...5 out of 7 have completely vanished in a year old 60 litre nano. One is still alive, I removed the corpse of another, but I can't find a single trace of the remainder.
I had 2, then added 5 more 13th Nov. All was well until 5th Dec when I noticed a dead shrimp stuck to the powerhead (not a shed skin.) A couple of days later I performed my weekly water test and phosphate was 0.19 (up from the usual 0.1). I changed 10% water, but three days later phosphate was up to 0.33. I then noticed the lack of sexy shrimp (I'd been busy and not paying enough attention.) I've since performed daily water changes and phosphate has finally started to come down to 0.28. Nitrate is 16.5.
I have (no fish), a hermit crab, a few trochus and stomatella snails, lots of copepods and small amphipods, brittle stars, a duncan coral, a couple of mushrooms and some GSP, and all appear to be well. The shrimp liked to hang out in the duncan which didn't seem to mind.
The shrimp were fed algae wafers and crab pellets in addition to what they could find in the tank.
All parameters have been stable since the tank started.
I'm upset that they're gone, these are my first losses, and I'd had the original 2 shrimp since I started the tank. What do you think might've happened to them? A disease that only affects shrimp? A predator? (I've heard no clicking or snapping noises.) Would the duncan harm them?
Am I correct assuming dead shrimp caused the nutrient spike?
I had 2, then added 5 more 13th Nov. All was well until 5th Dec when I noticed a dead shrimp stuck to the powerhead (not a shed skin.) A couple of days later I performed my weekly water test and phosphate was 0.19 (up from the usual 0.1). I changed 10% water, but three days later phosphate was up to 0.33. I then noticed the lack of sexy shrimp (I'd been busy and not paying enough attention.) I've since performed daily water changes and phosphate has finally started to come down to 0.28. Nitrate is 16.5.
I have (no fish), a hermit crab, a few trochus and stomatella snails, lots of copepods and small amphipods, brittle stars, a duncan coral, a couple of mushrooms and some GSP, and all appear to be well. The shrimp liked to hang out in the duncan which didn't seem to mind.
The shrimp were fed algae wafers and crab pellets in addition to what they could find in the tank.
All parameters have been stable since the tank started.
I'm upset that they're gone, these are my first losses, and I'd had the original 2 shrimp since I started the tank. What do you think might've happened to them? A disease that only affects shrimp? A predator? (I've heard no clicking or snapping noises.) Would the duncan harm them?
Am I correct assuming dead shrimp caused the nutrient spike?