my sponge is dying and my pistol shrimp is gone

[Mathfreak71]

I bought a orange tree sponge on 5-27. That day I got a call that my son was having health issues and I rushed out of town. My brother-in-law keep my tanking going for this past week. I get back and everything seems fine except the skeleton of my sponge is showing through in some places my water readings are:

ammonia - 0
nitrite - .05
nitrate - 0
ph - 8.1

Is there anything I can do to bring it back to life? Or is this more than likely a lost cause?

I also had a pistol shrimp that went in that day and I can see no evidence of it. How long should I wait before I buy a replacement?

 

[SKremk]

Do you have a photo of the sponge? How was it handled (ie did you take it out of the water at all)?

As for the pistol shrimp, how big was it? How did you acclimate it? Can you hear anything clicking?

 

[Mathfreak71]

I haven't gotten very good at taking pictures yet. No exposure to air.

The pistol shrimp is/was about an inch long and I haven't heard any clicking. I followed all normal acclimating procedures.