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MrsHaggis
12/30/2008, 08:31 AM
Hi Guys,

I was hoping someone could help shine some light on the death of my electric blue hermit crab. I have my own suspicions but I just want someone else's opinion.

My tank has been up and running since 11th of December this year. On Dec 24th I took water samples to the LFS who tested everything and told me that I could add one fish and one crab. So I bought a clown and the crab. I also bought my own testing kit and was horrified when I tested my own water (having added the fish and the crab) to find out that my nitrates were really high (between 60 and 80 mg/litre). The source of the problem was my tap water (used for top ups) so I went out and bought an RO/DI unit and made water changes to bring my levels back down.

I checked all of my levels again yesterday after the water changes and got the following:

Salinity = 1024
Nitrates = 0
Ammonia = 0
Nitrits = 0.1
Phosphates = 0
Iron = 0
Magnesium = 1200
Calcium = 400
PH = between 8.0 and 8.5

However, I noticed 2 days ago that the crab was not looking very sharp (very lethargic) and not eating any of the food I put in the tank for it. And today, whilst checking water levels again (because I think I am actually still cycling) I found that the crab was dead. Today, all my water levels were fine again.

My thoughts : should not have listened to LFS, it was way too soon to add livestock......

The clown seems to be thriving - hope that lasts!!!

I'm currently setting up a quarantine tank, just waiting for more RO water to be made. Once I have that tank's water levels OK (Should take about 4 weeks to cycle right?) I would like to add livestock one at a time but do you think that would be too soon?? Also, I want to get more crabs so I was going to keep the old shell - is that OK and if I do should I also quarantine the shell??

sassafrass
12/30/2008, 09:09 AM
Don't trust the word of anyone who stands to make a profit from the answer they give. I have been in this world awhile and LFS for the most part are the worst offenders ,not all though.

beachbumva
12/30/2008, 09:40 AM
too soon most likely yes and high nitrates and lack of a food source in such a new tank could be the reason for its demise , keeping the old shell is fine , try and wait until your live rock has something on it to eat before trying to add another one is my opinion, agree with sass on most lfs, in my experience it has been that they are usually some very young student who doesnt really have a clue as to what they are doing and dont get paid enough to care.

MrsHaggis
12/30/2008, 10:17 AM
Thanks for the replies.
BeachBumva, what sort of things should I be looking for on the live rock??

Juruense
12/30/2008, 10:49 AM
The crab is fine he just molted is all.

MrsHaggis
12/30/2008, 04:21 PM
Hi Juruense,

I wish the crab had just molted but I can assure you he is dead.....much to my sadness.

MrsHaggis
12/30/2008, 04:31 PM
Ok Guys, I have another question : I want to quarantine everything I get from now on (fish, corals, cuc) but what would the crab eat in the quarantine tank other than the pellets I give them? Beachbumva mentioned that I should have stuff to eat on the live rock but I'm not going to have that in the QT.....will the pellets be enough????

FBNitro
12/30/2008, 05:32 PM
I would think they'd pick at Nori (green seaweed) if you put some in there.

woodiecrafts
12/30/2008, 07:37 PM
A small peice of silverside or krill should also tied him over in a Qt.

Tylt33
12/30/2008, 08:46 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14044323#post14044323 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrsHaggis
Ok Guys, I have another question : I want to quarantine everything I get from now on (fish, corals, cuc) but what would the crab eat in the quarantine tank other than the pellets I give them? Beachbumva mentioned that I should have stuff to eat on the live rock but I'm not going to have that in the QT.....will the pellets be enough????

For future info, I don't think electric blue hermits are reef safe; this could have been a mixed blessing for you.

mmedeiros2
12/30/2008, 08:48 PM
My crabs love shrimp pelets. Don't feed too much. It can make a mess. Too much food, high nitrates, crab legs up. My live rock and sand is established now so I don't feed pellets anymore. When I did I would break them in half and turn off the filter and powerheads so when the pelets disolved in ten seconds, it would not fly all over. The crabs would come running like hungry dogs.
Give them a chance to eat and then turn on the pump. At least turn off the powerheads. If you are a newbie, I would suggest you read waterkeepers newbie thread at the top of the New to the hobby forum.
Your live rock will start to grow different color algea after a couple months with one or two fish in the tank. You will see new things every other day.
As far as the LFS. When I started, I thought those guys were the cats meow. After reading posts and asking questions on this forum for 8 months, I realized that most are not too knoledgeble in this field.
Read waterkeepers thread. There is prob. more involved than you think. Its a great challenge to learn.

VacavilleFC3S
12/30/2008, 09:28 PM
hermits are all a PITA anyway, invest your money is something better

paraletho
12/30/2008, 09:57 PM
Just remember to acclimate very slowly when you bring your livestock home especially inverts. Inverts probably need a slow drip acclimation of 1 -3 hours depending on how delicate they are.