Help I Think My Lobster is Dying

[SharkMan]

I have had a Spinny Blue Lobster for about two weeks I woke up this morning and he was stuck under a piece of rock. I moved the rock freeing him but now he looks like he's dying. He cant move really at all. he's flipping on his back IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO? please help now.

[i have crabs]

if you have a piece of pvc big enough for it to hide in put him in it and hope he calms down if he lives the next molt should fix everything up,lobsters like to dig under rocks wich usally dosent work well unless the rocks are all the way down to the bottom.

[SharkMan]

Now my CB shrimp looks like crap and the lobster still isn't all the way dead what can I do PLEASE HELP!!!!!!! My Percula Clowns and gold headed slepper gobies, and cleaner shrimp still look great. I am sure my cleaners are next at this rate. HELP. PLEASE.

[tecwzrd]

The Spiny Blue Lobster gets to be 12� and a 45 gal isn’t large enough IMO. The tank is only 3-4 months old and personally I think you are rushing just a tad to quickly to get this tank stocked. Tanks take awhile to stabilize and build up bacteria to support your bio load and even with good water parameters they can crash quickly.

What are your current water parameters, specifically nh3/no2/no3/alk/ph/sg/temp? Readings and test brands please, not just a reply they are “perfect�

Has copper ever been used on the main tank? How were your shrimp/lobster acclimated and when did you add them? Do you have a qt tank you can transport them to?

If they are damaged to the point of not being able to move at all there is little you can do for them.

[SharkMan]

I have posted this in more detail in the Sick fish forum. I had no idea that I was rushing things. I have been adding a fish or two every three weeks toa month.

[tecwzrd]

Typically adding one fish every 3 weeks is fine, but adding two can sometime be too much. Remember tanks typically take 4-7 weeks to cycle and every time you add a fish bacteria has to build up to support that fish without causing any nh3/no2 spikes.

I’m sorry you lost your inverts but I have to disagree about the bio-wheel being at fault. If you clean them each week and perform proper PWC then it shouldn’t have been an issue IME.

I’ve used canisters with the bio-wheel for 12 years now and have never had no3 higher then 10 ppm.

Using 1.5-2 lbs per gal of lr is better for bio-filtration and once well established will also help keep your no3 down.

Currently with only 10 lbs of lr you still need the bio-wheel for bio-filtration. When you can I’d add another 60+ lbs of base/lr

Till then get a quality test kit, keep doing PWC till your no3 is <20ppm and wait another couple of months for your tank to stabilize and just enjoy the fish/inverts you do have.

[SharkMan]

Why did they Die? I have one cleaner shrimp that is still alive.

UPDATE! Here are my water parameters.

PH 8.3
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrate 10 or less
Nitrite 0.0
Temp 79
Salinity 1.021

It turns out the guy at the fish store that helped me yesterday. Said when he told me there was "waste" in my water, it was left over from another test. He tested it again and said that they were perfect, as you can see. I also tested them once I got home.

[tecwzrd]

IME acclimation is usually the issue if they die within hours/days of being added to the tank. Inverts require a long 3 hour drip acclimation to adjust to ph/sg changes. Your ph/sg is probably pretty close to the lfs ph/sg but if you only acclimated for 1 hour or less then it still could have caused osmotic shock.

The fact that one of your shrimp is still alive just means it was better able to tolerate it.

The blue lobster probably died from its wounds. Not sure why your CB died. Had either of them molted recently?

I’ve had pretty good luck with my shrimp except for loosing a small peppermint to an overly aggressive pseudochromis. My CB lost its arm about a week ago but is still healthy and eating.

Overall they can be pretty delicate creatures compared to fish and usually when you loose one it’s difficult to know exactly why.

[SharkMan]

I have had the three shrimp for about two months, and the lobster for about three weeks. So acclimation couldn't cause this! Could it?

The blue lobster probably died from its wounds

What wounds are you talking about?

[roka64]

I think this part might have done it:
"he was stuck under a piece of rock"

[SharkMan]

Thanks For the help! whats your problem?
explain how the other two shrimp that died then! and how did he get himself stuck? he has tons of places to hide!

[roka64]

Sorry, was just trying to help, I assumed when he was under the rock, that meant it had fallen on him and possibly wounded him...

[SharkMan]

No problem. I am a little upset about the unknow reason for this little die off.

[roka64]

No offence taken, I would be upset as well....