Dead crabs, what gives?

Rob.D · Oct 27, 2017

nine8taco said:
Very astute rob! I dipped all of my rock and coral when I moved into this house. That was about 8-9 months ago though. Do you think it’s possible that’s still affecting it?

Yes I do, I dipped all my rocks and corals about a year ago and I still can't keep hermits or shrimp in the tank. The only plausible reason is Bayer. When I first transferred the rocks all the bristle worms that were established in the tank died within hours. Ever since, I've killed a dozen hermits and 6 or 7 peppermint shrimp. No doubt in my mind that the Bayer wasn't washed off well enough and is lingering in the tank.

Roggio · Oct 27, 2017

I had the same problem. It was the poly filter that alerted me. Crabs, snails and even a clam died. I had a temporary ATO set up after the hurricane destroyed mine. Somehow a pair of pliers fell into the small hole in the ATO container. When I found them they were completely rusted. I did a lot of water changes but I'm limited to 50g at a time. I put in more Poly Filters, some Chemi Blue bags, and a few cups of BRS ROX carbon in a reactor. So far so good. The poly filters are not changing colors so I think I'm in the clear. You can't beat the few bucks you spend on a poly. It could save you hundreds.

nine8taco · Oct 27, 2017

Dang rob that’s crazy! I did pick up some chemi pure bags and a poly filter earlier so I’ll them in and see what happens

Roggio · Oct 28, 2017

@nine8taco im running ROX, two bags, and two poly's. Everything is looking very healthy. My nitrates are off the charts from all the death but they're slowly on their way down. I plan on doing several water changes again when things settle down.

I plan on doing a triton test at some poing to see what metals might be lingering.

nine8taco · Oct 28, 2017

Roggio said:
@nine8taco im running ROX, two bags, and two poly's. Everything is looking very healthy. My nitrates are off the charts from all the death but they're slowly on their way down. I plan on doing several water changes again when things settle down.

I plan on doing a triton test at some poing to see what metals might be lingering.

Sounds like a solid plan for sure. I’ve got the poly filter in there now and the chemipure bag so we’ll see what happens there. In the mean time I’m blowing the rocks out daily and changing the filter sock daily and plan to do a 20% water change twice a week for a few weeks and see if that helps anything. I did see one of the emerald crabs move a claw last night so maybe it’s at least going the right direction (prolly just a coincidence though). But if @Rob D. Is correct (and I suspect he is) then there’s not a whole heck of a lot I can do with it till it leaches out on its own

Roggio · Oct 28, 2017

nine8taco said:
Sounds like a solid plan for sure. I’ve got the poly filter in there now and the chemipure bag so we’ll see what happens there. In the mean time I’m blowing the rocks out daily and changing the filter sock daily and plan to do a 20% water change twice a week for a few weeks and see if that helps anything. I did see one of the emerald crabs move a claw last night so maybe it’s at least going the right direction (prolly just a coincidence though). But if @Rob D. Is correct (and I suspect he is) then there’s not a whole heck of a lot I can do with it till it leaches out on its own

Are you guys @Rob D. dipping your coral and then putting in the tank? I typically have one or two containers of salt water that I rinse the corals out in before they go into my tank. What you're doing sounds good. Those poly pads are capable of pulling medicines out of the tank so with some luck they'll pull those chemicals out too.

theMeat · Oct 28, 2017

Something to consider, Lack of iodine and other elements makes it hard for them to molt, and could be bad

nine8taco · Oct 28, 2017

Roggio said:
Are you guys @Rob D. dipping your coral and then putting in the tank? I typically have one or two containers of salt water that I rinse the corals out in before they go into my tank. What you're doing sounds good. Those poly pads are capable of pulling medicines out of the tank so with some luck they'll pull those chemicals out too.

No I always Rinse my stuff after dipping in salt water but when I moved I dipped every rock in the tank and I’m sure they didn’t get perfectly rinsed

Roggio · Oct 28, 2017

nine8taco said:
No I always Rinse my stuff after dipping in salt water but when I moved I dipped every rock in the tank and I’m sure they didn’t get perfectly rinsed

Ohhh dangggggg I'd say you have a problem. Keep doing what you're doing.

Rob.D · Oct 28, 2017

nine8taco said:
No I always Rinse my stuff after dipping in salt water but when I moved I dipped every rock in the tank and I’m sure they didn’t get perfectly rinsed

Exactly the same for me, I was in a rush and didn't have enough freshly made saltwater on hand.