Question:I had two cleaner shrimp for about 2-3 months in my tank. One was gigantic, and one was small. Yesterday I came home and the big fella was dead, sort of under a rock in the back. Today, the little guy is dead, in a hole/burrow that was excavated by one of my gobies. He was torn in half I think too??
Why all of a sudden have my shrimp been killed? I only have 2 pygmy angels, a 6-line wrasse (or 8-line, which ever one is reef friendly), a royal gramma, a true perc, and two two-spot gobies. I have a herd of hermit crabs, live rock and live sand.
I really don't know who or what is killing them all of a sudden. Help!!
Answers:
You may have a crab, or mantis shrimp hiding out in your live rock. Sometimes they sneak in small, and grow slowly until they are large enough to take out shrimp and fish. Also you might check your ph, and do you add iodine? I've read that if the iodine levels are not high enough some inverts have shedding issues (although the 2 of them dying so close together is unlikely).
Are you sure they aren't molting? I've thought the same of my shrimp and crabs, but it was just their molt.
Most fish, even those thought to be peacefull community fish will eat anything they can fit in thier mouths. Cleaner shrimp have been eaten by the handull in my tank,...
My vote is a mantis shrimp as well. They are really good at hiding, and usually all you see is a couple of eyes starting at you from a small hole. There are mantis traps, but most of them don't work well. Good luck!
I had a seahorse VANISH last week so I kept a watchfull eye on the live rock during different times of the light cycle and I finally found the culprit (a big black crab, xanthidae)
I removed the rock that it was hiding in and removed the crab.
When shrimp molt, there skeliton LOOKS exactly like a dead shrimp.
After molting, the shrimp usualy hide until ther new "skin" hardens and they are not vulnerable anymore, this can take up to a week.
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