Problems with CUC

[SigEpLucas]

Ok I was going to go buy some more snails and things for my clean up crew but they have been slowly dying and I'm wondering if something might be wrong.

I only have a 20g DT and I started with 1 Emerald Crab, 2 Peppermint Shrimp, 2 Nassarius, 2 Astrea, 1 Turbo, 1 Bumblee. (No I didn't add these all at once) All was good but the turbo snail, bumblebee, and 1 nassarius were all eaten by my peppermint shrimp. I think they had already started dying and were then eaten I don't think the shrimp actively hunted them down and killed them, but I could be wrong. Then I just realized the other day that 1 of the Peppermint Shrimp is missing and there are no signs of it. I'm sure it is gone though.

Params
Salinity 1.025
Temp 79-80
pH 8.3
Amm 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 0
Calc 360ish flucuates
KH 11
(Taken with Hydrometer, Digital Thermometer, and API test kits so might not be 100% accurate)

The only other livestock in the aquarium is 2 clowns, mid-sized zoanthid, mid-sized green star polyps, small xenia, 8lbs. live sand, 35-40 lbs live rock, 130 watt pc lights, 10g sump/fuge, chaeto mud and small live rock in fuge, protein skimmer, pretty decent flow.

Thoughts?

 

[Bifferwine]

I'd bring a water sample to the LFS to have them double check it. Also, check for stray voltage.

Identifying, Locating and Curing Stray Voltage in a Saltwater Aquarium

 

[yote]

Could also be the Bumblebee.
Their actually a welk and have been know to kill and eat other snails.

 

[SigEpLucas]

But the bumblebee was the second one to die...the only three left are the first three I put in

 

[dcantucson]

Could also be the Bumblebee.
Their actually a welk and have been know to kill and eat other snails.

Yote I had never heard that.

 

[yote]

Yote I had never heard that.

I hadnt either David.Untill I picked up Marine Invertebrates by Ronald L. Shimek.

 

[winyfrog]

could they just be starving? is there algae etc. in the tank for them to eat?

 

[Bifferwine]

I have bumblebee snails in my tank. I was aware that there were "mixed feelings" on them when I bought them, but figured I'd try them out anyways. To my knowledge, I've not had any problems with them eating other animals. Maybe if they have enough food they won't go after your other livestock. They're probably opportunistic like most other animals in our tanks.

 

[SigEpLucas]

i don't think my bumblee ever touched another snail...I never saw it anywhere near another snail and it was one of the first to die...I would think there would have been enough food because I had algae everyone it wasn't until recently that I had it under control...

 

[Zissou]

Copper?

 

[winyfrog]

Unfortunatley it could just be one of those things. Sometimes things die without any explanations. :(

 

[SigEpLucas]

Is there something that would cause copper to be high?

 

[winyfrog]

Is there something that would cause copper to be high?

Do you have copper in your tank?

 

[SigEpLucas]

I've never used any or put anything in with copper in it

 

[winyfrog]

You probably don't have copper in there, unless you purchased the tank used. You would be losing all of your inverts, shrimps, crabs, corals etc.

 

[ggNoRe]

Cool link biffer! Learn something new everyday. :) best of luck on finding the problem sigep.