dead invertabrates

[Powder Lover]

I have a 50 gal tank that has been doing well for almost 5 years... I went on vacation for 2 weeks and asked a friend to feed my little critters... when I returned my clam was pure white and the other inverts were white or yellow.. are they dead? what could have caused this..? what should I do? My fish are still fine as well as my snails and crabs.

 

[micoral]

Did your friend have control of the lighting or did you have a timer? Is the clam shell empty? I would see if you can find a local reefer with a nanochloropsis culture to try to get some of the chlorophyll back into the animals. If your lighting is not on a timer you should consider getting one. They really need a steady light cycle to be healthy and happy. Also temp could have been an issue if you needed the AC on and it was left off during vacation. How familiar is your friend with reef keeping?

Any idea of the tank parameters? Do you know how much they were feeding at a time?

 

[Powder Lover]

My lights are on a timer... The clam shell is not empty... I didnt think about the temp but I dont think it was an issue, I do live in San Diego but the water temp seems pretty stable even when we reach the 90's.. It starts to rise when above the safe mark when the temp goes higher.. I have fans that go on when the lights go on to keep the heat from the lights circulating away from the tank... I havent tested my water in a while... I will test today.. I hadnt been doing it because everything was going so well for so long...

 

[sdietz2469]

yes water parameters could definately help...
also a little more specs on your tank could help...size, filtration, watermovement...

it sounds as thought they all lost their zooanthelle(sorry on the spelling), which could be from temp, drop in ca or dkh... try feeding some LIVE phyto and zoo as they will absorb and use thre nutrients, cuz they cant produce their own food with no zooanthelle.....