Inverts dying. Help!

[Tristan]

I got a clean up crew from IPSF today with hermit crabs, snails, and amphipods. They were doing just fine in the bags when they arrived. Floated for 15 min, added a cup of water, waited 15 min then added them to the tank. Most of the amphipods are not moving and a few of the hermit crabs have crawled out of their shells. I don’t know what it could be.
Ammonia:0ppm
Nitrites:0ppm
Nitrates:8ppm
Could it be copper in my water?
That wouldn’t make sense when I use RO water though. I’ve also used the RO system I have on a different tank that I had set up before, and the corals and shrimp and crabs thrived
It wouldn’t be stray voltage either cause I have a fish in there and she’s just fine and I didn’t feel any shock

 

[footgal]

How much water were they floating in? Did they look bad in the 15 minutes between adding the cup of water and the tank water? I think you may have shocked them as inverts are very sensitive to water changes. Next time, drip acclimate or add very small amounts of water over maybe 1 hour until the water level in the bag has tripled and they’re still doing fine. Slow and steady for inverts!

 

[BighohoReef]

Snails you shouldn't need to drip I believe most places recommend to float them to temp acclimate and add them to the tank. Hermits are a bit different I typically float and drip acclimate, when and if they become active I move them into the tank. As @footgal said they most likely are going into shock.

 

[Tristan]

How much water were they floating in? Did they look bad in the 15 minutes between adding the cup of water and the tank water? I think you may have shocked them as inverts are very sensitive to water changes. Next time, drip acclimate or add very small amounts of water over maybe 1 hour until the water level in the bag has tripled and they’re still doing fine. Slow and steady for inverts!

The bags had about half a cup of water in them and I added another half cup from my tank. Yea, normally I would drip acclimate, but I was following the directions from IPSF. And to note, it looks like the snails too seem affected

 

[Tristan]

Wo

Snails you shouldn't need to drip I believe most places recommend to float them to temp acclimate and add them to the tank. Hermits are a bit different I typically float and drip acclimate, when and if they become active I move them into the tank. As @footgal said they most likely are going into shock.

Would shock explain the amphipods being affected too? Cause from what I’ve experienced before, I can normally just toss them into a new tank and they’ll be fine.

 

[BighohoReef]

Snails are tough because they could just be in shock... Was the water milky when you dumped the cup of water in?

 

[BighohoReef]

Wo
Would shock explain the amphipods being affected too? Cause from what I’ve experienced before, I can normally just toss them into a new tank and they’ll be fine.

You should just be able to add the pods, normal temp acclimation then add to water is what I do.

 

[Tristan]

Snails are tough because they could just be in shock... Was the water milky when you dumped the cup of water in?

Not at all. It was clear and I did a water change yesterday. The pods seem to be dying too. As they’re not moving either and are just floating in the water column

 

[Moscar]

Pretty short float time. 30 minutes, open bag, add a drop of Prime, leave bag float and drip tank water in until pH and PPT is matched to tank.

Good luck.

 

[Tristan]

A quick note too. These guys were shipped out on Monday and arrived today

 

[Moscar]

A quick note too. These guys were shipped out on Monday and arrived today

That's likely not the issue.
More likely: temperature shock, Nh3 from pH rising after bag is opened, pH shock, salinity shock - one or more of the former.
A lot of suppliers may be a bit "old school" in the acclimation instructions. Much better understanding today about how to get the critters settled.
Hope your critters recover, you did your best and we all learn from things like this.

 

[Double monti 61]

Hi I have added cleanup critters from IPFS one about a month ago all are doing well they even sent a blastomussa merleti really cool.

 

[Tristan]

Update. It seems even as if the bristle worms are in shock which seems strange

 

[Moscar]

Update. It seems even as if the bristle worms are in shock which seems strange

No, it does not seem strange.

 

[Tristan]

No, it does not seem strange.

Maybe not. But in the past, I’ve tossed in amphipods and bristle worms into new tanks, and they did just fine. But I assume since they were shipped and in the bags for longer, it came as a bigger shock.

 

[Double monti 61]

How old is your tank and what kind of rock did you put in ?

 

[Tristan]

How old is your tank and what kind of rock did you put in ?

2 months old right now. Reef saver rock from BRS and live sand from Carib Sea. It’s fully cycled too.

 

[Moscar]

Maybe not. But in the past, I’ve tossed in amphipods and bristle worms into new tanks, and they did just fine. But I assume since they were shipped and in the bags for longer, it came as a bigger shock.

Exactly. The relationship between pH and ammonia/ ammonium is key.

 

[ApoIsland]

I have never acclimated hermits/snails, but have also never had one sit in a bag in transit for a week... Most hermits and a lot of snails for that matter too spend their lives in tidal areas with huge swings in water temp, salinity, etc throughout the day. Those definitely don't need to be acclimated.

If the hermits were fine in the bag but are now crawling out of their shells in your tank I would think there is an issue with your water. Could always mix up a gallon of new salt water and toss the stuff in there to see how they respond. Would only take a few minutes and you would at least know if it was the water in your tank or not.

Edit ...**sorry just realized you posted on Wednesday so the stuff was not in the bag for a week. Shipping was most likely not an issue.