my shrimp died

[reefer2b]

Yesterday I checked by levels and the ammonia was at.50 so I went to the store as usual the LFS didn't have any s/w made up so I got ro water and made up a batch.
The shrimp was fine yesterday he molted again on Mon. and yesterday was just hanging out under a rock, I saw him eat some food. I seem to remember reading that they don't like changes in water quality. Which is why I was hoping to do a water change yesterday. This morning he was still on the rocks. I went to the store came back and he was on the ground. It looked like he was just sitting there. I finally determined he was dead at first I wasn't sure since the water was making him move a little.
My question is could the ammonia level have done him in? I checked it today before Idid my water change and it was still at .50 so it hadn't gone up any, nitrates and nitrites are also at 0. I'm just curious if it would do it in that quickly.
My daughter is saying "that's ok we'll just get another" I paid $40 for that one so I'm not in any hurry to get another unless I find a cheaper one.

[reeffreak]

Even the the smallest amount of ammonia can kill inverts,especially shrimps.I wouln't add anything til both ammonia and nitrite are at zero.Do you know why the ammonia is at .5?Did something other than the shrimp die?

[montoya]

Reefer2b:

I have to ask the obvious - are you certain your shrimp is dead and it's not the molted shell you were looking at?

I recently thought my beloved Coral Banded died. I came down one morning and there it lay - swaying in the current - claws, antennae and all. A day later it appeared as good as new. I was looking at the molted shell.

Prior to this I had never seen a shrimp molt so I had no idea what to expect. The molted shell looked like a perfect intact replica of my shrimp.

Just tossing it out in case the shrimp is still hiding out. They are known to do this for a few days while the new shell fully forms.

[reefer2b]

Yeah, he molted night before last. I took the shell out yesterday, it was the third time in three weeks. So it was definately him. I'm thinking the ammonia went up since I added a new fish and 2 corals last Fri. all the other animals are ok. The only other thing that could've died is a hermit crab. I never see them. I dug up the nassariu snails and they were still alive, not happy but alive. LOL The astraea snails are also all accounted for.
The nitrites and nitrates are at 0 just the ammonia is up. It's the first time I've any reading since I started my tank almost 7 weeks ago. I did a 3gal water change today so I'll check it again tomorrow.

[Bifferwine]

The ammonia definitely could have done it. Shrimp are very sensitive to it.

[bjohanson1234]

I noticed that the tank was set up on feb 2?

That was just over a month and a half ago. How long did you cycle it? To me it sounds like the ammonia spike could have been from adding too much at once. The bacteria couldnt keep up with what was added.

Brian