Shrimp keep dying??

I hope someone out there can give me an idea what's going on in my tank. I
have a 29 gallon reef/fish tank with approx.15-20 lbs live rock. It's been
set up for about 10 months. After I had it set up I bought a pepperment
shrimp who got big and was thriving. I found him dead recently in my tank
with no apparent injury. I rubbed it off that he was old. I since had
purchased 2 cleaner shrimps at different times and lost both of them within
a week after buying each of them. Again no apparent injury. Salinity is 24,
PH 8.0, no nitrites or ammonia. Nitrates around 60.(It's always been around
this point since setting it up) I added a few corals to the tank a month or
so ago. I have a damsel, 2 clown fish, clown goby, 2 crabs and a turbo
snail that have lived in the tank a long time and doing well. The guy at
the pet store thought maybe it was a mantis shrimp killing them. I haven't
seen any in my tank and assume they would eat the shrimp if they did kill
them?? Anybody have any ideas what is killing off the shrimps?

Thanks--Susan

I can't guarantee that nitrates are the problem here but one of my books
suggest that nitrates should be below 10 ppm for cleaner shrimp.

Certainly if you intend to keep a few soft corals, you need to get the
nitrates down below 10 ppm and much lower for more sensitive species. I
don't know what filtration you have other than the live rock but I would
suggest adding another 10 to 20 of lbs of fully cured (and quarantined) live
rock and when it has settled remove any canister, trickle or wet/dry filters
you may have gradually (if you have one, keep the canister for
carbon/phosphate filters but remove the biological filters and sponges). You
need to make sure that you have enough water flow over the rock (minimum 150
gallons per hour for your size tank and preferably 300 galls per hour).

I hope it helps.

Mark

IMO,

Your nitrates are too high. Also, you need to test for copper.
If you have copper, use a SeaChem cuprisorb bag to get rid of it. It can be
regenerated and used indefinitely if necessary.

CW

"Susan" wrote in message
...
I hope someone out there can give me an idea what's going on in my tank. I
have a 29 gallon reef/fish tank with approx.15-20 lbs live rock. It's been
set up for about 10 months. After I had it set up I bought a pepperment
shrimp who got big and was thriving. I found him dead recently in my tank
with no apparent injury. I rubbed it off that he was old. I since had
purchased 2 cleaner shrimps at different times and lost both of them within
a week after buying each of them. Again no apparent injury. Salinity is 24,
PH 8.0, no nitrites or ammonia. Nitrates around 60.(It's always been
around this point since setting it up) I added a few corals to the tank a
month or so ago. I have a damsel, 2 clown fish, clown goby, 2 crabs and a
turbo snail that have lived in the tank a long time and doing well. The
guy at the pet store thought maybe it was a mantis shrimp killing them. I
haven't seen any in my tank and assume they would eat the shrimp if they
did kill them?? Anybody have any ideas what is killing off the shrimps?

Thanks--Susan

Thanks guys for the help. I actually did buy more live rock today. I
currently am running a Fluval 204 canister filter. I added a new poly pad
also in hopes it will help lower nitrates and take out any metals and I
changed some water in the tank. I'll wait a bit and check the nitrates
again. Is it a possibility that I may have a mantis shrimp that could be
killing off my shrimp?

Thanks--Susan
"CheezWiz" wrote in message
...
IMO,

Your nitrates are too high. Also, you need to test for copper.
If you have copper, use a SeaChem cuprisorb bag to get rid of it. It can
be regenerated and used indefinitely if necessary.

CW

"Susan" wrote in message
...
I hope someone out there can give me an idea what's going on in my tank.
I have a 29 gallon reef/fish tank with approx.15-20 lbs live rock. It's
been set up for about 10 months. After I had it set up I bought a
pepperment shrimp who got big and was thriving. I found him dead recently
in my tank with no apparent injury. I rubbed it off that he was old. I
since had purchased 2 cleaner shrimps at different times and lost both of
them within a week after buying each of them. Again no apparent injury.
Salinity is 24, PH 8.0, no nitrites or ammonia. Nitrates around 60.(It's
always been around this point since setting it up) I added a few corals
to the tank a month or so ago. I have a damsel, 2 clown fish, clown goby,
2 crabs and a turbo snail that have lived in the tank a long time and
doing well. The guy at the pet store thought maybe it was a mantis shrimp
killing them. I haven't seen any in my tank and assume they would eat the
shrimp if they did kill them?? Anybody have any ideas what is killing off
the shrimps?

Thanks--Susan

"Susan" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks guys for the help. I actually did buy more live rock today.
I currently am running a Fluval 204 canister filter. I added a new
poly pad also in hopes it will help lower nitrates and take out any
metals and I changed some water in the tank. I'll wait a bit and
check the nitrates again. Is it a possibility that I may have a
mantis shrimp that could be killing off my shrimp?


I would agree with the others, the nitrates are high, and may be
contributing to the short life of your shrimp. If there was a mantis,
you'd be able to tell. A cleaner shrimp done in by a mantis would
most likely be in more than one piece when he was done with it. g
The canister may be contributing to your high nitrates. The
bacteria on the polypads are great for converting ammonia to
nitrites, and nitrites to nitrate, but that's where it ends. Only
water changes, Live Rock, a DSB, algae scrubber or something on those
lines can do the rest. I'd go with Mark's suggestion to add the FULLY
CURED LR to your tank, (don't believe advertisments that say 'fully
cured', cure it yourself, trust me on this.) and lose the canister
very soon after that. I wouldn't try adding any livestock until you
make whatever changes needed to get those nitrates down. It would be
fine in a fish-only tank, but not in what you're striving for. Please
let us know if you need any assistance, or have any other questions!

billy

Thanks for all the help (You guys are great!!) I have my live rock curing
seperate from the tank right now. As soon as it's done curing I'll add it
in. After this do I just run the cansiter filter with only charcoal?

Thanks-Susan
"Billy" wrote in message
...



"Susan" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks guys for the help. I actually did buy more live rock today. I
currently am running a Fluval 204 canister filter. I added a new poly
pad also in hopes it will help lower nitrates and take out any metals and
I changed some water in the tank. I'll wait a bit and check the nitrates
again. Is it a possibility that I may have a mantis shrimp that could be
killing off my shrimp?


I would agree with the others, the nitrates are high, and may be
contributing to the short life of your shrimp. If there was a mantis,
you'd be able to tell. A cleaner shrimp done in by a mantis would most
likely be in more than one piece when he was done with it. g
The canister may be contributing to your high nitrates. The bacteria on
the polypads are great for converting ammonia to nitrites, and nitrites to
nitrate, but that's where it ends. Only water changes, Live Rock, a DSB,
algae scrubber or something on those lines can do the rest. I'd go with
Mark's suggestion to add the FULLY CURED LR to your tank, (don't believe
advertisments that say 'fully cured', cure it yourself, trust me on this.)
and lose the canister very soon after that. I wouldn't try adding any
livestock until you make whatever changes needed to get those nitrates
down. It would be fine in a fish-only tank, but not in what you're
striving for. Please let us know if you need any assistance, or have any
other questions!

billy

"Susan" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks for all the help (You guys are great!!) I have my live
rock curing seperate from the tank right now. As soon as it's done
curing I'll add it in. After this do I just run the cansiter
filter with only charcoal?


Sounds great!! I'd wait a couple days after adding the rock to remove
the biological media from the fluval. Going slow is best, and one
major change at a time is enough in my book. You can run charcoal if
you desire, (many reefers do not, except at need) the canister, minus
the pads, is also good for water movement. You may one day move to a
couple powerheads placed to direct waterflow where it's needed most.


billy

Susan if your salinity is 24 ppt that is why your shrimp are dead. It should be more like
34 ppt not 24 ppt. Shrimp molt and a salinity that low will mess up their osmoregualtion
big time.

--
Boomer

Want to talk chemistry ? The Reef Chemistry Forum
http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php


Former US Army Bomb Technician (EOD)
Member; IABTI, NATEODA, WEODF, ISEE & IPS

If You See Me Running You Better Catch-Up


"Susan" wrote in message
...
:I hope someone out there can give me an idea what's going on in my tank. I
: have a 29 gallon reef/fish tank with approx.15-20 lbs live rock. It's been
: set up for about 10 months. After I had it set up I bought a pepperment
: shrimp who got big and was thriving. I found him dead recently in my tank
: with no apparent injury. I rubbed it off that he was old. I since had
: purchased 2 cleaner shrimps at different times and lost both of them within
: a week after buying each of them. Again no apparent injury. Salinity is 24,
: PH 8.0, no nitrites or ammonia. Nitrates around 60.(It's always been around
: this point since setting it up) I added a few corals to the tank a month or
: so ago. I have a damsel, 2 clown fish, clown goby, 2 crabs and a turbo
: snail that have lived in the tank a long time and doing well. The guy at
: the pet store thought maybe it was a mantis shrimp killing them. I haven't
: seen any in my tank and assume they would eat the shrimp if they did kill
: them?? Anybody have any ideas what is killing off the shrimps?
:
: Thanks--Susan
:
:

Take your time curing the rock. Let it cure for about three weeks. Hard to
wait but it's worth it.


"Susan" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks for all the help (You guys are great!!) I have my live rock
curing seperate from the tank right now. As soon as it's done curing I'll
add it in. After this do I just run the cansiter filter with only
charcoal?

Thanks-Susan
"Billy" wrote in message
...



"Susan" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks guys for the help. I actually did buy more live rock today. I
currently am running a Fluval 204 canister filter. I added a new poly
pad also in hopes it will help lower nitrates and take out any metals
and I changed some water in the tank. I'll wait a bit and check the
nitrates again. Is it a possibility that I may have a mantis shrimp
that could be killing off my shrimp?


I would agree with the others, the nitrates are high, and may be
contributing to the short life of your shrimp. If there was a mantis,
you'd be able to tell. A cleaner shrimp done in by a mantis would most
likely be in more than one piece when he was done with it. g
The canister may be contributing to your high nitrates. The bacteria
on the polypads are great for converting ammonia to nitrites, and
nitrites to nitrate, but that's where it ends. Only water changes, Live
Rock, a DSB, algae scrubber or something on those lines can do the rest.
I'd go with Mark's suggestion to add the FULLY CURED LR to your tank,
(don't believe advertisments that say 'fully cured', cure it yourself,
trust me on this.) and lose the canister very soon after that. I wouldn't
try adding any livestock until you make whatever changes needed to get
those nitrates down. It would be fine in a fish-only tank, but not in
what you're striving for. Please let us know if you need any assistance,
or have any other questions!

billy

Oops..I made a mistake. It's actually the SG that's 1.024 not the salinity.
(Salinity is around 34 and SG is 1.024). I always get these mixed up.
Thanks again guys

Susan
"Boomer" wrote in message
...
Susan if your salinity is 24 ppt that is why your shrimp are dead. It
should be more like
34 ppt not 24 ppt. Shrimp molt and a salinity that low will mess up their
osmoregualtion
big time.

--
Boomer

Want to talk chemistry ? The Reef Chemistry Forum
http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php


Former US Army Bomb Technician (EOD)
Member; IABTI, NATEODA, WEODF, ISEE & IPS

If You See Me Running You Better Catch-Up


"Susan" wrote in message
...
:I hope someone out there can give me an idea what's going on in my tank.
I
: have a 29 gallon reef/fish tank with approx.15-20 lbs live rock. It's
been
: set up for about 10 months. After I had it set up I bought a pepperment
: shrimp who got big and was thriving. I found him dead recently in my
tank
: with no apparent injury. I rubbed it off that he was old. I since had
: purchased 2 cleaner shrimps at different times and lost both of them
within
: a week after buying each of them. Again no apparent injury. Salinity is
24,
: PH 8.0, no nitrites or ammonia. Nitrates around 60.(It's always been
around
: this point since setting it up) I added a few corals to the tank a
month or
: so ago. I have a damsel, 2 clown fish, clown goby, 2 crabs and a turbo
: snail that have lived in the tank a long time and doing well. The guy
at
: the pet store thought maybe it was a mantis shrimp killing them. I
haven't
: seen any in my tank and assume they would eat the shrimp if they did
kill
: them?? Anybody have any ideas what is killing off the shrimps?
:
: Thanks--Susan
:
: