Coelli
New member
My 29g tank was filled on 9/12 and 30# of LR added on 9/13. I had virtually no cycle and other than about 10ppm nitrate initially (slowly dropping) and .14 phosphate (hasn't been checked since 9/14 but I have two balls of chaeto and running extra GFO) ammonia and nitrate have remained 0.
I have 10 snails (2 nassarius, 8 asst'd algae eaters) and 8 days ago added a YWG, small pistol shrimp, and a Sally Lightfoot crab. On Saturday I added frags of xenia, monti cap, green birds nest and GSP. One of the 3 xenias doesn't look good, another could go either way, and the largest is thriving. I did not plan on these, they were given to me at a swap.
Today I found the SL crab dead outside of the pistol shrimp's burrow. The shrimp is about 1/3 of the crab's size but I'm still wondering. Other than a minor diatom bloom, I have no algae and have been trying to add extra pellets for the crab. Water parameters look good still (ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate <5ppm). The crab had been hiding out more the last few days. I don't think it was a molt - he seemed to be pretty intact when I pulled him out.
Could he have starved? Stress of the shipping/new tank? Did Roland the pistol shrimp kill him? What's the shrimp eating all the way back there against the back wall under the rocks, anyway?
I know we may never know but was hoping for some thoughts. Starvation is my guess.
I have 10 snails (2 nassarius, 8 asst'd algae eaters) and 8 days ago added a YWG, small pistol shrimp, and a Sally Lightfoot crab. On Saturday I added frags of xenia, monti cap, green birds nest and GSP. One of the 3 xenias doesn't look good, another could go either way, and the largest is thriving. I did not plan on these, they were given to me at a swap.
Today I found the SL crab dead outside of the pistol shrimp's burrow. The shrimp is about 1/3 of the crab's size but I'm still wondering. Other than a minor diatom bloom, I have no algae and have been trying to add extra pellets for the crab. Water parameters look good still (ammonia and nitrite 0, nitrate <5ppm). The crab had been hiding out more the last few days. I don't think it was a molt - he seemed to be pretty intact when I pulled him out.
Could he have starved? Stress of the shipping/new tank? Did Roland the pistol shrimp kill him? What's the shrimp eating all the way back there against the back wall under the rocks, anyway?
I know we may never know but was hoping for some thoughts. Starvation is my guess.
