Why did my shrimp die?

[MedcinMn]

I purchased a Blood Red Fire Shrimp (Red Booted Shrimp) from my LFS Friday, by Monday he was dead. My water tests are Amm 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Ca 380, dKH 10.9, SG 1.023. The tank (Aquapod 24) has been up for 2 1/2 weeks, LR came from a reef system established about 6 years, sand was seeded with sand from an established system as well. The only other things in the tank are some blue legged hermits, cerith snails and a conch. There are a handful of mushrooms attached to the LR I got that are thriving. I acclimated this shrimp like all my other livestock in the past. I also saw no signs of him molting. The only thing out of the ordinary is my LFS just got this shipment in the day I bought him. Maybe I should've waited a few days to buy, but they claim that none others have died from that shipment. Thoughts?

PS-I actually got a credit from them for the purchase price, even though their policy, clearly marked by the register is "livestock is not guaranteed."

[rrome]

Hard to say. I'd let your tank age a month or so before trying again. Be sure to acclimate these SLOWLY....

Justa thought, maybe they were able to bag him because he was the slowest (sick) one?

[MedcinMn]

If I didn't acclimate him slowly enough, would it have taken 3 days for him to die (not challenging your answer, just asking for my own knowledge)? Also, I had a little reservation buying him as he just came in that day. As for him being the slowest, they keep them seperated, and in little 6" x 6" "row" tanks.

Thanks for the response!

-Aaron

[Charlie97L]

improper acclimation can shock them, and yes, it can take a while for them to die...

with shrimp... you really need to do about an hour of drip acclimation. it's a PITA, but necessary. they are very sensitive. you should end up with about 75% tank water and 25% bag water in the bag at the end, so you may have to dump some bag water out at the beginning.

for shrimp, next time, maybe put one on hold, and let it acclimate to the LFS before you grab it up... they may not have acclimated it properly either, and twice in a few hours may just have been too much.

[The steven liu]

Improper acclimation actually can cause them to die as immediate as within an hour. (trust me on this one, I work in a LFS). A shock on salinity fluctuation can really put a damper on their health. Shrimps are generally the hardiest of all inverts. I'd suggest spending at least an hour if not 1 1/2 hour to acclimate them. I used to loose them frequently when I acclimate them for 30 minutes and ever since I extend that to 1 1/2 hour I have not lost any shrimps due to acclimation.

[MedcinMn]

Thanks for all the advice. I've got a food safe container, I think I will start drip acclimating all my livestock and corals.

[Charlie97L]

i stand corrected on the acclimation death! thanks for that info...

it's never a bad idea to drip acclimate coral and inverts... fish, i don't see it as really necessary, unless it's been really stressed in transport or is just a delicate fish.

[piranhaking]

just because improper acclimation CAN cause death with in mins, doesnt mean that it couldn't also cause a slower death. Im not saying one way or the other, but both could be right on a case by case basis.