So, yesterday I went to the store to get a replacement for a turbo that never came back out of it's shell once it was in the bag, and I bought a second peppermint shrimp (I read they don't like being solo and I have some glass anemones popping up) and an orange tail blue damsel (I know they're mean fish, it was an impulse buy). Anyway, the shrimp and damsel and snail were all bagged together. When I purchased the initial snails, peppermint shrimp (which after inspection has white stripes so it's probably a camel), and a blenny, they were all bagged separately (a couple days ago). So I dripped them separately. And everything lived. Save the one snail which was probably DOA. But since the damsel and shrimp were bagged together and had come out of the same small display, I dripped them together.
I didn't really do my due diligence and sit and watch the acclimation but after about an hour I went to put them in the tank and the damsel looked super stressed. I think the shrimp was picking at him the whole time. So I immediately put them in the tank (no QT, don't have one) to get them away from each other. The damsel sank to the bottom, where it stayed, still breathing. The shrimp swam happily into my LR.
The light on the tank and in the room were already off for the acclimation but I covered the tank anyway so it was completely dark. I check a couple time throughout the evening, but no improvement. This morning the damsel was no longer on the bottom but floating on the top. The blenny, snails, and two shrimp are still fine (the shrimp is kind of an assumption because I can't find them currently, but did see them last night and no carcases). I also tested my water when the damsel didn't recover once in the tank. No ammonia, no nitrite, about 5 ppm nitrate, appx 8.2 ph (can't ever really match the color on this test), and 1.025 sg. The thermometer says 76.
My assumption is that the shrimp are the most sensitive of the lot and that a water quality issue would have been indicated by their demise and not the damsel. Also, the damsel's tail fin was torn in a few spots which I hadn't noticed at the store. I think the shrimp stressed and killed him. So the $20 question is...is it my fault or the lfs? And should I know better than to acclimate a shrimp and a fish together?
I didn't really do my due diligence and sit and watch the acclimation but after about an hour I went to put them in the tank and the damsel looked super stressed. I think the shrimp was picking at him the whole time. So I immediately put them in the tank (no QT, don't have one) to get them away from each other. The damsel sank to the bottom, where it stayed, still breathing. The shrimp swam happily into my LR.
The light on the tank and in the room were already off for the acclimation but I covered the tank anyway so it was completely dark. I check a couple time throughout the evening, but no improvement. This morning the damsel was no longer on the bottom but floating on the top. The blenny, snails, and two shrimp are still fine (the shrimp is kind of an assumption because I can't find them currently, but did see them last night and no carcases). I also tested my water when the damsel didn't recover once in the tank. No ammonia, no nitrite, about 5 ppm nitrate, appx 8.2 ph (can't ever really match the color on this test), and 1.025 sg. The thermometer says 76.
My assumption is that the shrimp are the most sensitive of the lot and that a water quality issue would have been indicated by their demise and not the damsel. Also, the damsel's tail fin was torn in a few spots which I hadn't noticed at the store. I think the shrimp stressed and killed him. So the $20 question is...is it my fault or the lfs? And should I know better than to acclimate a shrimp and a fish together?
