Coral Banded Shrimp Question!! Advice needed

[ousoonerfan]

Hey everyone I am new to this forum and saltwater setups. I currently have a 20 gallon long setup with a Yellow tail damsel and a percula clown. a few day ago I purchased a Coral Banded Srimp and acclimated him to my aquarium. Doing all the steps suggested on this board. Well 4 hours later the shrimp was dead upside down. Hres the specifics on the tank. It used to be a fresh water tank that my buddy gave me so I figured that I would try saltwater. I have a penguin 330 filter and power head, not sure what kind and a 50/50 light. Alos I have 8 ponds of fiji live rock and crushed coral as the substrate. the saltwater setup is about 2 months old. and I had the local fish store test my water and everything was fine. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
-Thanks Mark Harris

 

[nick17]

Do you have any testing kits at home? If not, go out and get a complete kit. Do you have calcium and pH/alkalinity additives for the LR?
How big was the shrimp? Have you taken him to the LFS and they can "try" and tell you what happened to him.. ie. got beat up, not right chemicals etc.
If you have a testing kit at home.. post your results..
The damsel (I believe was the first fish you added, correct? can be territorial to newcomers and may nip/bite anything that comes close to its "terrority". Same with the clown.. they can nip/bite at things too..
There's just a bunch of reasons why it could have died.. i'm trying to narrow it down..
-Nick

 

[finfin2003]

I am sorry to hear about your loss.
I have a coral band but have had very good luck with him since I got him.
This is probably pretty far fetched, buy I didn't know mine would do this when I was new to him, do you have a lot of rock work????
If so , and as I said could be far fetched... is it possible he moted and thats what you are seeing dead? Could he be hiding up under a rock somewheres???
This probably not the case, I amjust tring to look on the bright side!
you should really post your water conditions

 

[nm reef]

Without additional info on your system advise would be a guess...but since you requested advice...I'd urge you to get some reliable test kits(ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/PH/calcium/alkalinity) and become familiar with them. It is vital to be able to monitor and adjust if needed these levels. One of the basic steps in establishing a marine system is the ability to establish and maintain stable water chemistry...and without these tests things become a shot in the dark.
NMREEF website
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nmreef@cox.net

 

[cb]

Welcome to the board. I am sorry to hear about your coral banded they are one reason I always wanted a saltwater tank I think they are fun to watch but I haven't had very good luck with them myself. The first one I had was very large so was probably old and died a few months after I got it but the second one was young and was doing well then one morning found it dead on the bottom. Was very sad. I noticed that you have cc for substrate you might want to consider live sand instead you will find that it is easier to control your nitrates than with crushed coral.( IMO) I also noticed you are an OU fan where are you located?

 

[ousoonerfan]

thanks for all the advice. I test my water one or twice a week at the fish store but I plan to get my own test kit. PH 8.2 Nitrate 0 Nitrite 0 Ammonia .25 this thest was taken 2 days after i put the percula in. I put the percula in at the same time as the CBS. Oh.. and CB I am located in Norman, and I currently attend OU. If anyone else has suggestions on the CBS just let me know.
-Thanks Mark Harris

 

[the claw]

Could have been an acclimation problem. They are fairly sensitive to changes in salinity and ph. Did you follow the "correct" acclimation procedure? Just a thought. Sorry about the loss.

 

[lobstergrabber]

Just a thought. could the tank hav e had copper used in ti before? I read all kinds of things where poeple are throwing tanks away because they have had copper in them. Might be worth checking before wasting money and life on more inverts.
Rich