Dead Cleaner Shrimp. Blame Anemone?

[samlowry12]

I'm a relative newbie, there's a 30 gal tank here at the corporate office where I work. There is a guy who comes every 2 weeks to service/clean it. We've had it a year. There's a webcam so people in our offices across the country may look if they wish.

Four days ago he brought in a cleaner shrimp. We have what I believe is a bubble tip, and one clown. Four other fish. And a growing number of corals, mushroom etc as the guy brings them here gradually.

Yesterday everything seemed fine. The cleaner went up to the surface to eat flakes. Later a meal of mysis shrimp and the cleaner had some. I looked at about 6 or 7 pm, I thought all was well.

This morning I found the cleaner in a back corner among some scattered algae. Dead. This is the corner where the anemone is.

I've noticed that fish can really get busy when there's something dead on the gravel, they may furiously push it around. But for now I'm thinking the anemone did it, the shrimp got too curious?

 

[davocean]

Are you certain you did not just see a molt?
Happens a lot.
If the anemone ate the shrimp, I'd be surprised if spit out remains looked much intact, but maybe.

[welcome]

 

[FNGsaltwater]

Agree. Probably a molt. They hide for a little while after. They'll hover around the anemone. Mine have never eaten a shrimp. But...I've seen some strange things in my tank so anything is possible.

Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

 

[NYCBOB]

bta dont really eat shrimp unless its dead. +1 on the molt.

 

[samlowry12]

What is a good and hopefully easy way to post photos?

I just retrieved what I carried to the garbage and will take a photo of that also.

 

[davocean]

Well, a molt will look very much like a shrimp even in photos IMO, but I think many are using imgur for free, I pay for smugmug which I really like.

I think your answer could pop up next time you are at work looking at tank again, if my assumption is correct anyway.

 

[samlowry12]

I'm spending a lot of time at work today, so it's something like 4.5 hours and counting, plus however long that thing was on the gravel.

Honestly, I hope I'm wrong, even if I, with the help of this wonderful website, broadcast my error for the whole internet to read. All you wonderful people out there send out positive waves for this shrimp, to borrow from Donald Sutherland.

 

[davocean]

If I had a nickle for every time I saw a post of someone confusing a molt for a dead cleaner shrimp...I'd have at least enough nickles for a new cleaner shrimp!

Hopefully he pops up.
It's very common for them to be shy at first, especially if freshly molted.

 

[samlowry12]

It's been about 24 hours, no shrimp. After the replies above I retrieved the dead shrimp from the garbage and took more photos.

Later yesterday the aquarium service man replied to my first couple photos, mentioning the molt possibility. Then I sent him two later photos and he replied "It appears that it is the full shrimp."

 

[j.falk]

Poor shrimpy...

 

[davocean]

Bummer, was hoping for good news

 

[pardsie]

dead cleaner shrimp

dead cleaner shrimp

Change in salinity can also cause death. Difference between lfs it came from and salinity of your tank.

 

[samlowry12]

It seemed to flourish and thrive for 3 to 4 days. Speaking as someone who never had a shrimp before, I thought it was notable the day before it easily went to the surface to eat flakes. Just doesn't sound to me like a creature at death's door.

 

[phender]

Sorry about your shrimp. It probably wasn't the anemone though. All the cleaner shrimp I have had can walk right across an anemone without being stung. I actually stopped buying them because they would often walk across the anemone, reach in and pull food out of the anemone's stomach, even very sticky haddoni carpets.

The clown or one of the other fish (depending on what the other fish are) is a more likely culprit.

 

[samlowry12]

I hadn't intended on posting this, but from two days ago, shows a good look at the shrimp. Comes near to the camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4HBwNnBeqk

I probably put out more food than usual because I was hoping it would again go to the top. And left the two cameras running a fairly long time, but there was a person I wanted to send the video to. I'd also never before taken video of flake feeding.

On Saturday I stopped by briefly at about 7 pm and thought things looked normal in the dim light. So in 14 hours or less it was dead over in a back corner. Actually the precise spot where I found that piece of minnow the anemone spat out a few weeks ago.

 

[samlowry12]

Sorry for so many posts, but I hadn't seen the reply.

As for me, I'd months ago seen for instance that youtube where the shrimp is furiously trying to pull food away from the anemone/clown, so I also would have thought shrimp wouldn't be harmed.

 

[samlowry12]

This was the e-mail a few days ago from the guy -- in business for 30 years -- who takes care of the tank (and who brings/removes animals, except I seem to remove almost everything that dies) after he saw the video of the lively shrimp. We'll be getting another one in a few days.

"I have no idea why it's dead. The only plausible explanation is that it got stung by the anemone. He may have blundered too close and was hit. I have a shrimp in a small tank that has 5 anemones and is fine."