Trying to help figure out a puzzle

[Hara]

An acquaintance of mine came into the petstore today with an odd tale. He has a 75 gallon that has been up and running several months. Water parameters are all within normal and stable.

He had bought an assortment of shrimp, one CB, a cleaner, some camel back....they had been doing great for 3 weeks. *compatibility, surprisingly enough did not seem to be an issue* Then within a few hours of each other, they all died. His fish are fine as are the other inverts, feather dusters etc. Two things happened that I am wondering if it could be the cause. One, he stained a canopy, was certain it was totally dry. It had been on for a day or so. The other is he sprayed Bengal Ant spray in a different are of the house...but the trickle filter was not covered, could overspray of the pesticide be the cause? Were the shrimp just more sensitive than the fish?

Also, coincidence or not, he seems to have had a major decrease in copepod population.

any ideas guys and gals?

and yes, I have nagged him to join here and forego WWM

 

[reefrunner69]

Hmmm, if it is effecting the crusteceans first, I might suspect iodine poisoning. What is the salinity of the tank? IME, shrimp are highly susceptable to hyper salinity. What ever happened, it was sudden, like the effect of a water change or the addition of traces. It's not the canopy, that would be poisonous from the get go, it wouldn't wait a day. The pesticide isn't likely IMO either, unless the other part of the house was the next room and he lft the door open betweeen them and a fan blowing the pesticide in the room.

 

[Hara]

He said the salinity was at 1.024..what would the causes of iodine poisoning be ...other than him adding iodine?

 

[reefrunner69]

...other than him adding iodine?

Maybe he stubbed his toe while he was pouring the traces in. He might be using a all-in-one trace addition and accidentally overdosed.

 

[Guest]

I never add Iodine to my tank at work and I cannot seem to keep a shrimp alive for more than a few hours even with an hour acclimation.. I do not own shrimp for this reason I am now shrimp shy.. I have prolly spent in upwards of $100 on shrimp and none lived. I have all other kinds of crusties as well...I can't figure it out. I don't even have them at home because of this...hmm it is strange...

 

[loganj]

I haven't had any trouble with shrimp here. I didn't dose iodine until recently because I didn't have a test kit. Since I have started dosing it, I haven't noticed any difference except that some of the corals seem happier than before. I don't have any answers as to why the shrimp might have died suddenly either though. Like Kevin said, it would almost have to be something that changed suddenly. Especially since the pods declined at the same time.
Logan J

 

[jcdwep]

Sick Tank??

First, thank you Hara for this site address. I will not be using WWM anymore.
I am the one Hara was trying to help figure out about the problem with the shrimp. Their dying was slow in the process but it hit them all at once and quickly put them on the bottom grasping for life.
I put a new canopy I made on the day before, so it had been on 24+ hours. I also sprayed some Bengal insect spray in the same room but not near the tank. This is the most likely culprit I think. About 2 hours after that was when all went downhill.
I did not add anything to my tank, iodine or medicines etc. My question now is if it was the Bengal getting into the system somehow, what do I need to do now? I already did a 15%+ water change. If there was some insecticide that entered my tank, could it be gone today?
Thank you again Hara for your help and anyone else that offers advice.

 

[Guest]

Just a quick note, I use Bengal spray and have noticed no adverse effects on my system. I don't go near the tank with it, but I use it in my apartment.. You can try GAC in the system to try and rid any foreign matter in the water though...

 

[jcdwep]

Sick Tank

What is GAC and where doo I find it?

 

[reefrunner69]

I also sprayed some Bengal insect spray in the same room but not near the tank. This is the most likely culprit I think. About 2 hours after that was when all went downhill.

Yep, now I'd say this is the most likely culprit as well. It can be problematic at best, to use any type of aeresol sprays in the same room as any fish tank. I agree with Timbo2, run some fresh GAC (granular activated carbon) and continue doing reg waterchanges.

I would still like you to answer my question above about the SG, are you sure it is 1.020, if you've been adding SW for top off, it is likely much higher.

 

[reefrunner69]

What is GAC and where doo I find it?

I get mine from Wally World, their Aquatech brand carbon is Marineland's Black Diamond carbon (only at about 1/2 the cost). You should be able to get GAC at any LFS. I wouldn't necessarily forgo any of the LFS in your area, because of bad info, just make sure you are armed with your own knowledge before you get there. Don't need to ask questions, from what I understand, if your in the same area as Hara, your choices of LFS are limited.

 

[jcdwep]

SIck Tank?

My SG has stayed at 1.024/25 for about 4 months now. It was however at 1.021 when this occured. I had not checked it in a day or so before this so I guess it dropped some then.