Inverts instantly die after acclimation

[j.falk]

Could LFS tank water got in your tank. Some LFS have copper in the fish water

If that were the case, all of his inverts would be dead...not just some of them.

 

[j.falk]

This could be your problem. there I a huge ammonia spike after shipping - adding a high pH water to the bag - will definitely cause a problem.

He said he's buying these locally...they aren't being shipped to him.

 

[MnFish1]

He said he's buying these locally...they aren't being shipped to him.

Funny - I just re-read all of the thread - I didnt see that. If they aren't being shipped overnight - you're right - there shouldn't be any ammonia build up. I guess I think its still a valuable lesson. BTW - If I missed it - many others must have as well - and likely its due to the system not providing notifications (sometimes) when new posts occur while you're still posting the recs. But yea - you're totally correct

 

[MnFish1]

If that were the case, all of his inverts would be dead...not just some of them.

This - is not totally true - there is some differing tolerance to copper at low levels - Just like there is now velvet that has been shown be resistant to copper. But - again - I agree with you - the likelihood is that copper is not the issue - but I'm thinking the concept of the LC50 or LD50

 

[j.falk]

I didnt see that.

OPs post:

So just realized I made a idiot mistake of not checking the salinity of the lfs water and making sure that I kept doing the 1/2 cup method until I slowly rose the salinity levels up to my tank.

He's buying the inverts from Petco which shouldn't really matter. Inverts are tough critters. There has got to be some major difference between what is happening in the bag and when they hit the tank water for them to fall over dead that quickly. The only time I have ever experienced anything like that was putting a shrimp in a tank that still had nitrite showing. The shrimp fell over dead within seconds.

 

[j.falk]

This - is not totally true - there is some differing tolerance to copper at low levels - Just like there is now velvet that has been shown be resistant to copper. But - again - I agree with you - the likelihood is that copper is not the issue - but I'm thinking the concept of the LC50 or LD50

I knew someone was going to bring that up as soon as I posted that reply and I completely agree with you. Some inverts can handle various amounts of copper (if they are slowly acclimated to them) just like some inverts can be put through a tank cycle without issue. There is no hard rule to what an individual invert can handle but if he were constantly dumping in more and more water containing copper then I would think it would have some type of detrimental effect on the inverts he already has in the tank. I honestly don't think this problem has anything to do with copper. And he shouldn't be adding any lfs water to his tank anyway...that stuff should be thrown away after the livestock has been netted out of the bag and added to the tank.

 

[MnFish1]

Hey - thanks for providing documentation

 

[j.falk]

Come to think of it, if he's bringing the inverts home in bags of water that contain copper...why aren't the inverts dying in the bag instead of after they get added to the tank that already has inverts living in it?

 

[MnFish1]

Come to think of it, if he's bringing the inverts home in bags of water that contain copper...why aren't the inverts dying in the bag instead of after they get added to the tank that already has inverts in it?

Not sure anyone suggests they are in copper?????

 

[j.falk]

Not sure anyone suggests they are in copper?????

Yes they are...people are suggesting that he is getting copper in his tank from the lfs using it in their water:

Could LFS tank water got in your tank. Some LFS have copper in the fish water

Edit: Never mind, I see it specifies fish water...from the fish the OP has added to their tank. My bad.

 

[Crabby48]

Edit: Never mind, I see it specifies fish water...from the fish the OP has added to their tank. My bad.

No problem. Got to try and help and sometimes I’m the process we get confused.

 

[flsalty]

It seems like it would be possible a contaminant has built up slowly over time. That would account for why the older inverts are surviving. Perhaps they have been acclimated to it over time. If not copper or some other metal, perhaps something airborne like smoke, vape, air freshener or the like.

 

[Treeves]

Update, it was a salinity issue. Lfs kept their tanks at 1.015, so I just slowly acclimated over 4.5hrs to my DT salinity of 1.025 and inverts are doing great in the tank now. Thanks guys for all the input of possible issues.