Cleaner Shrimp Mystery!?!?!

[CKreef]

Okay so over the past several months I have bought about 8 cleaner shrimp. Only one has made it!!! The other seven have not made it 5 minutes. I have done everything from slow drip acclimation to just floating the bag and dumping them in. What the heck is going on?? I bought one today and acclimated it for about an hour. It looked fine in the bag. Then I released it and it swam to the bottom and began picking at the sand. Within a few minutes it just sat motionless. I stuck my hand near it and it darted back and then sat motionless again. Shortly thereafter it laid on its side and died. I have had no problems acclimating fish or corals. Corals usually open shortly after going into the tank. Other inverts I have put in have done fine(cucumber,pistol shrimp,pom pom crab, hermits,starfish, and snails). Why cant I get more than one cleaner shrimp to live in my tank???? The water tests fine. Someone please help!!! I would like another cleaner shrimp but I am tired of killing all of them!!! Any info or helpful tips would be great!!! Thanks Chris

 

[StunnaShadez]

showing your water parameters would be a help for us trying to figure whats wrong

 

[StunnaShadez]

showing your water parameters would be a help for us trying to whats wrong

 

[CKreef]

Water Parameters
Ammonia 0
Nitrate .5
Nitrite 0
PH 8.3
Calcium 460
Salinity 1.025
Phosphates .5

 

[Reefynewby]

Ah i had the same exact problem. Have you tried multiple cleaners from different stores? I bought 5 from the same store and all died on me. Even dripping them over 3 hours. Then i bought from 2 other stores and they lived fine.

 

[Reefynewby]

Oh yea and just to share here's my 2 healthy cleaners

My cleaners fought at first but now they're ok.

Also, i find that it's best to leave cleaners in a quarantine in my display. I leave them in a guppy breeder in the tank, because just in case they freeze, i want them to have a chance. Sometimes they go into shock and still have a chance, although this hasn't happened as my 2 living ones climbed all over the guppy breeder. You should try it anyways though, and NEVER try to touch the cleaners until they're well acclimated (2 days is good)

 

[aastretch64]

My cleaner is always hiding? He stays in the back were I can only see his large antennules. It's been about a week now so he doesn't seem to be dying yet? But I can not tell if he is eating. Will he come to the front of the tank? And is there something I can supplement for food?

Alex

 

[Reefynewby]

yes your cleaner seems to be doing "ok" at the moment. As long as he's waving his antennae, he's alive. However, don't agitated him by putting your hand in there yet. Just watch him carefully and make sure food floats down near him. He should come out and grab food as soon as you feed.

 

[scubajsm]

Were they trying to molt? My friend put a fire shrimp in her tank and it was trying to molt overnight, and she pulled it out thinking it wasdead, only to find it later in the trash can trying to come out of it's skin. When I do water changes my shrimps like to molt, and getting put it a new take might be triggering this. HTH

 

[Reefynewby]

You may have read all over, just like scubajsm said, shrimps seem to molt alot, especially in transit (in the little baggies). You should be careful and very gentle (especially acclimation) w/ molting or newly molted cleaners. They're extremely delicate