Shrimp getting killed off

muppet

muppet

Misanthrope
Do bristle worms attack shrimp? I've got a 55 (10 gallon sump) with nothing in it but a mated pair of perc clowns, a couple emerald crabs, scarlet hermits, and various small snails.

Every shrimp I try to introduce to the tank (except one lucky peppermint) seems to meet a horrible end. The most recent shrimp to die didn't even leave a carcass visible, and I don't have that much LR in the tank, only around 10 pounds in the DT and 10 pounds in the sump (I'm adding little by little, I migrated a nano).

I don't think it's parameters, unless the one surviving peppermint shrimp is going strong. I think it's probably hitchhikers.

Thoughts?
 
I can't seem to edit this post, I don't know why. Anyway, I meant to say I don't think it's water parameters, BECAUSE the one surviving peppermint is going strong. Not "unless".

Not sure why the edit button seems to be missing?
 
I thought at first that maybe they were molting overnight when they hit the "new" water of my tank vs the LFS water (despite drip acclimation) and getting gobbled up because of the lack of LR hiding places, but this time I bought very small peppermints that fit very well into my porous LR and can hide their entire bodies in there and one of them STILL vanished overnight. The "survivor" is still around after almost a week, though.

What gives, guys? I checked my overflow and my drip tray. I don't have any powerheads in the tank yet.
 
bump..?

Anybody have any suggestions as to how I could possibly troubleshoot this short of setting up night vision cameras on all sides of the tank all night long? :-D
 
What kind of shrimp are you buying? Any way they could get into the sump? Did you inspect the live rock carefully? If not then it could be a hitch hiker.
 
I've lost a fire shrimp and one peppermint. So that's two out of three shrimp I've put in the tank have died within 24 hours of introduction.

In the case of the fire shrimp, there was a carcass. A $40 carcass. :(

This time I decided to go a little more conservative and add peppermints. One lived, one died. I know how well these guys can hide but I am like a total wiz at Where's Waldo ;-)

I've checked the sump. They could only go as far as the drip tray/micron filter and there's no shrimp carcass there.
 
:mad2: I've had similar issues. I have a 55 gallon, no sump, and everytime I buy shrimp they disappear! I bought peppermint shrimp in 3's and in a matter of days, there is only 1. This "1" has lasted for a couple weeks but I swear if I add another - one of the 2 will vanish. I've done this a couple of times (buying shrimp in 3's) and I always get the same result. I don't know what happens but it's got to be the same reason...
 
My money would be on the mythris (emerald) crab. I had a red and green. The red one has killed the green and a coral banded shrimp as well as a pair of peppermint shrimp.
 
I agree - I would never have any sort of crab other than something like a porcelain crab whcih is a filter feeder. Bristleworms are beneficial for your tank and they wouldn't be out murdering shrimp.

Even if the crab doesn't hurt your larger inhabitants many will eat beneficial animals like pods.
 
I'm in the camp who think that Emerald crabs get a bad rap. :)

Anyway, mine are very well fed and of the 2 shrimp I've lost, I lost the first when the only emerald I had was literally about 1/5th the size of the (fire) shrimp.

I guess I can try banishing the crabs to the sump and see if a new shrimp fairs any better. If the crab were just murdering shrimp on instinct (it can't be because he's hungry), though, I'd expect the last peppermint to be gone by now. He's been in there a week and is frequently on the same rock as both emeralds.
 
A mantis that kills by silently impaling his prey. It's possible your shrimp were never healthy to begin with.
 
I had the same issue with new shrimp. I have 2 old-timer skunk cleaners, have been there as part of the first CUC, and are still lord of the detritus. I've tried new peppermint shrimp recently, and they disappear. I've heard it can be my 6-line wrasse. Got a wrasse in your tank?
 
I'm using Instant Ocean salt including with water changes. I think my minerals are probably fine?

I built a mantis trap out of a 16.9 oz water bottle and I'll leave it in there overnight and see. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a death trap for my remaining peppermint, or even worse, hopefully one of my clowns won't get themselves wedged in there somehow (the neck of the bottle SEEMS way too small for that).

No, no wrasse. Just two perc clowns.
 
While I've never dealt with one personally, I'm not sure you have a mantis problem in your tank. Unless you have one with especially finicky taste, I'd have thought it would also go after your snail and crab populations as well as the other shrimp.

When you found the fire shrimp carcass, did it look like the shrimp had died during a molt? The molting process can kill a shrimp if it was too weak or old. A pair of scarlet skunks I owned for several years eventually both passed away in this manner. It's not easy to really know exactly how old the specimens we buy actually are (unless you have captive bred specimens and a truthful supplier) so your shrimp may have died of old age, as odd as that sounds.

Oh, and not to give you false hope or anything, but are you certain that the other peppermint is, in fact, no longer with you? They are amazingly good at hiding, and mine have given me quite a few scares from time to time. In any case, if I had to place my bets, my money wouldn't be on a mantis shrimp in your tank.
 
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