peppermint shrimp, laying on his side

[iflytoohigh]

so, i have a nice little nano tank. have some shrooms and zoos in there and those look great and doing rather well. i have some aptasia growing in there as well, so i thought i would add a peppermint shrimp. before i added him to my tank i acclimated to my water with the trickle system for an hour or so then plopped him in. well, he did well for a couple days, hiding in the live rock and exploring his new home. then one morning i see him lying on his side flapping the legs on his abdomen. he seemed to be pretty out of it. i let him alone because he was still kinda wigglin around and i thought he would be snap out of it and get up. well, this went on for a 2 days. he just laid there flapping his little flipper like appendages on his abdomen. i'm not quite sure what he was doing. well, this morning i find him laying down, looking completely colorless and one of my blue legged hermits was munching away on him.

everything in my tank is flourishing and doing quite well. i have corals, crabs, snails, a conch. that poor shrimp. do you think he was ill to begin with, and should i take him back to get a refund or replacement?

[Mr. Guitar]

Sounds to me like the Peppermint Shrimp was ill. Not sure why it would've done that though. They are one of the hardiest Shrimp out there. Getting a refund is up to you. If you want your money back, credit, or a replacement...go for it. It wasn't in a 3 gallon was it?

[iflytoohigh]

yes, it was in a 3 gallon

[Mr. Guitar]

There's your problem. Your tank was too small for the shrimp. That's why it died. If you have anymore questions...Please feel free to ask away!

[dc]

He may also be molting and had no place to hide. A 3 gallon is pretty small. This would make him vulnerable to attacks.

[ophiuroid]

What are the specific water parameters of your tank?

[iflytoohigh]

my current water parameters are thus:

specific gravity : 1.023
ph: 8.1
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: < 1 ppm
phosphate < 1 ppm

i dont have a way to test the calcium or iodine or magnesium

i honestly dont think the reason it died was because it was in a 3 gallon tank.

[spawner]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8284738#post8284738 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr. Guitar
There's your problem. Your tank was too small for the shrimp. That's why it died. If you have anymore questions...Please feel free to ask away!

:rolleyes: :rolleye1: :lol: :eek1: :rollface:

[ophiuroid]

How do you measure your specific gravity? Hydrometer, refractometer? IMO, your specific gravity is low for invertebrates.

Do you dose with anything? EG essential elements, iodine, etc?

[iflytoohigh]

i use a hydrometer. i dont dose with anything.

on a side note, i noticed what my blue leg hermit was grubbing on. apparently there was a batch of eggs on the shrimps abdomen. that is what it was eating. do you think the flapping shimp was laying eggs? if that is so, then that little crab is a murderer!! not the first time either

[graveyardworm]

The shrimp dont lay eggs, they carry them until hatching time. Your crab is a little murderer whether it was responsible for the shrimps death or not.

[CarlC]

A 3 gallon with zoa's and shrooms is a toxic mess unless you are doing daily water changes and running a fair amount of carbon.

Carl