How did my cleaner shrimp die

[frink]

I just bought my cleaner shrimp today (Scarlet Skunk). It looked fine and active at the lfs. I brought him home and was very patient with the transfer. I had him floating in his bag for over an hour adding a little bit of water every 5 minutes. I had the lights off for a few hours and when they turned on I noticed that he was dead. He wasn't hassled by his tank mates and I just checked the water quality and all was fine.
NH4 -0
pH 8.3
NO3 less than 5
NO2 0.1
Salinity 1.024
Temp 78
Phosphate 0
He was dead in under 2 hours. What else could it have been.
Rick

 

[maroonclownfan]

Could have been several things.
1)You have Nitrites in your tank.(judging by your params)
2)Shrimp are very sensative to salinity.
3)Water quality.
4)Good old fashioned shock
5)presence of heavy metals in the water (this happened to me when using well water, fish were fine but inverts suffered, problem solved now)
I had a CBS do the same thing to me. He was cool for a couple hours, then he was gone. I found it to be my water source. Softened well water......no more, new water now.
Shrimp can be delicate so it is a hard call........MCF

 

[frink]

Is there a way to check if i have any heavy metals in the water? Is that the same as water hardness. I do have other inverts such as hermit crabs, astrea snails and an urchin and they all seem fine.
Rick

 

[newreefers]

He may have molted just prior to you getting him. That might have made him a little more vulnerable. Just a thought - it might not be your tank.

 

[fishfreek]

I agree with what both the previous posters said. It very well may have molted shortly before you aquired it. They are very sensitive after this occurs and more than likely is what happened. It may also be because of shock or rapid salinity change, but you said you acclaimed the shrimp slowly to your system. It happened to me once and i chalked it up to the molting issue. They're expensive and it's too bad that it happened. Sorry.

 

[frink]

Thanks for the answers. I've checked other posts as well and a common theme is about how difficult shrimp are to acclimate. When do you think I should give it another stab. I want one in for my tang. This time let it acclimate longer. Or should I wait a few weeks eventhough water seems to be okay? Anybody have any experience. I don't want another quick death. Is there a way to check for heavy metals such as copper (eventhough I have never used the stuff). Thanks for any help.
Rick

 

[newreefers]

you can test for trace elements like copper. check and see if your lfs can do, if not get a test kit. I would say try again. Look at their antennas, right after my shrimp molt their antennas are a little droopy. might be a sign. just acclimate very slowly - 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. I have 5 shrimp and haven't lost one yet.

 

[col]

Frink
It is definitely the shrimp you have found and not the moulting?
If the shrimp molted it would probably be hiding as it is vulnerable at this stage.

 

[jferrier]

What else do you have in there? I lost a couple cleaners and was beginning to think it had to be the water quality. Turned out it was a pseudochromis w/ a taste for cleaner shrimp.

 

[frink]

Thanks for all the replies but I found the correct answer. After my shrimp died I redid all my tests (NH3, NO2, salt...) and all checked fine. So I brought some water to my lfs and he did the checks. Well apparently my hydrometer was giving me a false reading. I had a 1.024 but the lfs measured 1.016. Quite a big range. So I tossed the old one out and starting the slow process of bringing my gravity up. About 0.001 per day. I am in no rush. I figure since my fish lasted this long with such low gravity. Thanks for the help.