, and you probably already thought of this, but here's a couple thoughts. Do your shrimps ever molt? If not, have you been supplementing Iodine? Also, what are your calcium levels?
About a month after cycling completed, I added a peppermint shrimp. It lasted about 2 weeks. However, lately I have been supplementing Iodine. So far, my cleaner shrimp has been happy, and it has molted once. Also, my calcium is at 400.
 
debbie

debbie

Active Member
What about the pistol shrimp are they aggressive towards other shrimp?
I don't know myself just a thought... :thinking:
 
stone

stone

Member
Thanks for the reply's I have never tested my calcium , because I just started with corals I will get a test kit ASAP. As far at the pistol I only see him about once a week if im luckey. One thing, one time I had a hermit crab stuck in a power head he was alive but had left his shell. i got him out and called my 7 year old son over and said" watch this crab go back in its shell" I dropped them in the bottom and to my sons horror the Goby flashed out like a sea monster and ate the crab whole :scared:
 
stone

stone

Member
Originally Posted by Mikeyjer
How are you acclimating these shrimp??? :happyfish

I just put them in a bowl and every 10 mins or so I take out some water and add my tank water. I quess over the course of an hour or so.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by Mikeyjer
How are you acclimating these shrimp??? :happyfish
Same thing I was thinking.
 
mikeyjer

mikeyjer

Active Member
Originally Posted by Stone
I just put them in a bowl and every 10 mins or so I take out some water and add my tank water. I quess over the course of an hour or so.
I do it every 15 min for about 3 times then dump the shrimp in...I'm BAD!!! lol...They survive for me just fine though. The drip acclimating process is better, I've done that before and it works great. Is there any running fans or air vents around the bowl during this process?? There could be a couple of things going on....Another thing would be food, did you feed them at all? :happyfish
 
uberlink

uberlink

Active Member
Your salinity might be a bit low. My understanding is that inverts thrive at a specific gravity closer to 1.025-1.026. You could consider GRADUALLY increasing your salinity by occasionally topping off with salt water instead of fresh. Just a thought.
 
stone

stone

Member
Well, I dont "feed" the shrimp I allways thought of them as part of the clean up crew

Was that bad?
thanks
mike
 
mikeyjer

mikeyjer

Active Member
Originally Posted by Stone
Well, I dont "feed" the shrimp I allways thought of them as part of the clean up crew

Was that bad?
thanks
mike
They are part of your cleanup crew, but still need to be fed. My Peppermint Shrimp begs for food when he's hungry. He's usually in the rocks hidden, but when he comes out looking, that's when he wants food. Sometimes he would dissappear for days without being seen, but suddenly one day he would come out begging until I feed, it may be just one day of feeding or daily feeding depending on how much food there is for him within the tank. Then he would disappear again. Have you checked your calcium? Done any water changes? I would bring that salinity up a bit like it was mentioned. Bring it up to 1.025-1.027 With so many living things within your tank, you have to make sure everyone gets enough to eat, everything scavenges within your tank, even pods, bristle worms, etc. I keep my tank well fed and I haven't had a problem keeping inverts alive. I make sure everyone gets a bite of something. :happyfish
 
saltnewbee

saltnewbee

New Member
Originally Posted by dfox
I am no expert, and you probably already thought of this, but here's a couple thoughts. Do your shrimps ever molt? If not, have you been supplementing Iodine? Also, what are your calcium levels?
About a month after cycling completed, I added a peppermint shrimp. It lasted about 2 weeks. However, lately I have been supplementing Iodine. So far, my cleaner shrimp has been happy, and it has molted once. Also, my calcium is at 400.

my friend told me about iodine but the guy at my lfs told me i don't need it without even testing my water or asking any questions about it. do you guys think iodine is a good idea?
 
wilsonreef

wilsonreef

Member
A 90 gallon tank with 150 lbs of live rock gives the critters all kinds of places to hide. I have 2 emerald crabs that were about the size of a nickle when I put them in, didn't see them for a while and one of them is about as big a a fifty cent piece. That boy has grown :scared: . my shrimp have no problems coming out into the open especially at feeding time. But remember there are plenty of places to hide. Do you see any "leftovers" to indicate that they may have been eaten? or have died? If not they are probably still in there. OH, how big are they?
 
dfox

dfox

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
In my opinion adding Iodine is a terrible idea.
BangGuy, can you elaborate on the iodine idea? The reason I ask is that my LFS told me that I need to be supplementing iodine to keep my shrimps happy. As you can see, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Thanks for any advice.
 
stone

stone

Member
Ok, I cant belive this, I havent seen a shrimp in 4 months and after I post I spot one
I spotted a shrimp 2 days in a row i Think it came with one of my cleaning crews, but it was much smaller then. It is red with a white stripe.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Stone, how high are your nitrates? I was battling nitrates a few months ago and that was the only time I have had trouble keeping shrimp alive.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by dfox
BangGuy, can you elaborate on the iodine idea? The reason I ask is that my LFS told me that I need to be supplementing iodine to keep my shrimps happy. As you can see, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Thanks for any advice.
Iodine is very toxic to Shrimp and other crustaceans. Iodine is in the water, in their food, etc. The way they export Iodine from their body is to store it in their shell. When they molt, they export all that Iodine.
If you dose Iodine you run the risk of overdosing. It's very very difficult to maintain 0.06ppm of Iodine levels. If fact, most tanks probably already have an excess from their salt mix and the foods they use. If Iodine is overdosed the Shrimp have to molt more often to export the Iodine from their bodies. It takes a lot of energy to molt and forcing them to molt is stressful.
I believe the myth that Shrimp require Iodine comes from the way they shed their exoskeleton soon after dosing Iodin in a tank. This isn't because they require Iodine to molt, it's the other way around - they are required to molt to prevent Iodine poisoning.
That's why I believe it's a terrible idea to add Iodine to get a Shrimp to molt.
 
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