Is my fire shrimp dead? :(

[clowntank]

Last night my fire shrimp was in a small spot between LR and sand. It seemed kind of odd because it was a little out in the open, so I tapped on the glass and he didn't move.. This morning he was still there. I checked back a few minutes later and he was gone. I didn't see him the rest of the morning, until now. He is towards the front of the tank on his side.. very pale red (almost pink). He also looks very small right now compared to how big he is..his legs are kind of moving around, but I can't tell if its him or the current.

He has molted before about two weeks ago, but I didn't see him, so idk if he is just molting or not?

It's not just his shell because it's all one piece and you can see his white spots in the shell.. It looks to solid to be a shell anyhow.

 

[bullitt21]

what are you readings?nitrate?

 

[daugherty]

grab it and see if there is any meat in it. if it is empty i would say that it it molted but if it is solid and meaty it is dead

 

[Smitty]

Are you sure he didn't molt again...if not, check your parameters...especially nitrate...also inverts can sometimes die while trying to molt due to low iodine levels, low ph, and /or high nitrate...

 

[clowntank]

I don't have a test kit.. :( my LFS does it for free.
What would cause a sudden increase like that? He's been in there for almost a month..

If he's dead, should I take him out or leave him?

 

[daugherty]

nitrates will go up because of overfeeding or not enough water changes to the tank. i highly suggest getting you own test kits so you can test the water. what will you do if something is going wrong and you can test your water to find out what is going on. if it is dead and you can take it out go ahead and do it. but you can also leave it for the cleanup crew to take care of.

 

[Smitty]

If you don't have a kit on hand, take a sample to the lfs to have it checked...if your tank has a clean up crew, you could leave it in there, if not, take it out.

 

[clowntank]

I'll go have it tested..
Could it be related to the reason my torch corals have been closed up?
My clowns and xenia have been doing fine, but my torch corals haven't opened up for a couple days now.. :(

 

[daugherty]

very well could be that is why you need a test kit that way you can test the water when ever you want without having to go to the lfs and get it tested. what would you do if they are closed for the day or the weekend.

 

[clowntank]

Idk. I don't even know what to do if my nitrates, nitrites, etc.. are up :(

 

[daugherty]

water changes

 

[Bifferwine]

I also suggest you take a look at the "body" and see if it's just a hollow shell. Most likely it molted. If it did molt, don't expect to see the shrimp for a few days. When they molt, their new shell is very soft and they are vulnerable so they go into hiding for a while until it hardens up.

 

[clowntank]

He's molted before and it was not the same. The body looked very solid. I took him out and he felt kind of meaty..but not as much as I thought he would.

I took some water to the LFS and all the parameters tested out perfect. salinity is 1.024 and the temp is 79.

He said most likely case is the shell just didn't crack and he died trying to make it out. As for the corals, he said sometimes they just don't do well in biocubes .:grumble:

I'll keep my eye out for my shrimp... but I haven't seen him anywhere. I wouldn't think it's to hard to find him in a 14g. ;P

 

[dustin_P74]

I'll keep my eye out for my shrimp... but I haven't seen him anywhere. I wouldn't think it's to hard to find him in a 14g. ;P

youd be surprised

 

[bullitt21]

ypu might not have enough iodine in your water for him to molt.just a suggestion.

 

[dustin_P74]

ypu might not have enough iodine in your water for him to molt.just a suggestion.

doubt that is the case, very few people actually need to dose iodine