So I've seen some previous threads for black spots on cleaner shrimp but most of the pix I saw had spots much less pronounced than mine and on a live shrimp (RIP CShrimp). The cleaner shrimp, while alive, spent most of its time inverted underneath a large flat piece of live rock so I only got to observe him in the open a few times during feeding. Never noticed the black spots until today just prior to one of my emerald crabs taking him to his final resting place and posing for a picture (attached).
Not planning on replacing the cleaner shrimp anytime soon....would not have tried introducing it in this new of a tank but it was a gift (as were the vast majority of the other inhabitants....having a birthday fall 1 month after starting a new tank has been a gift and a curse). My main concerns at this point are 1) Should i be concerned about any of the other inhabitants of my aquarium succumbing to the same fate? and 2) Should I take away the crabs dinner? (Probably too late for this one).
Parameters: Sal 1.025, NH4 0 ppm, NO2- 0 ppm, NO3- 0-2 ppm, pH 8.0-8.2, kH 170 ppm, Temp 78.3 F.
Tank stats: 75 gal reef, 125 lb lr, substrate is mix of crushed coral/aragonite, 30 gal sump, 10X turnover, terminator II protein skimmer, 3 gal refu (ref mud/live sand base, 0.5lb lf, chaeto ball), HOB ML Emp 400 biowheel w/ carbon and biomax inserts, 3X 530 gph and 1X 800 gph powerheads with deflectors. 40 Watt LED lighting (will be upgrading as req'd by new reef intros) Age: 2 months.
Tank inhabitants: 2x juv clownfish, 1 drag goby, 1 flame and 1 cb angel, 1 foxface, 1 roy gramma, 1 spike urchin, 1 BT anenome, 1 fire torch coral, 12X CUC (mix of hermit crabs, snails and emerald crabs)
I'm aware that system parameters have a higher tendency to fluctuate in a new tank (especially for someones first tank). And I've read that cleaner shrimp are especially susceptible to these fluctuations (especially salinity). I have RO/DI auto-topping my sump to ensure constant salinity and the remaining water parameters in my tank have been stable for the past few weeks at +/- 5% of the levels listed above so assuming this may be a disease of some sort? Saw something on black spot disease but responses seemed to indicate it goes away with a few molts...anyone familiar with this?
Not planning on replacing the cleaner shrimp anytime soon....would not have tried introducing it in this new of a tank but it was a gift (as were the vast majority of the other inhabitants....having a birthday fall 1 month after starting a new tank has been a gift and a curse). My main concerns at this point are 1) Should i be concerned about any of the other inhabitants of my aquarium succumbing to the same fate? and 2) Should I take away the crabs dinner? (Probably too late for this one).
Parameters: Sal 1.025, NH4 0 ppm, NO2- 0 ppm, NO3- 0-2 ppm, pH 8.0-8.2, kH 170 ppm, Temp 78.3 F.
Tank stats: 75 gal reef, 125 lb lr, substrate is mix of crushed coral/aragonite, 30 gal sump, 10X turnover, terminator II protein skimmer, 3 gal refu (ref mud/live sand base, 0.5lb lf, chaeto ball), HOB ML Emp 400 biowheel w/ carbon and biomax inserts, 3X 530 gph and 1X 800 gph powerheads with deflectors. 40 Watt LED lighting (will be upgrading as req'd by new reef intros) Age: 2 months.
Tank inhabitants: 2x juv clownfish, 1 drag goby, 1 flame and 1 cb angel, 1 foxface, 1 roy gramma, 1 spike urchin, 1 BT anenome, 1 fire torch coral, 12X CUC (mix of hermit crabs, snails and emerald crabs)
I'm aware that system parameters have a higher tendency to fluctuate in a new tank (especially for someones first tank). And I've read that cleaner shrimp are especially susceptible to these fluctuations (especially salinity). I have RO/DI auto-topping my sump to ensure constant salinity and the remaining water parameters in my tank have been stable for the past few weeks at +/- 5% of the levels listed above so assuming this may be a disease of some sort? Saw something on black spot disease but responses seemed to indicate it goes away with a few molts...anyone familiar with this?
