Blood Shrimp - Fire Shrimp life expectancy

[Mouse]

I have just lost my Blood shrimp,

Came home yesterday and he was sketching out on the sand. Recently i also lost my CB shrimp when she was trying to shed. I think i might have a bit of a high Alkalinity level, but the PH is fine. Could that have been the probelm with the shrimp or was it just old age. All other aquarium parameters are acceptable.

If high alkalinity is to blame how could i buffer this to one incrament on the colour chart. I have a 25 gallon reef. It's honestly only one colour out on the chart i have, i really cant imagine that these shrimp are that delecate. All other fish corals crabs and invertebrates are fine. Another thing i have noticed was what i would have suspected to have been calcium presipitation on the surface of the tank. Another indicator of high alkalinity. But the night before i had used shake and vac on the carpet (smelly powder), im wondering if it had attracted this out of the air. Not too happy at the moment and i have been mocking myself all evening. But im stumped. If it was old age and that is shake and vac on the surface than fine. But if it is high alkalinity and calcium presipitation then i guess i deserved it.

P.S. Yes i do drip dose, but i had been trying to catch up with 2 days of evaporation in one night. Too much maybee

 

[JohnD]

Mouse,

You might be on to something there with the calc precipitating out.

How long have you had your blood shrimp?

As for me, my cleaner shrimp last about one year to one and a half years. While I am not sure of the life expectancy of the blood shrimp, maybe it is old age.

 

[Mouse]

John, thanks mate, iv'e had it for about a year. I have to say he was no spring chicken when i got him though, probably the biggest in the tank. £45 for a shrimp that only lives for two years seems a hell of a price to pay. Any other suggestions????

 

[monkeyboy]

Shrimp that die during molting from what i've read is a sign of iodine deficiency. When was the last time you did a w/c? I would either start doing w/c more frequently or go buy some Lugols or other iodine suppliment.

On the life expectancy issue Sprung says "Hardy, live for years". I guess 2 constitutes the s in years...

 

[Mouse]

Monkeyboy,

I do 30% water cahnges with reef crystals about twice a month on average probably works out to one and a half water changes a month. I dose with Iodene supliment (coral vit J) and Coral vit combi which also contains iodene. If anything i suspect that i have been overdoing the iodene, and i cant really check as i find that particular test kit a real pig to use. I have been dosing with the knop additives as recomended on the bottle and the tank isn't exactly full of corals. Infact i have 2 torch corals, 1 open brain and a brain coral. Mettalic green Xenia and some shrooms (im trying to build my tank with only rare colour forms - taking a while but i like it that way). Plus one other thing that no-one has been able to identify, but its a baby whateveritis so im going to see when it grows. Not exactly a large ammont of corals for a 25 gallon. The other reason i think im overdoing the iodene is the Corraline Algie doesn't grow too fast, and this is one of the symptoms off too much iodene. What do you think mon pettit sange. Oh i also have a calcium reactor and i dose kalkwasser (now very moderately)

 

[Mike02]

i successfully kept a CBS in a very small tank for a year without ever changing the water. Maybe i changed some of it once. but i never added iodine or anything else in the water and it never had trouble molting.