cleaner shrimp woes

Raki

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Jan 17, 2004
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Philadelphia Pa
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I recently had both cleaner shrimp die with in about a week and a half of each other the water parameters are fine. they where both fairly large and looked fully grown. is it posable that they could have been old? or is it possible that my chocolate chip star took them out? the only thing I've done differently is started adding Kent's calcium to the water, I know that calcium is good for them but if there was to much could it hurt them?:shake:
 
Mine seem to die or disappear after about 2 1/2 years, but I don't know if that's old age or something else. It's almost impossible to add enough Ca to hurt them, so I doubt if that's a problem. When Ca gets to a certain level, it will precipitate. That isn't a problem in itself, but will decrease your alkalinity.

If your star ate them, there wouldn't be bodies.

Sorry, not much help solving the mystery.
 
I had the shrimps for about two months and have seen them molt many times. they both had molted a day or so prior to going belly up. I was wondering if my cho chip star could have killed them because he has recently moved in to the "Shipwreck" decoration they took residence in. I know that stars usually would eat them in they killed them but the cho chip is not very large yet only about 21/2 to 3 inches across.and the shrimp where easily three inches long
 
Hmm. I'm just not sure how it would kill them without engulfing them. Especially both at once.

Are you dosing anything besides Ca? Recent major water changes?
 
They died about a week and a half apart. I do a 7% water change every week. and all my water tests are fine. 0 ammonia 0 nitrates and 0 niteries salinity is around 25ppm.
I still wonder if they where "OLD" I didn't get them at my usual LFS I brought them in a "panic" when my blue hippo tang broke out in ich. (lost him to it) about 2 months ago
 
ok I'm sort of guessing but, they may very well have been old and if that's the case not much you could do about it. It's does seem sort of strange though that they died so close together. Another possibility is the introduction process you used . Inverts are pretty sensitive to sudden changes in water quality. They need a slow gradual adjustment period to your current water chemistry. Sometimes they will hang on for quite a while in a weakened state before succumbing to internal injuries from osmotic shock. I don't know if it was either of these two things only trying to help.
Chris
 
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