Loosing inverts left and right!

[salty420]

My tank has been doing great, but there has been mass death of my inverts over the last week. It started with the snails. First a black turbo that wouldn't stay upright. Then an astrea died 3 days in a row. Don't know what happened with them if they flipped over or not..? Then a hermit crab. Today another hermit crab and I can't find my skunk cleaner shrimp.
The tank has been cycled for about 2 months. The cleanup crew was added about 2-3 weeks after it was cycled. Got my PJ cardinal, blue neon goby and cleaner shrimp about 5 weeks or so after cycled. Just got 2 blk/wht clowns on Thursday. The fish are doing excellent.
Tank stats
37 gallon
65# LR
40#LS
spec gavity 1.024
ammon 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10-20ppm
pH 8.2

I'm thinking it's either due to the nitrates or the raise in temp (went up to 85 last week). I do 10% water changes weekly with tap water until my RO unit arrives this Wednesday. Any ideas? What do I do about the missing shrimp? I also can't get to the hermit crab bodies - and I know they are dead cause I see abdomen's. I do not want to have to pull out all the rocks! I can't just leave the dead in there can I? I do have 3 lrg nass snails and 3 tiny nass snails, will they take care of it for me?
THANKS!!!!

[pseudoblond]

Have you tested your tap water for trace metals or anything else? Thats the problem with tap water, is that it usually comes with addtives that the water co. puts in there to clean it - good for cleaning, death for fishtank...did u dechlorinate?

[Pallen81]

some tap water has copper in it. It's possible that the copper has built up over time to become lethal to your invert population.... just a thought.

I hope you get it cleared up soon!!

[salty420]

Have you tested your tap water for trace metals or anything else? Thats the problem with tap water, is that it usually comes with addtives that the water co. puts in there to clean it - good for cleaning, death for fishtank...did u dechlorinate?

yes I decholorinate... unfortunatly I do not have proper tests for metals... seems everything has been doing fine for a while and now are dying... still no sign of the shrimp :(

[Reefscape]

Where they brought from the same source?

[Longinus]

I am having the same problem actually, and the disolved metals are probably what went wrong, since the person minding my tank for me while I am away from home didnt remember that they shouldnt use tap water thats been let cure(they were treating top offs like filling up a FW tank after a waterchange)

Dissolved copper(or other metals) can be quite bad for inverts.

[Riverserver]

I'm also going to jump on the copper band waggon. What kind of fish do you have?

[salty420]

Where they brought from the same source?

nope the shrimp, goby and cardinal came from one LFS, the rest from another.

[salty420]

I'm also going to jump on the copper band waggon. What kind of fish do you have?

pj cardinal, blue neon goby, 2 blk/wht clowns. the fish are all doing great.

[salty420]

I am having the same problem actually, and the disolved metals are probably what went wrong, since the person minding my tank for me while I am away from home didnt remember that they shouldnt use tap water thats been let cure(they were treating top offs like filling up a FW tank after a waterchange)

Dissolved copper(or other metals) can be quite bad for inverts.

what do you mean tap water that's been let cure? i ask because for the first time i let the water sit for at least 48 hrs before putting it in the tank.

[Gildurath]

What does a dead snail look like? I found one of what I think was a turbo snail on its back and the part where they come out has like a hard cap on it now. Is that a dead snail or did the snail go into hiding or something?

[salty420]

What does a dead snail look like? I found one of what I think was a turbo snail on its back and the part where they come out has like a hard cap on it now. Is that a dead snail or did the snail go into hiding or something?

a dead snail to me looks like a snail turned over that the other snails are eating, lol. i'd try turning the snail upright and see if he's still that way in the am.

[SHK_ATK]

What does a dead snail look like? I found one of what I think was a turbo snail on its back and the part where they come out has like a hard cap on it now. Is that a dead snail or did the snail go into hiding or something?

best way to tell if anything is dead in your tank is to pick it up and smell it. Trust me you will know if its dead...:)

[Longinus]

er, by let cure I meant let sit for 48 hours to let some of the chlorine evaporate (never caused her any problems in FW tanks, so she figured it would work for SW top offs, ah well)

[salty420]

er, by let cure I meant let sit for 48 hours to let some of the chlorine evaporate (never caused her any problems in FW tanks, so she figured it would work for SW top offs, ah well)

i never let water sit for my FW tank, i use a python and fill straight from the tap... when i let the water sit this time for the SW tank it was just cause i didn't have time to work on the tank after preparing the new water so i left it in the bucket with a PH in the bucket. all the problems with my inverts did happen after that water change.

[BeelzeBob]

hmmmmmmmm.

where did you get your LR from?

are any of the shells "damaged" or stacked up in one specific area?

could be a mantis, or gorilla crab or sumthin.

[salty420]

hmmmmmmmm.

where did you get your LR from?

are any of the shells "damaged" or stacked up in one specific area?

could be a mantis, or gorilla crab or sumthin.

I'm pretty sure it's nothing like that. I've yet to see a hitchiker on any of the rock and I've looked a lot at night with a red light. The shells are not damaged or in a certain area either, and the bodies are still there as well.

[BeelzeBob]

well poop.

must be something in the water 'round those parts.

maybe go to the store and grab some gallon jugs of RO water and do a few 20-40% WC over the next couple days?

ill smolder on it...