Crustaceans dying within seconds of putting them in my tank.

[hourglass]

Hope someone has some advice...

About 6 months ago, I stopped at a reputable shop and got a Convict Goby and an Urchin.

The goby is still going strong - moving all the substrate around and generally out of sight until feeding time.

The Urchin died like the moment I put it in the tank. At least I'm assuming it did - since it seemed okay before hand and when I put it in the tank it dropped like a stone to the bottom and sat there. I left it there for a day just in case I was mistaken, but it got really hard so I took it out.

So... that brings us to today. Different store. I get a Maroon clown and a Coral Banded Shrimp.

Put the clown in. It's fine.

Put the shrimp in. It gives two sharp jolts like it's having a fit, then sinks to the bototm.

8 hours later, the clown is doing fine. The goby is fine. The damsel which cycled the tank is also still doing fine...

When adding fish, I always float the new fish in the bag inside the tank with the light off for at least 15 minutes.

Now, for the background on the tank:

20 Long tank with a power-compact flourescent
Millenium 3000 filter (over the back with two carbon/floss inserts and two bio-grids)
set-it-forget it thermometer which is set to 74 degrees
Salinity is 1.026
Nitrite = 0
Ammonia = 0.25 or less
pH = 8.4
I've got 6 or 8 large pieces of live rock, a bed of live sand which started the whole tank and the fish listed above along with a condylactis anemone (which was best friends with my last maroon clown but this new one doesn't seem to want to be too friendly...)

So... what am I doing wrong here? I don't see how the fish can be fine and something as big as that urchin or the shrimp can just up and die in seconds...

I don't think there are currently any snails or crabs in there, but I haven't ever had trouble keeping them alive. They only ever seem to give up the ghost when we go away for a awhile and too much water evaporates.

I hope I hit all the necessary info, but let me know if I need to fill any gaps.

Thanks for any help!

ryan

[seve1]

ammonia should be 0...very lethal to inverts; however should also affect the fish and anemone, puzzling

[Edmonton Eskimo]

I think your problem is acclimation. Inverts are more sensitive to water quality changes than fish are. Your salinity is a little high at 1.026. Most lfs's will keep their's at 1.024 or there about. When acclimating inverts try and use the drip method as this adjusts them slower to the new water.

[hourglass]

Originally Posted by Edmonton Eskimo

I think your problem is acclimation. Inverts are more sensitive to water quality changes than fish are. Your salinity is a little high at 1.026. Most lfs's will keep their's at 1.024 or there about. When acclimating inverts try and use the drip method as this adjusts them slower to the new water.

Thanks for the tips -- can you elaborate a little more on "drip method" ?

I'm not familiar with that.

Thanks.

ryan

[Fluff]

Acclimation was the first thing that screamed at me when I read your post. Inverts are alot more sensitive than fish. Also, you don't mention your nitrate levels and they may also have an effect. Drip acclimation is easy to do. All you need is a bucket and some airline tubing. You place your fish and inverts into the bucket, get a syphon started with the airline tubing and tie a knot into it to slow the drip. One drip every two to three seconds is good. Then you just let it run for a few hours. This helps the animals to slowly adjust to your ph and salinity. After about three hours (this is how long I do it for, has worked well), provided the temps in the bucket is the same as the tank, they are ready to go in.

[lando]

I agree, mostl likely due to an acclimation issue. However, as mentioned, you NEED to get your NH3 down to zero.

[DragonForce]

I put a CBS in my tank and did a 45 min acclimation. Even this was probably not long enough, I think he went into shock and sat at the bottom lifeless for a few hours, so I turned off the lights for 4 hours came back and he seemed to be a little stressed. None the less he was fine.

[AndyH5512]

Has there been any copper used in your tank?

[Toirtis]

Originally Posted by AndyH5512

Has there been any copper used in your tank?

My thought originally, but his live rock inhabitants seem unaffected.

[steve r]

inverts are very sensitive to changes in salinity as well as PH. it is almost for sure your acclimation. i would most fish stores around here keep thier tanks at about 1.021. yours being 1.026 and your PH at 8.4 would most likely kill inverts very quickly. i drip acclimate all new additions for about 3 hours. you might want to think about a QT for new fish as well. this will help you avoid introducing diesease into your main tank

good luck

steve r

[seaham358]

Agree with the others about improper acclimation. You need to check Salinity/sG and Ph and drip slowly till the water from the LFS matches your tank.
I use a tupperware bucket to do my acclimations, dump bag with fish/invert into bowl and then start a drip line from the tank. I use a air line hose with a valve on the end to control the water flow. Check salinity and Ph after a hour and if they match i run another 30 min to be safe. If not the same dump so water out of the bowl and keep going. If fish and inverts are in different systems at the LFS do not mix them at acclimation, you need to do them in different bowls.