So, my tank is 2 months young, parameters are solid. Fish and coral are doing good, but for some reason when I try to add shrimp or arrow crabs after acclimating for 2 hours and I put them in the tank they just die. I've also had hermits and emerald crabs do it also, but some make it just fine. Any thoughts?
Inverts instantly die after acclimation
- Thread starter Treeves
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pecan2phat
Valuable Member
You might have residual heavy metals in the tank which are fatal to inverts. Was copper ever used in this tank, did you ever check for rust from a imploded pump impeller magnet or something as simple as a dropped screw or forgotten razor blade in the sump? Even if that's a no, you can try throwing a package of Seachem Cuprisorb in to see if this solves the problem.
tsouth
Valuable Member
Best we can advise is change your acclimation method to something different. You now know that your method is not working for some inverts.
I'd rather you drip moving forwards, 30 minutes. Keep the water warm, and discard it after acclimation. Don't add any chemicals like prime or anything of that matter. Another tip is as your discarding your water, you can pour the invert into a net or strainer/colander and then place the invert into your tank. This will surely reduce stress rather than trying to net the invert out. PS. Have you ever checked the SG of the water after you've acclimated to confirm it's matching? Just checkin
Hope this helps, best of luck to you
I'd rather you drip moving forwards, 30 minutes. Keep the water warm, and discard it after acclimation. Don't add any chemicals like prime or anything of that matter. Another tip is as your discarding your water, you can pour the invert into a net or strainer/colander and then place the invert into your tank. This will surely reduce stress rather than trying to net the invert out. PS. Have you ever checked the SG of the water after you've acclimated to confirm it's matching? Just checkin
Hope this helps, best of luck to you
Where are the inverts coming from? Are they being shipped or are they being bought local? Opening a bag that was shipped and letting them sit in that water with the build up ammonia being exposed to air is a very bad thing. I don’t even acclimate shipped fish anymore. Just temp float them and put them straight into my tank
Marco S
Always Learning
Honestly, I have never acclimated any of my inverts and I have not lost one yet. Before everyone jumps on me, let me explain...
Everything that goes into my tank gets QT'd first and I start up a fresh QT tank each time so I control the salinity right off the bat. I purchase all my livestock in batches and I know the salinity of the source, (or I test it when it arrives) and I match the salinity and PH so I just have to float the bag for 15 minutes to match the temp. Once the bag is up to temp I hand scoop them out away from the tank so as little water as possible gets into my QT. If the salinity is lower then my DT, I have 76 days to slowly raise it during water changes and by the end of QT they are in the exact same water as my DT. Since it matches my DT after QT, there is no reason to acclimate when transferring from QT to DT either.
On a side note: I believe Petco keeps their tanks very low in salinity, (at least the one by me does).
Everything that goes into my tank gets QT'd first and I start up a fresh QT tank each time so I control the salinity right off the bat. I purchase all my livestock in batches and I know the salinity of the source, (or I test it when it arrives) and I match the salinity and PH so I just have to float the bag for 15 minutes to match the temp. Once the bag is up to temp I hand scoop them out away from the tank so as little water as possible gets into my QT. If the salinity is lower then my DT, I have 76 days to slowly raise it during water changes and by the end of QT they are in the exact same water as my DT. Since it matches my DT after QT, there is no reason to acclimate when transferring from QT to DT either.
On a side note: I believe Petco keeps their tanks very low in salinity, (at least the one by me does).
Terry Mattson
Well-Known Member
76 is a little cool for a mixed tank. 78 or 79
Would be better. Make sure ammonia and nitrites are zero. You have a very young tank. Sonetimes a second cycle happens when the tank is loaded ...
Also check Petco water on parameters. I have stayed away from Petco for saltwater. The one by me always have sick fish ....
Would be better. Make sure ammonia and nitrites are zero. You have a very young tank. Sonetimes a second cycle happens when the tank is loaded ...
Also check Petco water on parameters. I have stayed away from Petco for saltwater. The one by me always have sick fish ....
Halal Hotdog
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I don't think it has anything to do with your acclimation. The inverts you mentioned I wash them with tank water and throw them straight in. Typically all of them dying so quickly is due to having something in there that is a poison. Might be heavy metal. Check your setup for any bronze or metal fittings.
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Matt Carden
Valuable Member
I think you should get an ATI or Triton ICP test to rule out heavy metals. Have you looked around for mom and pop type fish stores? For the most part it is best to avoid Petco for livestock. I got inverts from Live Aquaria online and they all did fine including a Sea Cucumber.
