trble81 March 11, 2007 Share March 11, 2007 Yes...the day has come... It was just our peppermint shrimp but any loss will bug me. We only had him for a week, so that bugs me a bunch. The down side is that he didn't touch the aptasia in our tank (the reason why we got him). I guess my question is how long do they usually last (peppermint shrimp or any other shrimp for that matter)? I just don't want to constantly replacing shrimp (I think what we had was just a fluke). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vatbrew March 11, 2007 Share March 11, 2007 I spent $60 on 2 cleaner shrimp yesterday, and within 3 hours after acclimating for 2+ hours, here they are look closely to the back left of the cave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 March 11, 2007 Author Share March 11, 2007 (edited) Ouch! Makes the 8.99 I spent at Scales for my guy a little better...still mad though. I got a scarlet hermit that day and he's as happy as can be though. Edited March 11, 2007 by trble81 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisS March 11, 2007 Share March 11, 2007 Sorry about your shrimp loss. I know shrimp can be somewhat sensative esspecially when you 1st get them/acclimate them. Maybe the one you got was weaker and never recovered from the stress of moving. As long as all your water parameters are good these guys should be fine. As for how long they live...I think peppermints will live for several years. I have a pair at about 8 months and they're still going strong and breeding every couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf March 11, 2007 Share March 11, 2007 How did you acclimate him? If you don't have one, get one of those drip acclimators. It good for fish, but its even more important when acclimating inverts since they can't regulate their internal levels. What are your nitrate levels? I know most inversts can't stand high nitrates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 March 11, 2007 Author Share March 11, 2007 We drip acclimated for an hour. As far as nitrates, I tested yesterday and it's at 15 ppm. Everything else is doing fine (fish, hermits, turbo snail, kenya tree, green striped mushrooms, etc.). I'm leaning towards I got a bum shrimp. I'll probably replace with a pair; not immediately but maybe in a couple of weeks or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal March 11, 2007 Share March 11, 2007 the nitrate is a little high and you need to get that down before adding more shrimp. it may at least be a contributing factor to the shrimp's demise when you consider the stress and his weakened state coupled with the nitrate may have been too much. just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 March 11, 2007 Author Share March 11, 2007 the nitrate is a little high and you need to get that down before adding more shrimp. it may at least be a contributing factor to the shrimp's demise when you consider the stress and his weakened state coupled with the nitrate may have been too much. just a thought. I know you should keep it as low as possible but what's an acceptable range? You say it's a little high but I can't find a definitive scale. Thanks for the suggestion though. I'll super clean the sponges in my canister filter and clean the gravel better to get rid of the detrious (water change due this week). I'll definately watch the level prior to getting any more shrimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman March 12, 2007 Share March 12, 2007 I know you should keep it as low as possible but what's an acceptable range? You say it's a little high but I can't find a definitive scale. Thanks for the suggestion though. I'll super clean the sponges in my canister filter and clean the gravel better to get rid of the detrious (water change due this week). I'll definately watch the level prior to getting any more shrimp. I was given a water-parameters log when I first started that said <20. As time went on, I looked it up on the internet, and from someone who sounded like he knew what he was talking about - he said <.2. But depending on what equipment you have, .2 might not be attainable. My 24-gallon tank has no skimmer; it is VERY steady at 5. I only check it every couple of weeks now, because it has been 5 everytime I've measured it for two months. Everything is happy in that tank - including my fire shrimp. My first montipora capricornis has put on 1/4" in all directions in a month, I have GSP frags overgrowing their little pieces of rock, mushrooms propagating, etc. I am satisfied with my 5 PPM Nitrates. The 45-gallon tank has a skimmer. It has been running ZERO nitrates since a few weeks after I started it. (it has an alkalinity problem, but no problems with nitrates). So I don't think 5 PPM would be that hard a target to aim for. Keep in mind that nitrates are turned into free nitrogen in your sand bed. Protein skimmer cuts down nitrate production at the source. The only other way I know of to lower nitrates is water changes. With low-nitrate water (most likely made from RO/DI filtered water. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal March 12, 2007 Share March 12, 2007 you might wanna get rid of the sponges or clean them very frequently as they hold detritus which is ultimately converted into nitrate through the nitrogen cycle. there is a group buy for saltwater fish.com which sells cleaner clams and they help eliminate nitrate naturally becuse it is a nutrient source. but whatever is contributing to the nitrate must also be removed. look at the canister filter first as it is a likely culprit. also for a reef tank you want to keep it under 5ppm. do you have a refugium or deep sand bed. what do you use for nutrient export? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC March 12, 2007 Share March 12, 2007 I wish I could get nitrates down to 15, but then again, I really don't have any problems, not even with algea and I usually test right around 10-20. As long as nitrites are at zero I think you just manage nitrates as your tank load dictates. Anyways, i had two peppermint shrimp, maybe I still do. I only caught glimpses of them if I shined a flashlight into a cave and saw their antennae flickering, and haven't even seen that in about a month. The shrimp were a bust at $15 for both, $60 would make me crazy. Maybe in a nano where they couldn't hide. jp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDBDRZ March 12, 2007 Share March 12, 2007 I have a pair of cleaner shrimp that have been in my 180 for 3 to 4 years. One of them is always carrying eggs, and they both regularly get visits from the fish at there cleaning station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROLL March 12, 2007 Share March 12, 2007 We drip acclimated for an hour. As far as nitrates, I tested yesterday and it's at 15 ppm. Everything else is doing fine (fish, hermits, turbo snail, kenya tree, green striped mushrooms, etc.). I'm leaning towards I got a bum shrimp. I'll probably replace with a pair; not immediately but maybe in a couple of weeks or so. Nitrate is way too high- some might accept 15 ppm but in long term effect, it would just wreck havoc on your system. You would want it under .5ppm. Add some nitrifying bacteria and bring nitrate down. Also, cut down on feeding and check your fish bio-load. Peppermints are usually hardiest of all shrimps next to coral banded shrimps. Don't get upset, we all have our loss and it's all part of the hobby. I lost a very nice healthy yellow tang last fall because ammonia test kit didn't properly measure the ammonia level in my 30g. He was $29.99 and kicked the bucket within 24 hours. I was very upset because I could've invested a couple extra bucks for more reliable and better testing kit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funnyguy911 March 12, 2007 Share March 12, 2007 (edited) refugium has done wonders for me the nitrates are undetectable, macro algae is a very good nutrient sponge, no other filter but I have a skimmer, all natural process. "I know you should keep it as low as possible but what's an acceptable range? You say it's a little high but I can't find a definitive scale. Thanks for the suggestion though. I'll super clean the sponges in my canister filter and clean the gravel better to get rid of the detrious (water change due this week). I'll definately watch the level prior to getting any more shrimp." Edited March 12, 2007 by funnyguy911 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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