Ornamental Shrimp

[lgreen]

I'd like to start an intelligent conversation about issues surrounding ornamental shrimp such as cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, fire shrimp, etc.

 

Of particular interest me is the issue of acclimation and getting them to survive past the first 24 hours.

 

I have personally not had this problem myself, however this comes up so much on NR and even with some of my customers and I wish I had better preventative advice and answers when it does happen.

 

Personally I've noticed some strange observations when dealing with shrimp. When we receive any shrimp at the store they have basically sat on an airplane and at the cargo desk for 3-5 hours in a 3x8 bag with about 1.5-2 inches of water and usually a small blade of gracellaria. Our procedure for getting them into the tank is cut the bag open and dump them in. That is right, no acclimation. And our success rate is nearly 100%. I have never once in 4 years of doing it seen a shrimp die as soon as it hits the water, with in 5 minutes, with in an hour, or really with in 24 hours even really. Additionally, I have never acclimated any shrimp I have ever brought home. I always just toss them in the same way we do at work and never lost one. The only time I lost one was when I acclimated it to be safe.

 

Now I don't think it is safe at all to generalize the simple answer being, well don't acclimate them at all. I don't know if this would work for others, but it is interesting to me nonetheless. I can't make sense of it.

 

So I'd be interested to hear from others, especially those experienced, with regards to what is going on with people losing their shrimp even after careful acclimation.

[mvite]

First of all, SLEEP BOY, SLEEP!

 

Next,

 

I too have dumped in shrimp after a long travel and had no problems. Just last week, however, I bough a Fire Shrimp locally. I dripped it for about 2 hours. It was alive through all of that--I know for sure. When I fished him out and put him in the main tank, he floated to the bottom and stayed there until I removed his dead body from the brittle stars an hour later. Eh, $50?

 

I have two more Fire Shrimp coming from Fla today as well as 10 peppermint shrimp and plan on dropping em in. I will let you know!

[Chupacabras]

I only temperature acclimate for 15 minutes and release with the bare minimum of bagged water. This goes for everything: clams, anemones, shrimp, corals and haven't had a loss in a good six months.

 

Needless to say, I think the whole drip acclimate for hours thing is waaaay overrated. As long as your tank water has a higher SG and the same or lower level of nitrAtes than the bagged water, I really wouldn't worry about it.

[scarf_ace1981]

I only temperature acclimate for 15 minutes and release with the bare minimum of bagged water. This goes for everything: clams, anemones, shrimp, corals and haven't had a loss in a good six months.

 

Needless to say, I think the whole drip acclimate for hours thing is waaaay overrated. As long as your tank water has a higher SG and the same or lower level of nitrAtes than the bagged water, I really wouldn't worry about it.

 

ditto!

[lgreen]

Interesting. I'm glad others are noticing the same thing. Anyone else care to share? I'm thinking about recommending just to drop them in w/ no acclimation from now on as long as there parameters are fairly close to ours at the store.

[mandarin dragonet]

now you have me worrying about if i buy a shrimp it will die and ill have to wait another month before i can afford a new one!! well done!

[Withers]

Thats interesting. I've always drip acclimated my inverts (except for the cleanup crew), and I've never lost a shrimp to it. Then again, I've only added a total of 3 shrimp to my tanks over the past 6 years, but I've got a 100% success rate with it.

 

 

It makes absolutely no sense to me why just dropping them in would have a higher success rate than acclimating them over a long period of time. I'm not saying what you guys are doing is wrong, but logically speaking, it doesn't add up.

[mvite]

I think the thought (for drip naysayers) is that the little bugger is swimming in all kinds of chemical reactions. Organics have an effect on the water chemistry in a small closed environment like the bag. I think people fear a rise in PH in the bag, making the nitrogenous compounds more deadly---kinda like percolating them in nastiness.

[Chupacabras]

I think a lot of the problems with drip have to do with the excessive handling of creatures that aren't too keen on being messed with.

 

In this I would expect the stressors to be greater for a creature that's snatched, bagged, transported, put in a bucket for an hour while its water parameters are changed and finally being placed into open water than one that is just bagged and dumped into a dark tank with close pH, equal or higher SG and equal or lower nitrates.

 

That's my theory anyways. I think sometimes we get a bit extreme in our fear of changes to our creatures environment.

[lgreen]

Interesting. I'd say 80-90% of the threads or people I hear from who lost their shrimp basically on impact or with in the hour had acclimated for more than like 20 minutes.

 

So maybe it is just simply over acclimation that is doing them in.

 

I agree totally with you Chup about some people being overly cautious. Although I have no proof, it makes me wonder if some marine organisms are biology setup to deal with quick unexpected changes, but perhaps they are not wired to deal with gradual changes as well?? Does that make any sense? I mean does acclimation really happen in the wild?

[Juanhunglo69]

I was told to do the drip thing and did it with one shrimp. After watching my German LFS guy handle his livestock I realize how hardy all of this stuff is. I bought a Camelback shrimp and he promptly went after my ricordia. So he went back the following week. With a bright blue damsel that a friend of mine bought to help his tank cycle. The LFS guy opened both bags and just dumped them in his tanks. I almost freaked out. He told me that he had been doing this for 30 years and he has never had a problem. I was shocked but have kind of taken on his methods but I float my bags so that they are at least the same temp then I put in a turkey baster full of water in every 45 seconds or so. Once the bag starts getting full I take a turkey baster full out and add one back in for a few minutes. No deaths yet doing this and I have transfered 20 fish or more and 60 or more inverts 1/3 of those were shrimp of some sort. I have been helping a few people get set up here. Of course it is in my best interest as it will lead to a trade later or even a sell when I leave.

[mvite]

My shrimpies came---but the Fire Shrimp were DOA.....so here goes trying to get some money back from a coral seller..... 8 of the 10 Peppermint Shrimp got here alive and I just tossed them in. They are all foraging around right now and seem to be ok. We'll see long(er) term...

[Bobalouy]

I had very bad luck with shrimp when I first started reefing. I went through 3 peps, and 2 cleaners. I tried everything from floating while adding water, to an hour and a half drip. None of the shrimp lasted more than a few weeks.

 

I did finally get some sexy shrimp to survive with an hour drip. And I haven't tried anymore since then. Now I am setting up a new tank and I am terrified to buy shrimp again. But I love the soooo much, lol. Maybe I'll just try dumping them in.

[ezcompany]

I only temperature acclimate for 15 minutes and release with the bare minimum of bagged water. This goes for everything: clams, anemones, shrimp, corals and haven't had a loss in a good six months.

 

Needless to say, I think the whole drip acclimate for hours thing is waaaay overrated. As long as your tank water has a higher SG and the same or lower level of nitrAtes than the bagged water, I really wouldn't worry about it.

 

shrimps are very sensitive to salinity changes and temperature. lgreen, you have been lucky that your LFS water and your water just happen to match, have you tested out the specific gravity of both?

 

i have lost a fire and a peppermint. the fire was acclimated for an hour, the peppermint was tossed in the tank (my very very first saltwater attempt). the peppermint started thrashing around in the tank and died in what seems to be a painful death, writhing in pain. the fire shrimp died within 2 hours after placement in the tank. after that, i have acclimated all my shrimp for a good hour with timed precision, and have never lost a shrimp then.

 

'Chupacabras' , you can get away with corals without acclimating, but clams will depend on how much they have been stressed prior to reaching your aquarium. drip acclimating for hours is not overated, but can be bad for most organisms depending on the condition of the water in the bag. fish in general need the least acclimating, however there are some super sensitive fish that require over 2 hours of acclimation like some species of Angels.

[Chupacabras]

I keep some of the most sensitive things and have been just fine without those drips, including the sensitive fish species, an anemone and a clam... if your tank has a lower SG than the bag water, sure, there can be problems but most of us maintain a higher SG than the LFS hence just don't have the problems.

 

Again, my experience shows that drip acclimatization is generally overrated.

[DudE31]

At my LFS where i work we never drip anything just temperature acclimatize. This includes everything from fish to starfish and since i have been working there (almost a year now) nothing has died from doing this including the starfish. I think that we don't give credit to some of these animals in regards to their hardiness. Just my experience.

[Withers]

Interesting. I'd say 80-90% of the threads or people I hear from who lost their shrimp basically on impact or with in the hour had acclimated for more than like 20 minutes.

 

So maybe it is just simply over acclimation that is doing them in.

 

I agree totally with you Chup about some people being overly cautious. Although I have no proof, it makes me wonder if some marine organisms are biology setup to deal with quick unexpected changes, but perhaps they are not wired to deal with gradual changes as well?? Does that make any sense? I mean does acclimation really happen in the wild?

 

 

I think a more accurate depiction would be that they aren't wired to deal with acclimation at all. In the wild they never experience it. I would guess that they live fine because there just isn't a big difference between where they live in the wild and our tanks (as far as water chemistry).

 

Has anyone tried dumping a starfish in the tank without acclimation?

[Juanhunglo69]

I think a more accurate depiction would be that they aren't wired to deal with acclimation at all. In the wild they never experience it. I would guess that they live fine because there just isn't a big difference between where they live in the wild and our tanks (as far as water chemistry).

 

Has anyone tried dumping a starfish in the tank without acclimation?

 

 

Does asterinas and bristles count? If so count me in.

[DudE31]

yes ... i said it in the previous post .. and so far no problems ... we have done it with red fromias ... blue linkias and a few others with no problems. I think at a fish store its just not that realistic to drip acclimatize things. Setting up a bucket with some airline tubing and "nemo" or a starfish in it would be very inviting for a younger child to reach in and try to grab it. Plus,when your working and helping customers there isn't really 2+hours avaliable to acclimatize fish etc.

[Withers]

Sorry, but I refuse to believe that linckia starfish could possibly do well with just being dumped in a tank at an LFS longterm.

 

I don't think we could use that as proof since a typical LFS has a pretty decent inventory turnover (or death rate, depending on the store). Although it at least shows that they won't dissolve immediately from it.

[lgreen]

Sorry, but I refuse to believe that linckia starfish could possibly do well with just being dumped in a tank at an LFS longterm.

 

I don't think we could use that as proof since a typical LFS has a pretty decent inventory turnover (or death rate, depending on the store). Although it at least shows that they won't dissolve immediately from it.

 

We don't acclimate any of our stars at the store where I work.

 

The biggest problem I see with linckia's is not getting them into the tank but just keeping them alive long term. They tend to starve if not kept in very mature fauna producing tanks.

 

One thing some have said though is not to expose the linckia's to air. Dump them with the bag in the tank and keep them submerged. Whether or not this is true, I don't know.

 

Does anyone know if linkias spend all their time naturally under water or do you find them exposed to air stuck to the side of rocks occasionally like in tide pools?

[ezcompany]

At my LFS where i work we never drip anything just temperature acclimatize. This includes everything from fish to starfish and since i have been working there (almost a year now) nothing has died from doing this including the starfish. I think that we don't give credit to some of these animals in regards to their hardiness. Just my experience.

 

The LFS setting is TOTALLY different from our setting. Your shipment comes from wholesalers, and the water in the bag is almost always fouler than the tank water. Therefore most LFS owners I know temp place them and add them to the tank right away. (for corals) shrimps however are still acclimated slowly, and certain species of fish.

 

In the wild organisms that live in the coral reefs DO experience fluctuations in water chemistry, especially during a heavy rain. Specific gravity does shift, and so does the temperature. This of course is never instantaneous, which would mean that in the wild they never experience a fluctation that occurs within seconds.

 

I lost my peppermint and fire both where my waters had a higher specific gravity. the difference was 1.019 (LFS) and 1.024 *(my tank) for the peppermint. for the fire shrimp it was 1.021 and 1.024

[Phixion]

In my experience (I've only had one skunk cleaner so far), acclimating didn't harm it. The shrimp was my first real livestock purchase if you exclude my small CUC, and I bought it from PetCo no less. The shrimp lived for about 4 months and endured A LOT while in my AP 12g including at least 2 instances of an 8-9 degree temp swing in a 12 hour period during our horrible heatwave here in So. Cali back in July. When I got the shrimp I was real addiment about following acclimation proceedures, I think that was also the last time I did so with the exception of my 3 fish and the lettuce nudi I had 2 weeks ago. but with the shrimp, I dripped it for about 45 minutes, then put it in the tank. it did fine and even molted not too long after. It molted regularly after that about once ever 4 weeks. The shrimp didn't show a single sign of stress after acclimating, and didn't even seem phased by the temps swings I spoke of, either. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe I did something right, we'll never know though, right?

 

At my regular LFS near me, I know that when they get their shipments in, they always float the bags, but I think that's all they do, in fact I'm certain they just temp float, for fish and verts at least...

[CGNano]

to put it simply, drip acclimating blows.

 

never acclimated anything, never lost anything.

 

I've had more ornamental shrimp than you can shake a fist at.

 

Harlequins, Emperors, Sexies, etc.

[Tangman1218]

I've had more ornamental shrimp than you can shake a fist at.

 

Harlequins, Emperors, Sexies, etc.

 

So......what happened to them??

 

Tang