shell fish trouble

Question

my tank   Hey there, i'm pretty new at the salt water tank world and have some issues that even my lfs can't answer.... For some reason any sort of shell fish I place in my tank dies:-(  
(I've tried cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp, snails, emerald crab.. ) I test my water regularly and everything is Always fine. My lfs even tests it for me and they are stumped. I have a 30 gallon reef setup with live rock and shell substrate. I have 2 clowns,a brittle star, sand sifting star,2 Hawaiian feather dusters, star polyps. I also had a Haitian anemone but it just died:-(  water temp always between 77-80, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0,Ph between 7.8 and 8.0, specific gravity 1.026. I also test for calcium which I keep between 400 and  500. I do mild substrate, glass cleaning with about 20% water change every 2 Weeks.... Do you have any ideas what might be going on? Anything I should try or do different?

Answer
Hi Jenne,

I can't pinpoint exactly what your issue is, however I can make some suggestions, see them below in random order:

-- If you're not running a protein skimmer, I'd suggest installing one; these are great for secondary filtration, especially on small nano aquariums. The cleaner the water, the better species of shellfish will do. Most species of invertebrates need extremely pristine water to survive and to thrive. A skimmer will remove raw waste directly from the water as well as other pollutants that find their way into your aquarium water, like heavy metals. In conclusion the protein skimmer will help to remove some of these pollutants, before they have a chance to off set water parameters, and so they don't continue to leach and breakdown into other forms of waste including nitrate and nitrite, which can ultimately harm and kill shellfish.

-- When doing water changes or topping your water off, use reverse osmosis water and/or reverse osmosis deionized water.

-- When you introduce new shellfish to your aquarium, I'd recommend the drip acclimation method. Other methods work, but I find this to be the most successful, yielding the highest survival rate.

-- Make sure your shell fish are also fed properly, some hobbyists mistakenly think these marine animals will just solely survive off of algae, however they to need a proper diet to keep them healthy. For example marine hermit crabs love the sinking shrimp pellets, and these are high in proteins and other essential nutrients.

-- I noticed from your given water parameter specs, that your pH is low; try keeping this around 8.2 to 8.3 at all times. It will naturally be lower during the night (if you take the reading at night). Versus the daytime. The reason to keep the pH at 8.2 to 8.3 is so that the water can naturally buffer itself, by correctly utilizing all of the major trace elements found in the water, including: calcium, magnesium, iodine (for natural seawater it would be bromine, and potassium. These trace elements need to be utilized in the correct proportions by your aquariums invertebrates for survival, and this cannot be accomplished successfully on a regular basis if the pH is too low. To give you an idea of how delicate and important these trace elements are, they are finely measured in ppm's (parts per million) and ppt's (parts per thousand). These systems of measuring show the important role these elements have on the health of all sea life.

-- I also recommend adding more cured live rock, of high quality. Among the many benefits, this will also help keep your aquarium water clean, and will help to keep your water parameters stable. Large structures of live rock will provide plenty of areas for these animals to call home, and for invertebrates like scarlet skunk shrimp, and peppermint cleaner shrimp, this can make this difference in their longevity. Creating a home similar to their natural reef environment will always yield better survival rates. Stay clear of volcanic rock, which can leach metals into your aquarium, because invertebrates including shellfish will die from metals being leached into the water on a continuous basis.

I hope some of the information above helps.

I wish you the best of luck with all your future saltwater aquarium endeavors. Keep me updated on your progress.

Sincerely,
David

All Experts - Expert

Director of Operations - Orange County Reef Aquatics / http://www.ocreef.com